COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY
ALFRED A. KNOPF, Inc.
Published September, 1917
Second edition, 1918
Third edition, August, 1920
Reprinted, January, 1922
Set up, electrotyped and printed by Vail-Ballou Co., Binghamton, N. Y.
Paper (Warren's) furnished by Henry Lindenmeyr & Sons, New York, N. Y.
Bound by the Plimpton Press, Norwood, Mass.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
| BY H. L. MENCKEN VENTURES INTO VERSE GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: HIS PLAYS MEN VERSUS THE MAN With R. R. La Monte A LITTLE BOOK IN C MAJOR A BOOK OF CALUMNY [The above books are out of print] THE PHILOSOPHY OF FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE A BOOK OF BURLESQUES IN DEFENSE OF WOMEN A BOOK OF PREFACES PREJUDICES: FIRST SERIES PREJUDICES: SECOND SERIES THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE New York: Alfred A Knopf |
This fourth printing of "A Book of Prefaces" offers me temptation, asthe third did, to revise the whole book, and particularly the chapterson Conrad, Dreiser and Huneker, all of whom have printed important newbooks since the text was completed. In addition, Huneker has died. Butthe changes that I'd make, after all, would be very slight, and so itseems better not to make them at all. From Conrad have come "The Arrowof Gold" and "The Rescue," not to mention a large number of sumptuousreprints of old magazine articles, evidently put between covers for thesole purpose of entertaining collectors. From Dreiser have come "Free,""Twelve Men," "Hey, Rub-a-Dub-Dub" and some chapters of autobiography.From Huneker, before and after his death, have come "Unicorns,""Bedouins," "Steeple-Jack," "Painted Veils" and "Variations." But notone of these books materially modifies the position of its author. "TheArrow of Gold," I suppose, has puzzled a good many of Conrad's admirers,but certainly "The Rescue" has offered ample proof that his old powersare not diminished. The Dreiser books, like their predecessors that Idiscuss here, reveal the curious unevenness of the author. Parts of"Free" are hollow and irritating, and nearly all of "Hey, Rub-a-Dub-Dub"is feeble, but in "Twelve Men" there are some chapters that rank withthe very best of "The Titan" and "Jennie Gerhardt." The place of Dreiserin our literature is frequently challenged, and often violently, butnever successfully. As the years pass his solid dignity as an artistbecomes more and more evident. Huneker's last five works changed hisposition very little. "Bedouins," "Unicorns" and "Variations" belongmainly to his journalism, but into "Steeple-Jack," and above all i