Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 079

“It was about the month of May…that I received information …that two photographs of fairies had been taken in the North of England under circumstances which seemed to put fraud out of the question.” (Arthur Conan Doyle 1920). Differing foundational beliefs and the varied ways men and women seek truth, whether through science, faith, philosophic speculation or political involvement, are highlighted in the selections for vol 079: The Cottingley Fairies; Scientific Ghosts; Matter and Memory; A Village Discussion; The Early Narratives of Genesis; The Connection Between Church and State; The Prince; Miss Morrison’s First Visit to the Petit Trianon; The Scientific Work of Miss N.M. Stevens; Homicide; Religion and Philosophy in Germany; The Public Bath Movement; The Right to Work; and Rivers of the Nameless Dead. People and places are the subject of The Pinehurst Tea Gardens; Sights and Tastes in Tripoli; and William Coppin and Marine Salvage. For respite, there are essays featuring nature and solitude: In the Christmas Woods and A Lazy Morning. Finally, cats win out, when governor Adlai Stevenson vetoes a legislative proposal banning roaming felines in Illinois. Summary by Sue Anderson