Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 082

“Is sin a necessary stage in the development of humanity, or a yawning chasm in the very structure of the universe?? Theologian J. Gresham Machen’s exploration of “eternal ideas” is joined, in vol. 082, by readings in philosophy and psychology by Immanuel Kant, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Johnson. Insights from forestry, geography, astronomy, and zoology expand the view (Save the Redwoods; We Are Going to be Inspected; Along the Florida Coast; The Red Fox; and The World as Known to the Ancients). Human resiliency, inventiveness and heroism are exemplified in A Heroine of the Black Hole; The Great Yorkshire Llama; The Terry Touch Alphabet; The Man O’War’s ‘Er ‘Usband’; and a biography of pioneering physician Elizabeth Blackwell. James Hazen Hyde’s Costume Ball showcases hubris. On a lighter note, are Robert Benchley’s Bicycling the New Craze, and Call for Mr. Kenworthy; and Oscar Wilde’s An American Invasion. Summary by Sue Anderson