FREDERICK C. DYER
Here is a suggestion from one whimsically serious bibliophile.
The Cosmos Club is rightly proud of its shelf of “new books by members,” although there has been confusion at times between “new” books by any members and “any” books by new members. The Club has about 3,066 books by members and receives some 100 books more by members each year.
What concerns me are the unread books. I’ve tried to read as many of the members’ books as I could and can. In some instances, my name has been the only one, or the second one at most, on the borrower’s card. Of course, many of the books may be read else-where or by readers in the Club Library who don’t borrow the books. So, now I ask:
Many true-hearted members have donated or bequeathed money to the Club Library to buy or to care for publications; why not a Foundation to support the reading of the books by members?
It will be objected: “Cosmos Club members write books but they don’t read them.” And “How will we know who is reading which book and how well?”
These and other nigglings have forced me to refine my vision into the following terms:
The Readership Foundation should be munificent. A start would be $100,000 with
increments to $500,000 to ensure enough money to provide for big prizes and
awards, pay for staff assistance, and reimburse Committee mem-bers who oversee
the project.
Handsome awards must go to the readers who achieve the goal of reading all books
by members. Perhaps $50,000 will be needed for the winners, with sums ranging
from $1,000 to $20,000 for those who try but fall by the wayside.
The Committee and staff will need to arrange the tests of readership—there must
be no skimming or speed-reading!
Appropriate articles and notices should appear in the monthly Club Bulletin:
instances of serendipitous discoveries should be reported; and there should
be an annual report.
Only members, their spouses, widows, and, possi-bly, sons and daughters should
be permitted to com-pete for the awards, stipends, or prizes. (This is a Club
project, not another sop to the do-gooders.) Also, only members or those close
to them by blood (or long-suffering status) will have the stamina to read all
that Cosmos Clubbers have writ.
Some system to weight the difficulty and length of the books must be devised.
For instance, books filled with the square root of minus one are certainly diffi-cult,
but not so difficult as treatises by educationists or commentaries by sociologists;
these are not more dif-ficult than books of poetry. Perhaps autobiographies
could be removed from the competition—or saved for use in settling ties.
To paraphrase that patron saint of men’s clubs (and those that have overcome their early shortcom-ings) and of all learning, Dr. Samuel Johnson (The Rambler, No. 106, March 23, 1751):
No place affords a sadder sight than a library of unread books...the wall crowded on every side by mighty volumes, now scarcely known but by the catalogue....
It is not enough just to admire books or to collect and display them. They should be read!
BOOKS WRITTEN, EDITED, OR CONTRIBUTED TO BY CLUB MEMBERS IN 1998-1999, AND RECEIVED IN THE LIBRARY FROM MIDSUMMER 1998 TO MISDUMMER 1999
Adams, Richard E. W. Rio Azul: An Ancient Maya City
Armstrong, David F. Original Signs: Gesture, Sign, and the Sources of Language
Asher, Robert E. (senior author). A Family of Artists
Bedini, Silvio A. The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science. 2nd edition, revised & expanded
Boer, F. Peter. The Valuation of Technology: Business and Financial Issues in R&D (book and disk)
Boorstin, Daniel J. The Seekers: The Story of Man’s Continuing Quest to Understand His World
Boskey, Bennett. West’s Federal Forms: Supreme Court. 3 volumes
Brenner, Michael. NATO and Collective Security
Terms of Engagement: The United States and the European Security Identity
Brody, Eugene B. The Search for Mental Health: A History and Memoir of WFMH, 1948-1997
Brown, Lester R. & Christopher Flavin. State of the World—1999
Butler, William E. Russian Law
Canby, Thomas Y. From Botswana to the Bering Sea: My Thirty Years with National Geographic
Cathy, H. Marc. Heat-Zone Gardening: How to Choose Plants That Thrive in Your Region’s Warmest Weather
Davis, John Claiborne. First Person Plural: Stories
Dettke, Dieter (editor). The Challenge of Globalization for Germany’s Social Democracy: A Policy Agenda for the Twenty-First Century
Doumani, George A. The Frigid Mistress: Life and Exploration in Antarctica
DuPont, Robert (senior author). The Anxiety Cure: An Eight-Step Program for Getting Well
Folk, G. Edgar (senior author). Principles of Integrative Environmental Physiology
Gardner, Kenneth (compiler & contributor). The Night That Acey Deucy Bit the Bear: Poetry from the Hunewill Ranch
Geller, Henry (contributor). A Communications Cornucopia: Markle Foundation Essays on Information Policy
Glaser, Peter E. (senior author). Solar Power Satellites: A Space Energy System for Earth 2nd edition
Grayson, George W. Strange Bedfellows: NATO Marches East
Greenwald, Gerald B. (editor). Liquefied Natural Gas: Developing and Financing International Energy Projects
Hart, Parker T. (CC 1910-1997). Saudi Arabia and the United States: Birth of a Security Partnership
Harwit, Martin. Astrophysical Concepts 3rd edition
Hauser, Peter (senior editor). Thyroid Diseases of Infancy and Childhood: Effects on Behavior and Intellectual Development
Highfill, Philip H., Jr. (co-author). John Bell, Patron of British Theatrical Portraiture: A Catalog of the Theatrical Portraits in His Editions of Bell’s British Theatre
Jacobson, Harold K. (co-editor). Engaging Countries: Strengthening Compliance with International Environmental Accords
Kaplan, Julius. Eighteenth-Century English Glass and Related Dutch Glass from the Collection of Julius and Ann Kaplan
Kaplan, Lawrence S. The Long Entanglement: NATO’s First Fifty Years
Krinsley, Daniel (contributor). Military Geology in War and Peace
Lee, Rensselaer W. Smuggling Armageddon: The Nuclear Black Market in the Former Soviet Union and Europe
Lefever, Ernest W. America’s Imperial Burden: Is the Past Prologue?
Loevinger, Lee (contributor). Encounter with the Paranormal: Science, Knowledge, and Belief
McCarry, Charles. Lucky Bastard
McGurn, Barrett. The Pilgrim’s Guide to Rome: for the Millennial Jubilee Year 2000
Manderschied, Ronald W. (co-editor). Mental Health, United States 1998
Michaelis, David. N. C. Wyeth, a Biography
Muromcew, Cyril (compiler). S. A. Muromcew and First Duma: Collection of Articles
Neuman, Nancy M. (editor). True to Ourselves: A Celebration of Women Making a Difference
O’Connell, Brian. Civil Society: The Underpinnings of American Democracy Voices from the Heart: in Celebration of America’s Volunteers
Palmedo, Philip F. Voices in Bronze: The Creation of a Sculpture by Richard McDermott Miller
Patterson, Carolyn Bennett. Of Lands, Legends, & Laughter: The Search for Adventure with National Geographic
Patterson, Richard North. No Safe Place
Peterson, Russell W. Rebel with a Conscience
Pfiffner, James P. (editor). The Managerial Presidency 2nd edition
Platt, Rutherford H. Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events
Polsby, Nelson W. (editor). Explorations in the Evolution of Congress, by H. Douglas Price
Porter, W. Arthur. The Knowledge Seekers: Creating Centers for the Performing Sciences
Quay, Herbert C. (senior editor). Handbook of Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Reich, Alan A. (co-editor). Russian Proverbs: 100 Favorites of Professor Nadezhda Timofeevna Koroton
Reuss, Henry S. When Government Was Good: Memories of a Life in Politics
Ruffin, Marshall de Graffenried. Digital Doctors
Schad, Theodore M. & Martin Reuss. Water Resources: People and Issues (Interview with Theodore Schad, by Martin Reuss)
Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut. The Camel’s Nose: Memoirs of a Curious Scientist
Schroeder, Pat. 24 Years of House Work—and the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics
Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim: A Life
Small, Albert H. (editor). A Treasury of Yiddish-American Humor
Smith, Robert Lawrence. A Quaker Book of Wisdom: Life Lessons in Simplicity, Service, and Common Sense
Solomon, Robert. Money on the Move: The Revolution in International Finance Since 1980
Spain, James W. In Those Days: A Diplomat Remembers
Stein, Herbert. What I Think: Essays on Economics, Politics, and Life
Stent, Gunther S. Nazis, Women and Molecular Biology: Memoirs of a Lucky Self-Hater
Stewart, Harris. Maine Lines: Poems, Serious and Otherwise, about Maine
Sullivan, Charles. American Folk: Classic Tales Retold
Trachtenberg, Stephen Joel. Thinking Out Loud
Van der Linden, Frank. Lincoln: The Road to War
Walker, Robert H., editor. The Friends of Raoul Wallenberg: 1987-1997
Weidenbaum, Murray L. Business and Government in the Global Marketplace 6th edition
Weinstein, Allen (senior author). The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—the Stalin Era
Weisman, Richard (co-author). Rogue Warrior: Option Delta
White, Anthony W. A Birder’s Guide to the Bahama Islands (Including Turks and Caicos)
Wogaman, J. Philip. From the Eye of the Storm: A Pastor to the President Speaks Out
Speaking the Truth in Love: Prophetic Preaching to a Broken World
List compiled by Lura Young, Cosmos Club Librarian.
![[photo of F.C. Dyer]](dyer.jpg)
Frederick C. Dyer (CC ‘72), a former writer and editor for the US Navy, is
a frequent visitor to the Cosmos Club library. This article is adapted from
the June 1983 issue of The Cosmos Club Bulletin.
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