Jack London: A Bibliography by Hensley C. Woodbridge, John London, and George H. Tweney (review)

Reviews 71 Jack London: A Bibliography. Compiled by Hensley C. Woodbridge, John London, and George H. Tweney. (Georgetown, California: The Talisman Press, 1966. $15.00.) The bibliography is a major contribution to Jack London scholarship. The book is divided into two parts. Part one includes the writings -of Jack London: books, collections in English, anthologies in English, foreign language collections and anthologies, short stories, contributions to periodicals, contribu­ tions to newspapers, introductions and prefaces, separately published ephemera, spurious works, and motion pictures based on London’s works. Part two includes writings about Jack London: books and pamphlets in English, parts of books about London in English, articles about London in English, foreign writings about London, theses and dissertations, reviews of books in English, and reviews of books in foreign languages. The coverage is amazingly extensive, and up to 1966 would give a scholar a practically complete bibliographical reference. The book is ex­ tremely well organized, which makes it a quick as well as authoritative refer­ ence source to London material. It has both a title index and- a personal name index, which is naturally a great advantage to the user. The coverage, the organization, the practical usability, the double index, and the information and accuracy of the individual entries reflect the painstak­ ing and scholarly work of the compilers. It is a book that should be in the hands of every teacher of western American literature and in the libraries of all the colleges and universities where American literature is taught. K in g H e n d r ic k s , Utah State University A Treasury of Nebraska Pioneer Folklore. Compiled by Roger L. Welsch. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1966. xviii+391 pages. Illus. index, motif analysis. $5.95.) In an attractive, readable form Roger L. Welsch has put together his gleanings from various early efforts toward collecting Nebraska folklore. He has, for instance, relied heavily upon the Nebraska Folklore Pamphlets, a series of publications resulting from the Federal Writers’ Project of the 1930s. A Treasury of Nebraska Pioneer Folklore is a good demonstration of the in­ herent value of certain of these pioneer attempts and ought to encourage other folklorists to re-examine library holdings as an exercise ancillary to field collection. Mr. Welsch, in a scholarly yet readable introduction says that his heavy indebtedness to the NFP will likely cause the book to reflect their weaknesses and that he can only hope that his selections “contain most of the diamonds and only a little of the gravel.” He can be reassured that they do. ...