THE HICKORY LIMB

Vassar alumnae are a sure market for this story of thirty years at Vassar, but one wonders how much appeal there is outside that audience. Unlike his slight but charming nostalgic recall, Family On Gramercy Park, this is more a cross section analysis of Vassar, and developments in educational ideas and mores than it is President MacCracken's personal story. This perhaps is inherent in the man himself. He does not hesitate to be personal when it comes to some of the anecdotal material on members of the faculty (to be sure, he names names and tells tales of faculty in his early years- and is discretion itself when it comes to those now serving on the faculty). The various angles of presidential responsibility and contact are given full measure,- faculty, students, trustees, alumnae, public relations, money raising, etc. It was not all beer and skittles- and he takes the reader (and the unaware alumna) behind the scenes.