A PURITAN IN BABYLON: The Story of Calvin Coolidge

William Allen White, veteran editor of The Emporia Gazette is a national figure, a bulwark of his party and at the same time a leader in liberal thought in his day. With his name -- and the subject of Coolidge, now virtually canonized in popular imagination, for the days of prosperity he symbolized -- this book should have an easy sale. Add to that the fact that it is extremely good reading, very personal, more human than one might expect, a sympathetic, perceptive study of the man behind the front, and of a career with single aim. Furthermore, White has placed his subject where it belongs against world affairs as well as national affairs, giving Coolidge deeper significance as an individual phenomenon. Anecdotal, now and then humorous but never acid, the picture emerges of a greater personality and a greater force than externals would indicate -- a product of inheritance, training and intense concentration combined with overwhelming diffidence. A laudatory biography -- but not too much so. Occasionally a bit plush.