﻿DEC. 
  19, 
  1922 
  sosman: 
  popular 
  books 
  in 
  science 
  471 
  

  

  available. 
  This 
  problem 
  has 
  caused 
  the 
  removal 
  of 
  about 
  twenty- 
  

   five 
  books 
  from 
  the 
  preliminary 
  list, 
  and 
  has 
  required 
  several 
  minor 
  

   revisions 
  as 
  further 
  information 
  was 
  obtained 
  regarding 
  the 
  possibility 
  

   of 
  reprinting 
  or 
  otherwise 
  securing 
  a 
  supply 
  of 
  certain 
  books. 
  The 
  

   Committee 
  is 
  indebted 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Bowerman 
  and 
  the 
  Library 
  staff, 
  as 
  

   well 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  American 
  Library 
  Association, 
  for 
  handling 
  the 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  volume 
  of 
  correspondence 
  necessary 
  in 
  obtaining 
  up-to-date 
  

   information 
  on 
  availability, 
  editions, 
  paging, 
  and 
  prices. 
  

  

  THE 
  IDEAL 
  POPULAR 
  SCIENCE 
  LIST 
  

  

  The 
  Committee 
  recognizes 
  that 
  in 
  giving 
  opinions 
  on 
  the 
  readability 
  

   of 
  scientific 
  books 
  it 
  is 
  going 
  outside 
  its 
  proper 
  province. 
  Its 
  true 
  

   function 
  should 
  be 
  to 
  pass 
  judgment 
  on 
  the 
  reliability 
  of 
  the 
  books. 
  

   Their 
  readability 
  can 
  be 
  determined 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  reader, 
  and 
  the 
  

   ultimate 
  choice 
  of 
  such 
  a 
  list 
  lies 
  with 
  him. 
  The 
  logical 
  procedure 
  

   would 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  to 
  take 
  several 
  hundred 
  scientific 
  books 
  which 
  are 
  

   known 
  to 
  be 
  popular 
  simply 
  because 
  they 
  are 
  good 
  reading, 
  and 
  

   select 
  from 
  among 
  them 
  the 
  one 
  hundred 
  which 
  are 
  the 
  most 
  reliable 
  

   scientifically. 
  Unfortunately, 
  the 
  data 
  for 
  such 
  a 
  preliminary 
  listing 
  

   do 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  exist. 
  Perhaps 
  the 
  data 
  are 
  practically 
  unobtainable, 
  

   because 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  and 
  unknown 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  ways, 
  in- 
  

   tentional 
  or 
  accidental, 
  by 
  which 
  books 
  are 
  advertised. 
  But 
  this 
  

   whole 
  question 
  of 
  how 
  books 
  become 
  popular 
  is 
  a 
  problem 
  outside 
  

   the 
  province 
  of 
  the 
  Committee. 
  

  

  The 
  Committee 
  has 
  done 
  its 
  best 
  to 
  select 
  one 
  hundred 
  books 
  

   which 
  it 
  feels 
  fairly 
  sure 
  are 
  scientifically 
  reliable, 
  and 
  which 
  it 
  believes 
  

   to 
  be 
  readable. 
  The 
  list 
  is 
  subject 
  to 
  revision, 
  and 
  indeed 
  should 
  be 
  

   revised 
  frequently 
  to 
  keep 
  up 
  with 
  the 
  progress 
  of 
  science 
  and 
  the 
  

   publication 
  of 
  books 
  better 
  adapted 
  to 
  the 
  purpose. 
  The 
  Committee 
  

   will 
  welcome 
  opinions 
  and 
  suggestions 
  looking 
  toward 
  a 
  revision 
  after 
  

   a 
  year 
  or 
  two 
  of 
  trial 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  list. 
  

  

  In 
  general, 
  it 
  need 
  hardly 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  even 
  a 
  tried 
  and 
  tested 
  list 
  

   can 
  never 
  be 
  completely 
  satisfactory, 
  for 
  the 
  simple 
  reason 
  that 
  

   there 
  is 
  no 
  such 
  person 
  as 
  the 
  "average 
  reader." 
  Every 
  individual 
  

   has 
  his 
  own 
  foundation 
  of 
  natural 
  capacity 
  and 
  education, 
  and 
  his 
  

   own 
  background 
  of 
  experience 
  and 
  interests. 
  We 
  therefore 
  need 
  one 
  

   series 
  of 
  lists 
  covering 
  all 
  types 
  of 
  capacity, 
  another 
  series 
  differentiated 
  

   according 
  to 
  kind 
  and 
  duration 
  of 
  education, 
  another 
  series 
  distributed 
  

   according 
  to 
  age 
  and 
  to 
  variety 
  of 
  experience, 
  and 
  still 
  another 
  adapted 
  

   to 
  the 
  varied 
  types 
  of 
  man's 
  interests. 
  Provided 
  with 
  such 
  a 
  set 
  of 
  

  

  