Book Review: Thirty More Famous Stories Retold

• Title: Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
• Author: James Baldwin (1841-1925) American editor and author
• Published: New York: American Book Company, 1905; Hardcover 235-pages.

“Nearly all the stories are true, and there are not more than three or four that might not have happened.  In every one there is something worth learning and remembering.”  Preface by James Baldwin

I enjoyed reading this book.  It was refreshing and nostalgic.  Didactic stories written for young readers with a moralistic bent.  Baldwin covers the breadth of history with memorable stories that will instill in the reader a sense of virtue and a passion for history.  I wish I had instilled upon my children to read more books like this and less of Goosebumps and what not.  It makes me wonder if “as long as they’re reading it’s a good thing” is not really a true statement.  What are they reading and how is it shaping them into the future man or woman they will become.  Don’t get me wrong, I think my children have turned out great, despite my lack of good judgement as a parent.

Baldwin tells us stories of Columbus, Balboa, Ponce de Leon, and Sir Francis Drake.  Little anecdotes that make you sit and think.  Very familiar stories such as Archimedes running through the streets shouting “Eureka!” and Isaac Newton’s falling apple.  We have mystery with the man in the iron mask.  Classical Greek and Roman stories of the Trojan horse, Romulus and Remus, Croesus, Hannibal, and Julius Caesar.  Touching, moving stories such as Dr. Samuel Johnson doing penance at his father’s book stall in Lichfield, to Daniel Webster’s ardent plea to let the woodchuck go!  The legendary tale of Frederick Barbarossa and the tale of Peter Klaus are less likely to be known.  Although the latter appears to have been an inspiration for Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle.

One of the tales that I want to share is John Gutenberg and the Voices.  The story takes place as Gutenberg is working late on his printing press finishing up some of the last folios of the Bible.  He suddenly hears voices.  “Let him go on with the work he has begun.  Books will be plentiful and cheap.  The poorest man can buy them.  Every child will learn to read.  The words of the wise and the good will be printed on thousands of sheets and carried all over the world.  They will be read in every household. The age of ignorance will be at an end.  Men will learn to think and know and act for themselves.  They will no longer be the slaves of kings.  And the name of John Gutenberg, inventor of printing, will be remembered to the end of time.”  After this gentle, sweet, encouraging voice speaks, he hears another voice that is stern, and speaks warningly, “Let John Gutenberg beware of what he is doing.  His invention will prove to be a curse rather than a blessing.  It is true that books will be plentiful and cheap, but they will not be all good books.  The words of the vulgar and the vile will also be printed. They will be carried into millions of households to poison the minds of children and to make men and women doubt the truth and despise virtue.  Let John Gutenberg beware lest he be remembered as one who brought evil into the world rather than good.”  John is very distressed at this thought and determines to destroy his press. As he raises up his hammer a third voice persuades him to, “Think still again, and do not act rashly.  The best of God’s gifts may be abused, and yet they are all good.  The art of printing will enlighten the world.  Its power for blessing mankind will be a thousand times greater than its power to do harm.  Hold your hand, John Gutenberg, and remember that you are helping to make men better and not worse.”  He drops the hammer and rubs his eyes and wonders if he had been dreaming.

We are a long way from the Gutenberg press.  We have the internet, massive libraries, and the opportunity to read more than could be read in several lifetimes.  But is it good?  Are we promoting the right ideas?  Baldwin promoted the good, and the virtuous.  I believe in those things, I also believe we should have the freedom to pursue them.  The conundrum that the voices presented to Gutenberg is still valid today.  Let us all do our part to ensure that the good is a thousand times greater than the harm lest we end up doubting the truth and despising virtue.