ost any boy or girl will find them
interesting, for they are written with care, in simple language, and not
without an engaging humor.

There are so many biographies of Washington that it is difficult to
choose among them. Perhaps the most interesting are those by Woodrow
Wilson, Horace E. Scudder, Paul Leicester Ford, and Henry Cabot
Lodge--all well-written and with an effort to give a true impression of
the man. Of the other Presidents, no better biographies exist than those
in the "American Statesmen" series, where, of course, the lives of the
principal statesmen are also to be found. Not all of them, nor, perhaps,
even most of them are worth reading by the average boy or girl. There is
no especial reason why the life of any man should be studied in detail
after he has ceased to be a factor in history. Of the Presidents,
Washington, Jefferson, Jackson and Lincoln are still vital to the life
of to-day, and of the statesmen there are a few, like Franklin,
Hamilton, Webster, Calhoun and Clay, whose influence is still felt in
our national life, but the remainder are negligible, except that you
must, of course, be familiar in a broad way with their characters and
achievements to understand your country's story.

History is the best place to learn the stories of the pioneers, soldiers
and sailors. Archer Butler Hulburt has a little book, "Pilots of the
Republic," which tells about some of the pioneers; John Fiske wrote a
short history of "The War of Independence," which will tell you all you
need know about the soldiers of the Revolution, with the exception of
Washington; and you can learn about the battles of the Civil War from
any good history of the United States. There is a series called the
"Great Commanders Series," which tells the story, in detail, of the
lives of American commanders on land and sea, but there is no reason why
you should read any of them, with the exception of Lee, Farragut, and
possibly Grant, though you will find the lives of Taylor and "Stonewall"
Jackson interesting in themselves. For the sailors, with the exception
of Farragut, Barnes's "Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors" will suffice;
though every boy will enjoy reading Maclay's "History of the American
Navy," where the story of our great sea-fights is told better than it
has ever been told before.

These books may be found in almost any public library, and on the
shelves there, too, you will probably find Elbert Hubbard's "Little
Journeys,"