A Certain Climate

These eloquent essays cover a variety of subjects: the writing of history; the colorful regional characteristics of early Americans and how these qualities have given way to a cultural sameness imposed by mass-communications technology; the lives of six men and women whose accomplishments the author admires; the unity between all fields of artistic expression; and ``the climate of books''a tribute to those who write books and to the libraries that preserve them. Horgan, whose many books (17 novels, four volumes of short stories and 20 works of history and other nonfiction) attest to his own dedication to learning and artistic achievement, pays homage to all forms of art but especially the art of literature. His passages on the value of books, which embody humanity's highest aspirations, are particularly meaningful in an age when television and advertising threaten to reduce culture to ``a certain commonality of attitude, taste and character.'' (June)