| + | Engin. N. 53: 181. F. 16, ‘05. 230w. | |
| + + | Reader. 5: 258. Ja. ‘05. 570w. |
“There is a good deal of character drawing in the book that is at once delicate and strong, and the story of how Francis Hart did not inherit the millions he hoped for, took up the common lot of toil, and what came of it, is among the best in recent fiction.”
| + + | R. of Rs. 31: 118. Ja. ‘05. 110w. |
Herrick, Robert. [Memoirs of an American citizen.] [†]$1.50. Macmillan.
A country boy, tired of his lot runs away to Chicago to make his fortune. His autobiography follows with an unusually strong personal note even for a self-told tale of the career which starts with service as a grocery wagon driver and reaches the ranks of the Chicago capitalist. The way is made by “turning Texas steers into dressed beef and Iowa hogs into leaf lard and sausage,” which would seem honorable enough did not analysis of his methods of operation reveal a dulled sense of moral obligation to people at large, the city, and any competing organization.
“No more absolute unswerving merger of the author in the character of his hero, of his self-effacement in the interest of good art, could ever be conceived of.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
| + + + | Bookm. 22: 132. O. ‘05. 970w. |
“Professor Herrick does not appear to have a powerful imagination, and his literalness, and even his unusual power of penetration, do not in themselves suffice to carry a story otherwise deficient.”
| + — | Critic. 47: 476. N. ‘05. 170w. |
“The story seems to be rooted in bitter cynicism and to embody the very philosophy of despair.” Wm. M. Payne.