THE CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE

THE PUBLISHER’S PREFATORY

All books that are really worth while may be divided into four classes: first,

books of information; second, books of inspiration; third, books of

entertainment; fourth, books of excitement. By far the most important and

practical of these classes is the first. The next in importance is the second;

while rather trivial importance attaches to the third and fourth.

THE CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE preëminently belongs to the first; but it is

also designed to be both inspiring and entertaining. In its methods of

presentation and in its editorship it typifies the modern, progressive spirit.

Behind it lies a quarter of a century of successful editorial experience in

selecting, adapting, and translating from highly technical treatises into simple,

clear, understandable language the essentials as well as important sidelights of

human knowledge. Its purpose is to answer the why, who, what, when, where,

how, of the vast majority of inquiring minds, both young and mature, and to

stimulate them to still further questionings. For it is only through this self-

questioning process of the active mind that individual progress is possible.

It is a fact of singular interest that every human being born into the world

must independently go through practically the same educative processes from

childhood to maturity. No matter how great the storehouse of the world’s past

knowledge, or how marvelous the multitude and wonder of new discoveries in

every department of human endeavor, each individual must acquire and learn

for himself the selfsame facts of nature, history, science, literature, human

culture, and everyday needs.

In the present work special effort has been made to separate essentials from

non-essentials; to distinguish human interest subjects of universal importance

from those of minor concern; to present living facts instead of dead verbiage;

and to bring the whole within the understanding of the average reader, without

regard to age, in...