Books: Al Smith

ALFRED E. SMITH—Henry F. Pringle—Macy-Masius ($3). “Al Smith’s face is always reddish. In the heat of a vehement address it becomes crimson. He sweats … he is all that could be desired of a Governor, even by the most correct of critics. . . . His tailoring is immaculate, there is about him just a trace of his trucking days. … He is discordant, often awkward, lacking in versatility. . . . Tremendously effective. . . .” It is difficult, in writing the biography of a living statesman, to indicate his character without becoming technically libelous. This difficulty Author Pringle has met rather than avoided. The man who heard Trinity Bells calling him to be four times Governor of New York was no Eastside toughy, as many have supposed; he owes much of his success to his archenemy, William Randolph Hearst; a Jewish woman is one of his most potent advisers.