Books: Lardner, U.S.A.

ROUND UP—Ring W. Lardner—Scribner's ($2.50).

This volume includes Ring Lardner's stories, old and new, testifies to his long-standing importance as a reporter of the American scene. His dramatic personae, ranging from prize-fighter to debutante, cop to jazz-writer, "just folks" to "the best people," offers more complete a panorama than Sinclair Lewis. His argot, quite as accurate as Ernest Hemingway's, is never mannerism.

Of the old stories, Champion is most powerful, most brutal and ironic. A mean Irish boy cuffs and kicks his crippled brother for a 50¢ piece, knocks down his mother...