Books: Landmarks

FIVE CITIES—George R. Leighton— Harper ($3.50).

What are the landmarks of America? Guidebooks and histories point to battlefields and the birthplaces of celebrities. But plain citizens who know their own towns know landmarks with less elevated associations: skyscrapers, banks, the saloon where the town boss held office, the hotel where politicians made their deals, the street corner where some brilliant newcomer was shot—the miscellaneous, nondescript, undistinguished scenes of local history which old-timers recognize and visitors pass without seeing.

The task of George Ross Leighton in Five Cities is to restore the old landmarks...