The narrative ranges from 1895,
when he was seven years old and was given his first violin, to the period just
before the present war. There are triumphs here, of course, the author being
who he is; for instance, the examination before the Bologna Conservatory, at
the age of fourteen. Mr. Spalding passed it with 48 points out of a possible
50. Only one other candidate so young had ever done comparably well. That had
been 133 years ago, and his name was W. A. Mozart. But this is no mere record
of successes, encores, and adulation. It is rather the life story of a wise and
cultivated man.
This special edition of RISE TO
FOLLOW has been made available to the Armed Forces of the United States through
an arrangement with the original publisher, Henry Holt and Company, New York.
Editions for the Armed Services,
Inc., a non-profit organization established by the Council on Books in Wartime