Occasionally, when a group of people get together enjoying one another's company, someone will bring up the old hypothetical situation of a lone castaway stranded on a desert island. The island is “friendly,” in the sense that it possesses a mild equitable climate and a plentiful supply of easily obtained food. Since the island is far from all sea lanes and air routes, the stranded individual knows he will remain there alone, unrescued, for a considerable time, perhaps years. Now if this individual can wish to have any book he desires washed ashore in a waterproof container, what book should he choose to help him while away his long lonely stay on the island?

Various answers have been given to the above question. At one gathering, an admirer of Elizabethan drama voted for a book containing the complete works of William Shakespeare; a good deal of time could be spent in a leisurely way enjoying the great masterpieces of this writer. A theologically inclined individual voted for an unexpurgated copy of the Christian Bible; he would have an opportunity to study this important work verse by verse. An armchair traveler voted for a complete atlas of the world; during his stay on the island this book would enable him to visit, in his imagination, every corner of the earth. There were a number of other worthy selections.

But to my mind there is a book that, for the purpose under consideration, vastly surpasses all other choices.