Pge Tler

"THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Wednesday. Mo'y 21, 1975

Campus bestsellers reflect loss of idealism

WASHINGTON W) - If cam-
pas reading is any indication of
what college students are think-
ing, they are less idealistic and
-more cynical now than they
were a decade ago.
And many are reading the
same books that their parents
are, suggesting that for some,
the generation gap is narrow-
ing, if not closed.
A SURVEY of campus best-
sellers by the Chronicle of High-
er Education, a nonprofit week-
l newspaper, reflects the read-
ing tastes of students on more
than 150 campuses. -
The bestsellers of the mid-to-
late '60s were stories of heroes
and high hopes. They became
one generation's symbol of re-
bellion against an increasingly
alien adult world.
Today, educators and sociolo-
gists say that the campus best-

sellers reflect a loss of ideal-
ism, a lack of heroes and an un-
derstanding that competition is
necessary to survive.
IN THE 1960s, the campus
bestseller list included: "T h e
Prophet," by Kahlil Gibran;
"Siddartha," by Herman Hesse;
"Slaughterhouse Five," by Kurt
Vonnegut; and J. R. Tolkien's
"Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Today, some of the campus
bestsellers are: "Fear of Fly-
ing," by Erica Jong; "Jaws,"
by Peter Benchley; "The Joy
of Sex," by Alex Comfort;
"Working," by Studs Terkel;
"All the President's Men," by
Bob Woodward and Carl Bern-
stein; "The Bermuda Triangle,"
by Charles Berlitz; "Zen - and
the Art of Motorcycle Mainten-
ance," by Robert M. Persig;
and "The Ascent of Man," by
Jacob Bronowski.

David Riesman, a Harvard
sociologist, said that -the 1975
list suggests that today's st-
dents don't believe in competi-
tiveness, but they recognize that
they have to compete to survive.
RIESMAN said, "I'm speak-
ing now of affluent students in
selective colleges. Many hope
that through community medi-
cine or poverty law that they
will redeem themselves from
the self-hatred they feel as a
result of having to compete. It
goes against their values. But
by no means are they like the
students of the 1950s who did
compete without guilt."
Riesman said that such books
as "The Bermuda Triangle" or
"The Exorcist" the No. 2 cam-
pus bestseller on the Chron-
icle's 1974 list picture the world
as ruled by evil forces, out of
control of humans; and reflect

people's feelings of powerless-
ness. Two of the books on the
Chronicle's campus list are also
on the Publishers Weekly best-
seller list this week: "T h e
Bermuda Triangle" and 'The
Ascent of Man."
Riesman said that is one sign
that there is rapproachment be-
tween generations and "t h e
older generation has become
much 'more tolerant of thir
children's mores."
HERBERT WEIL, Jr., an as-
sociate professor of English at
the University of Connecticut in
Storrs, said the 1975 list is a
mixture of books that have re-
spectability and escape.
"In terms of respectability,
they reflect political, social and
cultural awareness or ambi-
tion," he said . . . "In terms of
escape, there's nothing quite as
facile as 'Love Story' campus

bestseller in 1971 or 'Jonathan
Livingston Seagull' campus best-
seller in 1973. But on the other
hand, none of the books are If-
ficult to read quickly."
WHAT A WASTE!
NEW YORK UP) - Americans
are generating waste paper at
the rate of 37 million tons a
year - and they consider dis-
posal of this vast amount of
waste paper a significant en-
vironmental problem, according
to the Recycled Paperboard Di-
vision of the American Paper
Institute.
A new national study released
by the division reveals that con-
sumers consider recycling waste
paper a more logical means of
"disposing" of it than burning
it for fuel or using it as land
fill.

We're having a Rockwell
calculator SALE
now!-today through Fri. May 23

61R Advanced Slide Rule
SALE PRICE $6500

63R Scientific Slide Rule
SALE PRICE $79.95

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U CELLAR POLICY
Rockwell Calculators carry a one-year warranty. If during this
one-year period your calculator needs servicing, we will handie
the shipping and provide you with a calculator from our rental
stock for the duration of the repair time.

STRAIGHT TALK
The University Cellar is a non-profit store controlled by the
students of the University. We are here to find you the calcula-
tor you need and want. We spend as much time telling people
not to buy calculators as we spend telling them to buy calcula-
tors. If you want some straight talk about what you need, come
to the Cellar.

in the union, 530 S. State Street open Mon. -Fri. 9-9 Sat. 10-5 Sun. 12-5