Readers at our local library were not much put off by the stereotypes and shopworn ideas in Benchley's latest books. "I could not put it down," they typically remarked about Beast and White Shark. "Excellent" — Great story" — many others said. Do aesthetic standards and the qualities that make popular reading have to be diametrically opposed? Not really. Dickens was a great novelist despite his sentimentality and despite many characters that are almost caricatures.

A fruitful discussion might involve a comparison of popular writers today and how they keep their readers. Many are competent writers in their fields, those who write mystery stories, P. D. James or Ed McBain for example, or science fiction, such as Michael Crichton or Isaac Asimov. These people prove that popular writing can satisfy most literary standards and still gain a wide audience. Benchley at his best is potentially a...