“There is no question of the author’s sincerity, and if but as a narrative of personal faith, the book possesses both charm and force.” H. B. Alexander.
“Mr. Woodberry has possibly read into the poets, ancient and modern, more than they intended to say. In dealing with the four ... he shows his finely critical sense, although some of his dicta are open to disagreement.” Edward Fuller.
“The high note of idealism thus sounded at the outset is maintained to the last.”
“Our author’s thought is less convincing in the retrospect than in the reading. It is clear that his choice of typical literature has been very strictly selective, and (though there is much admirable criticism by the way) poetically rather than critically selective. No writer in recent years has presented the cause of the Platonist with greater eloquence and devotion, or has made a more telling synthesis of old poetry and new science.”
“When Prof. Woodberry leaves the field of theory, or, rather, when he imports into that field specific appreciation and criticism, he is often extremely instructive, and what is more important if he will pardon us for saying so, he is stimulating, satisfying, and quite delightful. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the sincerity, the pure-mindedness, the whole-hearted love of the best that shine in Prof. Woodberry’s pages.” E. C.
“The philosophy of these lectures—a product of the author’s studies in comparative literature—is profound, and in one aspect, despairing, since it is vitally and essentially sacrificial, and the very death-warrant to all personal egoism.”
Woodhull, Alfred Alexander.Personal hygiene; designed for undergraduates. *$1. Wiley.
This treatise “embodies in the first place a short but practical and sufficient account of the anatomy and physiology of the different organs and functions of the body, and then considers one by one, the reasons that should guide us in exercise, in food, in bathing, in our choice of clothing, and in reference to stimulants and narcotics.”—Nation.
“On the whole, the book is admirable.”
“We think that its wide circulation would be a good thing for all concerned.”
Woodruff, Anna Helena.Pond in the marshy meadow. $1.50. Saalfield.
A book to open the eyes of children. An “ordinary pond in an ordinary field, belonging to an ordinary farmer” furnishes the objects for lessons of observation and the author is guide and teacher.
“A book with plenty of entertainment in it and considerable instruction put so pleasantly as to be entertaining too.”
“Has the indefinable touch which will commend it to the minds of children, but the little folks to whom it is dedicated will have to share their pleasure with every one who can remember brooks and pasture-lands, and all the sweet, lazy experiences of childhood in the country.”
Woods, David Walker, jr.John Witherspoon. **$1.50. Revell.
The great-grandson of John Witherspoon has written the first story of that able Scotsman, Presbyterian and American ever published, in which is given a full account of the part he played in the struggle for popular rights in the Church of Scotland, his administration as president of Princeton college, his work in the organization of the American Presbyterian church, and as an active man in the conduct of the revolution and a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
“A biography which will appeal to Princeton men and to students of church history, as well as to those interested in the Revolutionary period of our national life.”
“Dr. Witherspoon’s career does not lend itself to lively narrative, and Mr. Woods is a dull biographer at best.”
Woods, Frederick Adams.Mental and moral heredity in royalty: a statistical study in history and psychology. **$3. Holt.
A scientific inquiry into the characteristics of royalty based upon a large and well chosen bibliography to which detailed references are given. The study of 832 characters forms the main body of the work, altho 3,312 distinct persons are mentioned. The members of the ruling families of England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Italy, Russia, Denmark, and Sweden are considered, each individual being graded mentally and morally according to a standard of 1 to 10, the period covered extending in general back to the 16th century. The object of the work is to give a fair estimate of the mental and moral status of royalty as compared with the world in general, and to throw light upon the old question of relative importance of environment and heredity. 104 portraits illustrate the text.
“The author has done his work with skill and good judgment and his book will be specially profitable for reproof and instruction to political doctrinaires of every school.”
“In arrangement and presentation the author has been very successful.”
Reviewed by E. T. Brewster.
“It would be easy to show the flaws in his system by which such extreme conclusions as his would be weakened.”
“Dr. Woods rarely goes much beyond the statistical warrant of his evidence, and has at all events presented his case more strongly and more judicially, as well as scientifically, than any other contribution to this particular problem.”
“There will be certain objections made by specialists to both the methods of measurement and the inferences of Dr. Woods. But every one should admire his zeal and fairmindedness and appreciate the importance of the investigation.”
“The choice of materials is singularly fortunate, and the method of treatment as far as possible fair and impersonal.”
“The book would be the better for a good index.” I.
“The volume is well planned and well worked out.”
“Is a work of the first class in its department of research.”
“Dr. Woods’s work is an important contribution to psychology and a most admirable lesson to show that history may become a natural science.” Edward L. Thorndike.
“Dr. Woods cannot be said to have produced a very readable book. The pageant of Regality is lost in mathematical formulae, in ‘grading by intellect’, and ‘in grading by virtue.’”
Woods, Margaret Louisa.King’s revoke: an episode in the life of Patrick Dillon. †$1.50. Dutton.
“Patrick Dillon, Irishman as he was, served the King of Spain de jure during the usurpation of Joseph Bonaparte. Dillon, in combination with others and with the co-operation of England, designed to rescue Ferdinand VII. from his prison in Valencay, and this is the story of their failure. They failed because of the incredible cowardice of the King, who to curry favor with Napoleon, denounced his own partisans.... The story abounds with episode, and is a very taking piece of intrigue and adventure.”—Ath.
“Mrs. Woods has evidently taken the greatest pains to draw a true picture of Ferdinand, the last of those old-world Spanish monarchs.”
“It is, for all that, a sound, painstaking piece of work, deserving of high praise.”
“We expect work of very high character from Mrs. Margaret Woods, and ‘The king’s revoke’ does not disappoint us.” Wm. M. Payne.
“If the narrative paragraphs move ponderously, honorable amends are made in the ingenious conversation.”
“She has written a well-considered, carefully wrought novel, but alas, it is undeniably heavy, and among its many good features intrudes the unalluring one of skipability.”
“The theme strikes us as of too rough-and-tumble a character for Mrs. Woods’ delicate talent. The workmanship is skilful, but smugglers, brigands, and the like are a little beyond her control, though the several women of the drama are excellent. As a novel of incident, ‘The king’s revoke’ falls below ‘Sons of the sword.’”
“In spite, therefore, of sundry misprints and a frequently faulty punctuation, the book is a delight to read for the charm of its characterisation, for its fine historic sense of the glory and weakness of Spain, and for a genuine distinction of style unsurpassed by contemporary writers of this class of fiction.”
Woolsey, Sarah Chauncey (Susan Coolidge, pseud.).Last verses; with an introd. by her sister, Mrs. Daniel C. Gilman. *$1. Little.
Mrs. Gilman has collected her sister’s poems which had not appeared in book form and has added some hitherto unpublished in magazines, prefacing the volume with a short sketch of Susan Coolidge’s life and literary work. It is uniform with “Verses” and “More Verses” by the same author.
“The easily-won, temperamental optimism, the gentle if somewhat thin piety, which marked the poetic work of Susan Coolidge and won many readers, is the most notable trait in her ‘Last verses.’”
Woolsey, Sarah Chauncey (Susan Coolidge, pseud.).Sheaf of stories; il. by J. W. F. Kennedy. †$1.25. Little.
The author who delighted the children of the past generation with her “What Katy did,” “What Katy did at school” and other stories, offers here twelve sketches of child character which teach happy, wholesome, livable lessons.
“Full of the habitual good sense and good English of that lamented writer.”
Woolson, Grace A.Ferns and how to grow them. **$1. Doubleday.
The second volume in the “Garden Library.” It is a practical cultural guide to fern-growing with a definite botanical atmosphere.
“The volume is practical without being dull.” Mabel Osgood Wright.
Wordsworth, William.Literary criticism; ed. with an introd. by Nowell C. Smith. *90c. Oxford.
A volume which “contains all of his prose writings of a critical nature, his prefaces, his essays upon epitaphs, certain familiar letters touching on literary matters, and his ‘opinions expressed in conversation with his nephew and biographer.’” (Nation.)
“Admirably lucid introduction.”
“The selections are interesting, as showing a subtlety as well as a shrewdness of critical faculty. Read consecutively, they convey a peculiar impression of independence, fresh air, and wholesomeness.”
“Of the two dozen pieces of which the volume is made up there is not one that is not worth reading by interested students of thesubject, which, in various phases, is always essentially the same—that of literary and specifically of poetical criticism, and no other readers are likely to be attracted by the volume.” Montgomery Schuyler.
“Mr. Nowell Smith has collected from the prefaces and appendices to Wordsworth’s poems a good deal of interesting critical matter.”
Wordsworth, William.Poems and extracts; chosen by W. Wordsworth for an album presented to Lady Mary Lowther. Christmas, 1819; printed literally from the original album with facsimiles. *90c. Oxford.
The contributors to this album are Anne, Countess of Winchelsea, and about twenty-three other poets ranging from Webster to William Mickle, and from Shakespeare to Lætitia Pilkington.
“Lovers of Wordsworth all the world over must be grateful to Mr. John Rogers Rees for his generosity in sharing with them this long-hidden treasure, and to Prof. Littledale for enriching the gift with his scholarly introduction and accurate notes.”
“Diverse as the sources are, the poems are homogeneous in a certain intensity of moral inspiration: and in their choice and arrangement a very sensitive taste is displayed.”
Reviewed by Montgomery Schuyler.
Wright, Carroll Davidson.Battles of labor: being the William Levi Bull lectures for the year 1906. **$1. Jacobs.
Four lectures which show that industrial, social and political problems can be met only with a new application of religion, a new political economy “which looks first ‘to the care and culture of men,’” and with Drummond’s “other selfishness.” The lectures are The background, In mediæval and modern industry, Great modern battles, and How modern battles of labor are treated.
“Interesting and well worth reading.”
“The chief merit of these four lectures is that accuracy, especially in statistical presentation, which Mr. Wright always attains. But they contain nothing new either in fact or philosophy.”
“‘Battles of labor’ gives evidence, not of scientific research extended, but rather of fulness of experience, reminiscence, and common knowledge regarding labor troubles of all times.” J. C.
“The style of the book is colloquial, for reasons sufficiently indicated above, and it conveys not a little information to the credit of the recent generations which have ameliorated the condition of labor.” Edward A. Bradford.
Wright, Mabel Osgood. (Mrs. James Osborne Wright) (Barbara, pseud.).The Garden, you and I.†$1.50. Macmillan.
The reappearance of some of the most delightful members of Mrs. Wright’s gardening fraternity gives an old-friend atmosphere to her new book. The story is mainly in the form of letters. “The purpose of the correspondence is to afford opportunity for the experienced Barbara to give of her more abundant knowledge to Mary Penrose, who with her husband is having a ‘garden vacation,’ camping in an old open barn in their own grounds.... A thread of romance runs through the letters, and the same spirit of sympathy with nature that has informed the writer’s other volumes is evident in the present one. For the sake of the garden-lover who reads to learn, it should be said that there are several excellent and suggestive lists of perennials, annuals, and roses, with explanatory notes: but there is no index.” (Dial.)
“A book from Mrs. Wright’s pen is always welcome, for her really reliable information about gardens is sure to be interwoven with the thread of a story which, however slight, has both interest and charm.” Mary K. Ford.
“Somewhat is lacking of the freshness and spontaneity of Barbara’s first appearance.”
“Her book is an intensely practical one.”
“Those who read Barbara’s earlier book and perhaps wished for more specific guidance on many subjects should not fall to consult this new and attractive epitome of garden knowledge.”
“We have also quiet humor in the way of putting things, and some pleasant sketches of character.”
Wright, Mary Tappan (Mrs. John Henry Wright).Tower: a novel. †$1.50. Scribner.
In her story of the faculty side of college life, Mrs. Wright presents a “masterful president and bishop, several young professors, a few pathetically overworked and underpaid old ones with their wives, children and personal friends.” (Ind.) Eighteen years separate Silvia Langdon, the bishop’s daughter and her lover who parted without pledging of vows. Upon his return to the faculty temporarily he finds her “young and fascinating” at thirty-eight. There is a pathetic side to the renewed love-making which, however, ends triumphantly.
“There is obvious merit in ‘The tower’, but its plot is extremely slight, and lacks movement and interest.”
“In these final pages Mrs. Wright has cleared herself of the charge of being incapable of creating real human beings.” Edward Clark Marsh.
“There is plenty of clever characterization in the book, and the people are sufficiently differentiated to be interesting. They invariably talk well.”
“The author has somewhat of the insight and delicacy of touch that might have turned out a bit of Cranford-like description of the dullness and narrowness of faculty life in a small college town; but the many pages of uninteresting detail and conversation rob the book of real charm.”
“If the characters were only a little more real and the motives for their action a little more obvious, the book would be something to be reckoned with.”
Wright, Thomas.Life of Sir Richard Burton.2v. *$6.50. Putnam.
“The life of Sir Richard Burton leaves the reader in a kind of a stupor; the record is almost incredibly romantic. He was a soldier, a traveler, an explorer, a linguist, an anthropologist an ethnologist, an official. His published works extend to over a hundred volumes. Hewas a kind of amiable demon; he was a born romancer and boaster, a superstitious atheist; he thanked God that he had committed every sin in the Decalogue, and there seems to be little reason to doubt it; yet he was tender-hearted, loyal, a philanthropist, a devoted friend, a lover of liberty.... As for Mr. Thomas Wright’s book it does more credit to his industry than his literary skill. He has worked in the Boswellian manner, and has amassed a rich harvest of detail, anecdotes and gossip.”—Sat. R.
“Mr. Wright’s ideas of taste differ so widely from our own that we cannot view his work with pleasure.”
“Self-confidence and self-praise, notwithstanding, the author has turned out a creditable piece of book-making.” Percy F. Bicknell.
“He is so incredibly rude to Sir Richard and Lady Burton that one wonders why he should have concerned himself at all with persons of whom he has, in spite of intermittent adulation, so bad an opinion.”
“The most interesting and by far the best done part of the present ‘Life’ is concerned with Burton’s work as a translator.”
“Of all the five preceding books about Burton, its only real rival is that of Mr. Wilkins, which dealt with Burton only indirectly.”
“Mr. Wright has ... achieved an extremely well-balanced, candid, and fully detailed biography of Burton, just in its estimate alike of the man and his works and leaving us finally with a strong and vivid impression of that extraordinary character and a definite idea of his remarkable adventures.”
“The present biography, while everywhere interesting and certainly good, is assuredly not supremely good. The author writes well, in an easy, racy, idiomatic, and humorously allusive style, that makes the book extremely good reading.” Horatio S. Krans.
“Would be very useful to anyone who undertook to write a life of Burton; but there is no attempt at portraiture, and no artistic selection of material.”
“His manner is always that of the curiosity hunter, to whom Burton is primarily material for anecdotes.”
Wright, William Burnet.Cities of Paul: beacons of the past rekindled for the present. **$1.10. Houghton.
Reviewed by George Hodges.
“The reader may learn something from Mr. Wright, who sees many things in the books which he studies—sometimes more than there really are—and has a way of putting them forcibly.”
Wylie, Edna Edwards.Ward of the sewing-circle. †$1. Little.
“This is no book for grown-ups, who have lost the ability to get the child’s point of view, for herein lies its real charm.”
Wyllie, William Lionel.J. M. W. Turner. $3. Macmillan.
“This volume is illustrated in tint and color, with reproductions of most of Turner’s well-known paintings. The author has tried, he says, to look at Turner’s life and work from a non-literary point of view, ‘as they appear to a fellow-painter traveling, however remotely, along the same road.’”—R. of Rs.
“An artist’s history of an artist’s life and work, which is interesting and informing on every page.”
“Mr. Wyllie’s style is somewhat crude, and there may be even an occasional lapse in grammar, but he succeeds in sketching graphically the course of Turner’s artistic development.”
“Marked throughout by the insight of true sympathy. The numerous illustrations form a very practical commentary on the fascinating text.”
“The book as a whole is rambling, ill-constructed, and inconsequent.”
“However sympathetic Mr. Wyllie’s attitude, he may well envy the literary man’s style.”
Wyllie, William Lionel, and Wyllie, M. A.London to the Nore; painted and described by W. L. and M. A. Wyllie. *$6. Macmillan.
“The narrative seems to have been written for the most part ‘on the spot,’ and it is no injustice to say that it smells very little of the lamp. There is, of course, a considerable historical spice. After all the pictures are the thing.”