“A mildly interesting story by a precocious child of twelve who with her brother manages the affairs of family and friends in a little southern town. ... Of course there is a sentimental interest. A good example of its type.”
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
“Another of the type of stories to which ‘Little women’ and ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm’ belong.”
“A good story about decent, lovable human beings told with directness and simplicity.”
“We are pretty close to village melodrama. But there are characterization and true color and sincere feeling in the book.” H. W. Boynton
“The telling is simple; but after it is all over you wonder why the book should have been written at all. It is a weak novel of the ‘old South’ type.” C. W.
“The atmosphere of the story is fresh and delightful.”
“Very real folk and a charming setting—a little Alabama farming community—make this a pleasing story.”
BILLINGS, MARIS WARRINGTON, pseud. (EDITH S. BILLINGS).Cleomenes.*$1.40 (1½c) Lane 17-13922
“The central figure is Cleomenes, the great sculptor, who is commissioned by the emperor to make a statue symbolizing maidenhood. This piece of art is known in the present as the famous ‘Medici Venus.’ In his search for a beautiful, virtuous maiden to serve as model, Cleomenes chooses a young Greek slave girl, and sets to work in the atmosphere of danger and intrigue of Nero’s court. The story, which involves the sculptor, the model and the emperor as its principal actors, unfolds during the progress of the work on the statue.”—Springf’d Republican
“The characters, many of them historical, follow generally historical tradition. The chief exception is that of Octavia, the young wife of Nero.”
“The author deserves praise for the care with which the background of imperial Rome has been prepared and set forth.”
“The tale is not distinguished either as to style or character drawing, but the author makes telling use of fact and legend to make a narrative of suspense and thrilling incident, the action of which never lags.”
BINDLOSS, HAROLD.Brandon of the engineers(Eng title, His one talent). il*$1.35 (1c) Stokes 16-24202
Altho the scene of this story is Central America, its plot is concerned with international affairs. Dick Brandon, who had been dismissed from the Royal engineers after losing valuable papers that were in his possession, is engaged in engineering work in one of the Central American states. Here he unexpectedly meets Clare Kenwardine and her father, who are associated in his mind with his disgrace, for it had been after an evening spent at their house that the loss of the papers was discovered. Kenwardine’s presence in the country is not explained, but it later develops that he is, and has all the time been, a spy. This disclosure however does not permanently affect Brandon’s relations with Clare.
“The author’s hand too obviously moves his puppets about; circumstances do not occur as the result of character, but at the very apparent wish of the author.”
“Interesting but not important.”
“Like most of Mr Bindloss’s books, this one is neatly manufactured, but Brandon is less likeable than are the majority of his heroes.”
“Not better than the author’s other stories, but of a different type.”
BINDLOSS, HAROLD.Carmen’s messenger.il*$1.35 Stokes 17-13719
Carmen is the “belle” of a Canadian lumber town and her messenger is a young Englishman going home to visit the parents of his partner. Just before he leaves a man commits suicide—or is murder committed?—and a safe is robbed. At this time too he learns for the first time that his partner is subject to blackmail owing to wrongdoing in his youth. Carmen’s message is a package to be personally delivered in Great Britain. The outwitting of blackmailers and evil-doers takes place both on the Scottish border and in Canada and local color is added to the interest of events.
“A well-written tale of adventure, but the complications are rather too numerous and too subtle.”
“Not a remarkable piece of work in any particular, but it is a capital story of adventure told in a forthright manner, which insures the reader’s attention.”
BING, PHIL CARLETON.[2]Country weekly.*$2 Appleton 070 18-291
A manual for the rural journalist and for students of the country field. “The purpose of this book is to open the whole subject of the problems and possibilities of the country field. It is written to show the journalistic neophyte that there are chances in the country field which are worth while from every point of view. It is written, too, to suggest plans and possibilities to men who are already in the field; to encourage a vigorous effort among country editors to do their utmost to make country journalism a bigger, more vital thing than it has heretofore been.” (Preface) Contents: The country weekly and its problems; Local news; County correspondence; Agricultural news; The editor; The editorial page; Make-up of the country weekly; Copy-reading and headline writing; Circulation problems; Advertising in the country weekly; Cost finding for the country weekly.
“Notwithstanding Professor Bing’s disclaimer that he presents this book as an authoritative, definitive guide, every editor and journalistic neophyte who absorbs the feast of good things provided under its many subjects will be in a fair way to make a success in his profession. In his chapters on the editor and the editorial page Professor Bing devotesseveral pages to an elaboration of some capital suggestions which might be adopted to their ultimate profit by city editors.”
BINYON, LAURENCE.The cause.*$1 Houghton 811 17-9484
A volume of poems on the war, with such titles as: The fourth of August, Ode for September, To women, The bereaved, To the Belgians, Louvain, Orphans of Flanders, To Goethe, At Rheims, Gallipoli, The healers, Edith Cavell, The zeppelin, Men of Verdun, etc.
“Reprints some of the poems which appeared in ‘The winnowing fan.’”
“This spirit of exaltation, of glory in the fact that England has chosen the heroic part, is the strongest emotional utterance throughout the book. It is the book’s strength and its weakness. He approaches the whole subject in the guise of the idealist, and while he admits the presence of pain and death, he counts them little beside the white heights of patriotism. This attitude is apparently instinctive, but it makes evident a certain limitation, for one must recognize the depths of human passion in the sacrifice and consecration of the soldier before that sacrifice and consecration can raise him to the loftiest heights.” D. L. M.
“Laurence Binyon’s poetry once was somewhat coldly ‘literary’—aloof from common human experience. But the war has given him new vigor and new humanity.”
“Laurence Binyon’s vigorous war poems have great spiritual strength and imaginative richness. ‘Thunder on the downs’ has scarcely been equaled by any poet save Masefield since 1914, and ‘Fetching the wounded’ fixes a picture every eye-witness of the war must remember. It is quite the best work Mr Binyon has done.”
BIRD, CHARLES SUMNER, jr.Town planning for small communities. (National municipal league ser.) il*$2 (2c) Appleton 710 17-11219
A volume prepared by the chairman of the Walpole town planning committee and based on the experience of Walpole, Massachusetts. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 consists of a general discussion of town planning with chapters on The why of town planning, Ways and means, Streets and roads and physical problems, Parks and playgrounds, Outdoor recreation, Public health, etc. Parts 2 and 3 are devoted specifically to Walpole’s experience. Bibliographies are added to the chapters of part 1. Mr Clinton Rogers Woodruff, general editor of the National municipal league series, says that the book affords an admirable complement to John Nolen’s volume on “City planning” published earlier in the series.
“The appropriateness, interest and novelty of his experiment justify the book in spite of some deficiencies in execution. These include a lack of proportion—the choice of illustrations—nearly always local and sometimes even personal; and the all pervading discussion of Walpole. These, it must be confessed, are faults natural to that town viewpoint which is the first requisite for a book of this kind.” C: M. Robinson
“The inclusion of this practical matter renders the book all the more useful as a guide to other communities seeking to rebuild themselves in a scientific and economical manner.”
“The illustrations are effective and interesting.”
“The spirit animating the book is that of a broad, fraternal liberalism which is entitled to be regarded as progressive in the best sense. ... The foreword is a vigorous protest against the evils of individualism, especially as found in the manufacturing classes and as embodied in the industrial village.”
BIRDSALL, RALPH.Story of Cooperstown.il $1.50 M. F. Augur, Cooperstown, N.Y. 974.7 17-18707
Mr Birdsall is the rector of Christ church, Cooperstown, where Cooper worshipped and within whose grounds he was buried. A circumstantial account is given of Cooper’s life in the village, and many pages are devoted to the subject of the originals of the most famous characters in his novels. The book also gives the history of Cooperstown and its inhabitants from Indian days to the present time.
“Contains many photographic illustrations.” E. F. E.
“Books about Cooperstown there have been in some numbers, one of them by Cooper himself, which he called ‘Chronicles,’ but this and others deal with the smaller and less generally interesting facts. Mr Birdsall’s book stands quite apart from any of these. It abounds not so much in the simple annals of an old and somewhat aristocratic community, as in sketches of important men and picturesque events, that give to the book much wider value. ... The style has distinct originality and is notable for its literary quality.”
“The author has done his work well and has made as human and as interesting a book of that kind as any one could wish.”
BIZZELL, WILLIAM BENNETT.Social teachings of the Jewish prophets: a study in Biblical sociology.*$1.25 (2c) Sherman, French & co. 224 16-23121
The author says, “This volume is the outgrowth of studies begun in the University of Chicago several years ago, and since made use of in a series of lectures delivered to college students and instructors. The approach to the study of prophetic literature from the social point of view has aroused a genuine interest, but the fact that I could find no book that exactly met the requirements made the instruction somewhat difficult.” This book, based on the best works of modern scholarship, will doubtless meet the needs of others planning similar courses. The general plan is to present the life and teachings of each of the prophets against his historical background, for it is assumed that “the social message of the Jewish prophet was intended for his own times.” The author is president of the Agricultural and mechanical college of Texas.
“We are almost led to doubt whether the author knows anything about either biblical or sociological science. ... What we have here is an uncritical use of critical tools. On top of the lamentable deficiency in scientific method the book is swamped beneath a host of inexcusable errors in spelling and the like.”
“For those who wish to revalue the teachings of the Judaic prophets, this book meets a real need.”
BLACKMORE, SIMON AUGUSTINE.[2]Riddles of Hamlet and the newest answers. il*$2 Stratford co. 822.3 18-2484
The only apologia a writer needs for the appearance of a new interpretation of Hamlet is that the interest inherent in the tragedy isperennial. Hamlet is examined in this study not only as a drama, but as an ethical treatise in which the characters and the problems in the play are shown in their relation to Shakespeare’s religious and social affiliations. The first part is preliminary and deals with such questions as the invalidity of Gertrude’s marriage, Hamlet’s right to the crown, his feigned madness, his commonly alleged vacillation and defective power of will, his character, his religion and philosophy. The second part is the commentary proper. It takes up the drama, scene by scene, analyzing the thought and purpose and Shakespeare’s pertinent allusions. An appendix contains a “Note on the doctrine of repentance and justification in relation to the conflict of the king at prayer.”
BLACKWOOD, ALGERNON.Day and night stories.*$1.50 Dutton 17-21793
“These fifteen stories are of varying length, and in each of them is some phase of that form of mysticism which Mr Blackwood has made the basis of all his fiction. Their mystic quality is, however, as variable as their length. ... Now and then they touch the mythology and the religions of bygone ages; now and then they are wholly of the immediate hour.” (Boston Transcript) Contents: The tryst; The touch of Pan; The wings of Horus; Initiation; A desert episode; The other wing; The occupant of the room; Cain’s atonement; An Egyptian hornet; By water; H. S. H.; A bit of wood; A victim of higher space; Transition; The tradition.
“It is probably coincidence that the title of this book has already been used for two volumes of more or less creepy stories by Mr T. R. Sullivan, published in the early nineties. Mr Blackwood’s fancies are to my mind more effective in these brief sketches than in the long-drawn narratives of ‘Julius Le Vallon’ and ‘The wave.’” H. W. Boynton
“Especially notable in this collection are two stories entitled, ‘The occupant of the room’ and ‘By water.’” E. F. E.
“The present volume is not one that can be regarded with very warm hopes for the author’s permanence in literature. Certainly such a tale as ‘The touch of Pan’ is not worthy of a place in any volume.”
“Mr Blackwood is undeniably a master of style—one not only rich and wonderful in itself, but also admirably adapted to his bizarre stories.”
“The ‘Stories’ have the author’s usual unusualness. No one else could write with the restrained art which always seems about to lift the curtain between man and the unseen, yet always leaves us with a sense of mystery and of Isis faintly guessed at thru many veils.”
“No one of these stories equals the half dozen tales, scattered through different volumes, which represent the high-water mark of Mr Blackwood’s production. ... That reincarnation theory, which forms the cornerstone of so much of Mr Blackwood’s fiction, is the main theme of ‘Cain’s atonement’—a story of the present war. ... Two of the most characteristic stories in the volume are ‘Initiation’ and ‘H. S. H.,’ both tales of the mountain solitudes.”
“We have often commented on the imaginative quality of Mr Blackwood’s work. These mystical tales have that quality in a pre-eminent degree. Like his former stories, they possess distinct literary value.”
“The book is seasoned with one humorous tale.”
BLACKWOOD, ALGERNON.The wave; an Egyptian aftermath.*$1.50 (1c) Dutton 16-24201
From childhood he had been haunted by a wave. It rose behind him, advanced, curled over from the crest, but did not fall. Sometimes it came as a waking obsession, sometimes as a dream. His father, a learned psychologist with inclinations toward Freud, tries to explain it, but the Freudian hypothesis is inadequate. Associated with the wave, is a strange perfume, identified afterwards as Egyptian. The recurring experience follows him into manhood, affecting his life and his relations to men and women. Certain persons are borne to him on the crest of the wave, as it were. These always become of significance in his life. Of them are Lettice Aylmer and his cousin Tony. Later in Egypt, these three act out a drama which seems to be a repetition of something they have experienced before. It is here that Tom Kelverdon’s wave rises to its full height and breaks, but it does not overwhelm him.
“On the whole, Mr Blackwood maintains, though he does not strengthen, our good opinion of his imaginativeness and power of evoking the beautiful.”
“Mr Blackwood knows how to give these stories of reincarnation an effect beyond mere creepiness. But his method is so leisurely that he is often ‘slow,’ in the sense of dull and long-drawn-out; and his manner is formal and ponderous and unleavened by humour: common frailties of philosophical romance.” H. W. Boynton
“Never before has Mr Blackwood written a novel that comes so close to the real things of life as ‘The wave,’ It touches persistently upon the supernatural, but its visions are wholly subjective.” E. F. E.
“One’s strongest impression on closing this book is that of beauty—beauty alike of style and of spirit. The glory of words, the grandeur that was Egypt, the splendor of a brave and loving human soul—these are the very substance of this fascinating volume.”
“A strange and unusual book, full of insight and imagination. It is the work of a very delicate literary craftsman, who is a past master in the art of elusive suggestion.”
“With the characteristic Blackwood mystery to help, the book is rich in excitement and experience.”
BLAISDELL, ALBERT FRANKLIN, and BALL, FRANCIS KINGSLEY.American history for little folks. il*75c (2c) Little 973 17-25786
This book, adapted for use in the third school grade, is intended as an introduction to “The American history story-book” and other more advanced works by the authors. The aim has been to choose some of the more dramatic and picturesque events and to relate them in a simple and easy style. A partial list of contents follows: Columbus, the sailor; The sea of darkness; The hero of Virginia; Seeking a new home; Captain Miles Standish; Dark days in New England; The Dutch in New York; William Penn, the Quaker; A famous tea party; Polly Daggett saves the flagpole; Peggy White calls on Lord Cornwallis.
Reviewed by J: Walcott
BLANCHARD, RALPH HARRUB.Liability and compensation insurance. il*$2 Appleton 331.82 17-24252
A textbook which presents the results of the workmen’s compensation movement in the United States in terms of legislative and insurancepractice, and explains the industrial accident problem and the development of liability and compensation principles as a background for the comprehension of present problems. The book is divided into three parts: Industrial accidents and their prevention; Employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation; Employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation insurance.
“Mr Blanchard covers the entire field in a very fair way, though it is evident that he does so in the professor’s study rather than from the ground of practical experience. The insurance feature is especially well covered.”
“The author deals with the state compensation acts, and the stock company, mutual and state fund methods of insuring the payment of such compensation. He concludes that, because of insufficient data, a choice among these three methods cannot be made at present. The author misses the determining factor in such a choice. This is, that the most desirable method of taking care of industrial accident losses is that which does most to prevent such losses.”
“In the presentation of the insurance problem an important and timely contribution has been made.” E. S. Gray
“It should appeal primarily to teachers and students of insurance, but it contains much information of interest to the business man and the intelligent general reader as well.”
“The subject is presented both broadly and well. The point is not shirked that the subject in some aspects is controversial. In such cases both sides are presented, as the author’s intention is to give information rather than judgment.”
“The author has to be commended for the clearness and conciseness of statement and helpful bibliographic notes. On the other hand it must, like most text-books, be dogmatic, and one fails to get the impression from reading the book how much is still controversial in the field of compensation. ... One is somewhat inclined to question the wisdom of the printing of the New York compensation law as an appendix to the book. The New York act is not as typical as a good many other acts.” I. M. Rubinow
BLAND, JOHN OTWAY PERCY.Li Hung-chang. (Makers of the nineteenth century) il*$2 (2c) Holt (Eng ed 17-26886)
Mr Bland is joint author of Backhouse and Bland’s “China under the Empress Dowager.” The introductory chapter of the present volume reviews the conditions existing in China at the outset of Li Hung-chang’s career. The author then gives a detailed account of Li’s life from childhood to his death in 1901, just after the Boxer rebellion, at the age of seventy-eight. He considers him as a Chinese official, as a diplomat, a naval and military administrator, and a statesman and politician, and concludes that Li’s chief claim to greatness lies in the fact that, at the time of the Taiping rebellion, he “grasped the vital significance of the impact of the West, and the necessity for reorganizing China’s system of government and national defences to meet it.” The biographer’s task, he tells us, has been complicated by the lack of any accurate Chinese account of Li’s career, and the untrustworthiness of Chinese official records. Moreover, the “Memoirs of the Viceroy Li Hung-chang,” published in 1913, were a “literary fraud.” The present work, therefore, is based largely upon the recorded opinions of independent and competent European observers. There is a bibliographical note of two pages, followed by a chronological table of events in Chinese history. The book is indexed.
“Mr Bland makes very clear to us the mingling elements in Li’s nature, showing how sometimes patriotism and sometimes self-interest stirred him most. ... By the time we reach Mr Bland’s final summing up of the character we realize how skilful has been his handling of the material and how vividly he has made us realize his impression of the great premier.” D. L. M.
“His treatment of his subject recalls a time when familiarity with life at the treaty ports was enough literary capital for the ordinary authority on Chinese affairs and real acquaintance with their history and ideas was left to the missionaries. ... No new material about Li has been unearthed, no advance has been made towards obtaining Chinese estimates of the man, no approach towards any but an Englishman’s point of view is attempted. ... On the other hand, it is fair to add that the book is easily read and that it portrays a rather splendid type of the oriental viceroy.”
“Excellent biography.”
“The really significant services that Li Hung Chang rendered to his race are clearly set forth in this volume by a writer who has had good opportunities to study China and the Chinese at first hand.”
“If the provision of an adequate ‘setting’ is one of the difficulties to be encountered in limning Li Hung-chang’s career, another is the paucity of record. ... Mr Bland is to be congratulated upon the comprehensive narrative which he has succeeded in compiling.”
BLATHWAYT, RAYMOND.Through life and round the world; being the story of my life. il*$3.50 Dutton 17-23043
Mr Blathwayt is a British journalist who has traveled widely and has made a specialty of the art of interviewing. Before taking up journalism, he served as a curate in Trinidad, in the East End of London, and in an English village. He believes himself to be the first to adapt the American “interview” to English manners. Among those interviewed by him are William Black, Thomas Hardy, Hall Caine, Grant Allen, William Dean Howells, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
“Illustrated from photographs and from drawings by Mortimer Menpes.” E. F. E.
“So many aspects of English life and examples of English character are included in Mr Blathwayt’s book that it forms a reminiscential commentary upon the journalistic and literary world of London during the past thirty years.” E. F. E.
“The book is a veritable gold mine for the after-dinner speaker, for it is besprinkled with quotable anecdotes.”
“His book abounds in what Mr Leacock calls ‘aristocratic anecdotes,’ platitudinous reflections, and ‘fine writing.’ His naïve confessions as a curate help to explain the spiritual deadness and professionalism of the Church of England; they might well be used as illustrative footnotes to ‘The soul of a bishop.’”
“It is very entertaining, as engaging a book of reminiscence as has been put before the public in many a day.”
“Mr Blathwayt is a born raconteur. Particularly good are his descriptions of his life as a young curate and as an almost penniless wanderer in Connecticut.”
“All his admiration of Captain Marryat and of Mrs Radcliffe has not taught him to spell their names right. He misquotes with the utmost facility. ... Here is a writer who has made livelihood and reputation by writing, yet has never mastered the elementary rules of the art. ... His book is frequently, though not constantly entertaining; but it would be much less entertaining than it is without the innocence of its author’s self-revelation.”
BLEACKLEY, HORACE WILLIAM.Life of John Wilkes. il*$5 (3½c) Lane 17-24876
This is a scholarly account, based to a great extent on original documents of the English politician, publicist and political agitator, who, “from 1764 to 1780 was the central figure not only of London but of England.” (Sat R)
“Mr Bleackley has executed his task in a scholarly and interesting manner, and his book forms an acceptable supplement to Lecky. ... The numerous illustrations are a valuable feature of the book.”
“Remarkable as the career of John Wilkes confessedly was, and undeniably interesting as this biography is, in spite of Mr Bleackley’s literary skill its final impression is not good. If, as we are told, none ‘of his contemporaries influenced more powerfully the spirit of the age,’ that spirit must have been grossly immoral to condone his immoral grossness.”
“Mr Bleackley has found a subject well suited to his talent in this profoundly interesting historical study.”
“This is one of the best biographies that have appeared for a long time. Mr Bleackley has read and rifled nearly all the memoirs, manuscripts, diaries, letters, newspapers of the period, and we have not read a more erudite and conscientious treatment of a controversial subject. ... He treats his hero with the benevolent impartiality of the scientific historian.”
“Mr Bleackley has given us a most interesting book. ... He has put before himself the task of proving that a man who wrought so much for liberty was himself a great man and a lover of the cause for which he fought. We allow that Wilkes had genius of a sort, but doubt whether he really cared two pins about the rights of constituencies, or the illegality of general warrants, or the liberty of the press. He fought for John Wilkes, and in fighting for him achieved results of wide constitutional importance.”
“The language is journalistic. ... As a picture of 17th-century England in its most corrupt and licentious phases the book has some historical value, though it is too often written in the language of gossip rather than history. ... The book has its faults—particularly its emphasis upon Wilkes’s mistresses—but the evidence is well documented. ... It is to be regretted that a career so closely connected with American independence should be treated to so great an extent as the subject of a record of private vices. ... There is much biographical and historical matter in it of genuine interest.”
“Mr Bleackley enumerates a good many of those who have included Wilkes in their historical canvases. ... An essay by Fraser Rae preceded Trevelyan’s description in his rainbow-tinted history of Charles James Fox, and later came a biography in two volumes by Percy Fitzgerald. Praise is reiterated of the excellent monograph by J. M. Rigg in the ‘Dictionary of national biography’; but so far as we see, no mention is made of by far the most judicial and philosophic account of the transactions in which Wilkes was conspicuous in Lecky’s ‘History of England in the eighteenth century.’ ... His style is a little arid, but his ripened power of research, his patience and diligence in sifting material, combine to furnish a truly notable portrait. ... The historical background shows a great advance upon any of his preceding work. ... The volume is very well finished, the references (largely to Mss.) overwhelming, the illustrations well-chosen, the errata scrupulous, the index complete.”
BLUMENTHAL, DANIEL.[2]Alsace-Lorraine.map*75c (7c) Putnam 943.4
“A study of the relations of the two provinces to France and to Germany and a presentation of the just claims of their people.” The author, an Alsatian by birth, has been deputy from Strasbourg in the Reichstag, senator from Alsace-Lorraine, and mayor of the city of Colmar. The book has an introduction by Douglas Wilson Johnson of Columbia university, who says, “The problem of Alsace-Lorraine is in a very real sense an American problem.”
“There is no more moving recent plea for the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine than this little volume.”
BLUNDELL, MARY E. (SWEETMAN) (MRS FRANCIS BLUNDELL) (M. E. FRANCIS, pseud.).Dark Rosaleen.*$1.35 (1c) Kenedy A17-1416
A story of modern Ireland. In a study of the relationship between two families, the author gives an epitome of the situation that exists in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. Hector McTavish’s father is a fanatical Scotch Presbyterian, but since he grows up in a Catholic community, Hector makes friends with the children of that church. Patsy Burke is his dearest playmate and Honor Burke is to him a foster mother. Fearing these influences, the father takes the boy away and, when he returns thirteen years later, it is to find Patsy an ordained priest and Patsy’s little sister, Norah, grown into sweet womanhood. The love between Hector and Norah, their marriage and the birth of their child leads to tragedy. But, in the child, the author sees a symbol of hope for the new Ireland.
“The author has not written a thesis novel, but a touching tale of what she feels and loves.”
“There is nothing intolerant in the spirit of this very thrilling book.”
BODART, GASTON, and KELLOGG, VERNON LYMAN.Losses of life in modern wars; ed. by Harald Westergaard.*$2 Oxford 172.4 16-20885
“It is the function of the Division of economics and history of the Carnegie endowment for international peace, under the direction of Professor J. B. Clark, to promote a thorough and scientific investigation of the causes and results of war. ... The first volume resulting from these studies contains two reports upon investigations carried on in furtherance of this plan. The first, by Mr Gaston Bodart, deals with the ‘Losses of life in modern wars: Austria-Hungary, France.’ The second, by Professor Vernon L. Kellogg, is a preliminary report and discussion of ‘Military selection and race deterioration.’ ... Professor Kellogg marshals his facts to expose the dysgenic effects of war in military selection, which exposes the strongest and sturdiest young men to destruction and for the most part leaves the weaklings to perpetuate the race. He cites statistics to prove an actual measurable, physical deterioration in stature in France due apparently to military selection. ... To these dysgenic aspects of militarism the author adds the appalling racial deterioration resulting from venereal diseases.”—Dial
“The work is a candid and sane discussion of both sides of this very important aspect of militarism.”
“It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of this original and authoritative study into the actual facts of war.”
BOGARDUS, EMORY STEPHEN.Introduction to sociology. $1.50 University of Southern California press, 3474 University av., Los Angeles, Cal. 302 17-21833
The author who is professor of sociology in the University of Southern California offers this textbook as an introduction not only to sociology in its restricted sense but to the entire field of the social sciences. He presents the political and economic factors in social progress not only from a sociological point of view but in such a way that the student will want to continue along political science or economic lines. It is the aim to stimulate and to direct social interest to law, politics and business. He discusses the population basis of social progress, the geographic, biologic and psychologic bases as well; social progress as affected by genetic, hygienic, recreative, economic, political, ethical, esthetic, intellectual, religious, and associative factors. A closing chapter surveys the scientific outlook for social progress.
“The advantage of Professor Bogardus’s method is that it brings to bear in a simple, elementary way a great mass of pertinent facts.”
“The author does not, perhaps, distinguish clearly enough between the sociological and the social points of view.” B. L.
BOGEN, BORIS D.Jewish philanthropy; an exposition of principles and methods of Jewish social service in the United States.*$2 Macmillan 360 17-15182
“The entire field of Jewish social service, both theoretic and practical, is here discussed by a man who has been engaged in it for about twenty-five years as educator, settlement head, relief agent, and now field secretary of the National conference of Jewish charities. ... The author points out that the pre-eminent Jewish contribution to social service in this country is the ‘federation idea.’ By federating their charities, the Jews succeeded in uniting communities, in raising more funds to carry on work more adequately; they have prevented duplication of effort, conserved energies and eliminated waste.” (Survey) The book has an eight-page bibliography.
“No one perhaps is better qualified to discuss with authority the subject of Jewish philanthropy than Dr Boris D. Bogen, of Cincinnati. Himself a Russian by birth and early training, he speaks concerning the immigrant with a thoroughness born of intimate and empiric knowledge, supplemented by years of accurate and exhaustive study.” A. A. Benesch
“Once in a while the author makes a sweeping statement without citing authorities. There are two serious drawbacks to the usefulness of the work. One is the constant use of Hebrew words, which are usually not translated or are mistranslated. Any future work of this character should have a glossary of such Hebrew words as part of its appendix. The other is the chapter on Standards of relief, which ought to have been the most important, received the most scant attention. But all in all, the book is a splendid piece of work.” Eli Mayer
“The book contains a great mass of information regarding various Jewish philanthropies, although no attempt is made to present statistical matter in a formal way.”
“Dr Bogen’s book is wide in scope and will be found useful as a handbook for non-Jewish as well as for Jewish social workers.” Oscar Leonard
BOIRAC, ÉMILE.Our hidden forces (“La psychologie inconnue”); an experimental study of the psychic sciences; tr. and ed., with an introd., by W. de Kerlor. il*$2 (3c) Stokes 130 17-13485
This work, translated from the French, is based on investigations in a field to which scientists of note in the United States, with the exception of William James, have given little attention, that of psychic phenomena. In France, on the other hand, the translator assures us, such investigations, have made such progress as to gain national recognition. The book is based on experimental studies and consists of collected papers that were written during the period from 1893 to 1903. Animal magnetism in the light of new investigations, Mesmerism and suggestion, The provocation of sleep at a distance, The colors of human magnetism, The scientific study of spiritism, etc., are among the subjects.
“Professor Émile Boirac, rector of the Academy of Dijon, France, and author of this book, is an acknowledged leader of thought in matters both psychological and psychic. He has devoted many years to studying the problems pertaining to life and death, and this present book was awarded the prize in a contest to which many of the leading psychologists contributed. ... Though a scientific book, it is not without attraction for the lay reader.”
BOLIN, JAKOB.Gymnastic problems; with an introd. by Earl Barnes. il*$1.50 (4c) Stokes 613.7 17-12150
This book by the late Professor Bolin of the University of Utah has been prepared for publication by a group of his associates, who feel that the work is “one of the most important contributions to the subject of gymnastics which has been written in English.” In the first chapter the author discusses the relation of gymnastic exercise to physical training in general. His own position is that the aim of gymnastics is hygienic in a special sense, its object being to counteract the evils of one sided activity. The remaining chapters are devoted to: The principle of gymnastic selection; The principle of gymnastic totality; The principle of gymnastic unity; The composition of the lesson; Progression; General considerations of method.
“Of value to all teachers of physical education and to those interested in healthful efficiency.”
BONNER, GERALDINE (HARD PAN, pseud.).Treasure and trouble therewith.il*$1.50 (1½c) Appleton 17-21974
“After the opening scene, which pictures a hold-up and robbery of a Wells-Fargo stage coach in the California mountains, the story drops into more conventional lines of romance. The robbery, which is the act of two rough prospectors, is the prelude to the social experiences in San Francisco of a familiar type of cosmopolitan adventurer. He is little better than a tramp when he discovers the robbers’ cache. He makes off with the gold and conceals it near San Francisco. Being well-born and educated, though thoroughly unscrupulous, he finds an easy entrance to San Francisco society.” (Springf’d Republican) The rest of the book gives the story of his life in the city. The California earthquake of 1906 plays an important part in the story.