LIVINGSTONE, RICHARD WINN.Defence of classical education.*$1.40 (2c) Macmillan 375 (Eng ed 17-12623)
“A main contention, in this able defence of the humanities in education, is that a nation can be ‘scientific,’ though compulsory classics are the staple of its secondary education, and though the majority of its youth is trained in classical schools. Particulars are given to show that German secondary education is far more classical than ours. A caution is conveyed against the mistake of supposing that we are simply suffering from the predominant position of classics in our public schools, and that we have only to expel them in favour of physical science and modern languages ‘to be cured of all our ills.’ It is admitted by the author that we need more physical science in industry and elsewhere; but it is pointed out that our real weakness is a national indifference to knowledge. Cogent presentations of the case for Greek and the case for Latin are embodied in chaps. 3 and 4; and an effort is made later to combat the idea that the classics can be studied satisfactorily in translations. The last chapter contains suggestions for reforms.”—Ath
“The title of the book may, we fear, militate against its usefulness and have the tendency of warning off the general reader, who may regard it as the work of a specialist. ... ‘A defence of classical education’ is admirably adapted, by its absence of technicalities, its infectious enthusiasm, and its clear and graceful style, to appeal to that growing public which is ready to know more of this new learning.”
“This book is, unfortunately, based upon two misconceptions, both of which are common amongst classicists. ... The title of the book is a misnomer, for the work is not a defence of classical education at all. ... As a plea for the retention of classics in a general scheme of education, the book is excellent. Where Mr Livingstone is dealing with facts he is on safe ground, and the majority of the work is a ‘hymn of praise’ which is wholly admirable. His assumptions, however, are nearly always erroneous, and his conclusions illogical; one cannot help thinking that a little knowledge of scientific method would have saved him from many pitfalls.”
“The questions most frequently asked are these: Why should the classics have a place in our education? Why should they not be confined to a few specialists? Why should they not be entirely replaced by our own and other modern languages, literatures, and history? To these inquiries Mr Livingstone wisely devotes the greater part of his book. ... We are glad to see that Mr Livingstone ends with some excellent suggestions for reform in classical teaching, more attention to ‘realien,’ and less prominence for the purely linguistic side.”
“Mr Livingstone has written a charming book. The beauty and solid worth of the best Greek and Latin authors are admirably described in his main chapters. But while we sympathize heartily with his reverence for the classics, we cannot help remarking that he does not really face the question whether they can be read with profit in translations.”
“Among these fixed points which are emerging, the central one, and the most important, is the growing conviction that the aim of education is neither literary culture nor scientific acquirement, neither technical skill nor commercial aptitude, but the creation and diffusion of citizenship in its full sense. ... Mr Livingstone’s volume is a statement, satisfactory in its fullness, excellent in its sanity and moderation, of the reasons for holding that, here and now, the study of the classics has a necessary and important place in such an education.”
LIVINGSTONE, WILLIAM PRINGLE.Mary Slessor of Calabar: pioneer missionary.6th ed il*$1.50 Doran 16-22663
“The heroine was a Scotch girl born amidst the humblest surroundings and conditions, which made her at fourteen and for fourteen years a millworker in the city of Dundee. ... From her early childhood she was interested in the missionary efforts along the old Calabar coast, and here from 1876 until her death in 1915 she carried on, often alone and in the midst of danger, a pioneer work for the reclamation of the savage tribes. This well written memoir, based chiefly upon her many letters, gives the reader a striking picture of the barbarous life and customs of the natives of Calabar and shows the uplifting power of civilization.”—Ind
“One of the most fascinating missionary biographies ever written. It has the romance of heroism and adventure, the vitality of vigorous achievement, the freshness of pioneering in a land of strange peoples and weird customs.”
“Has had the unusual experience for a biography—and especially that of a foreign missionary—of being among the ‘best sellers.’ In its first months it is already in its fourth edition, and well it may be, for rarely has a life been lived so full of romance, of heroism, and at the same time of absolute sincerity and simplicity.”
LIVINGSTONE, WILLIAM PRINGLE.Story of Mary Slessor for young people; a true story of adventure, heroism and faith. il*$1 Doran 17-4476
“The natives of Africa knew the heroine of this true story by the name of ‘The white queen of Okoyong.’ Her real name is Mary Slessor, and this is her biography. It is written for children, and tells the whole life history of the brave Scottish missionary whom the Presbyterian church sent out to Africa in 1876. From that date until her death in 1914 Miss Slessor acted as friend, teacher, minister, doctor and officer of the law to the savages in the then uncharted wilds of Calabar.” (Boston Transcript) Mary Slessor is one of the “Heroines of service” about whom Mary R. Parkman writes in her book of that title.
“This book ought to fire the imagination and direct the activities of boys and girls until they shall become in turn such workmen as Mary Slessor was in the realm of unselfish service.”
“The account throws many sidelights on African customs and institutions.”
LOCKE, WILLIAM JOHN.Red planet.*$1.50 (2c) Lane 17-26481
Grief-stricken with the sudden news of the death in action of his only son, Sir Anthony Fenimore turns to take his place as chairman of a war committee with the words: “The boy didn’t shirk his duty. Why should I?” This opening incident is the keynote of the book, which is a story of England in war-time, a story of high courage and of homes made desolate. It is told by Major Meredyth of the regular army who, invalided since the Boer war,could, at first, only watch those activities in which he longed to join. But, in the end, he, too, finds his place and can say: “I, too, am a man of the great war. I have lived in it, and worked in it, and suffered in it. So long as one’s soul is sound—that is the great matter.” His work had been the helping to keep sound the souls of those about him in the little south of England town in which he lived, and, in particular, to aid as only a brother officer could, Leonard Boyce, in his tragic struggle between his better and his lower nature. It is this struggle for self-mastery, fought out in South Africa, in England, in the trenches, that forms a background for the incidents of the book, and it is Betty Fairfax, type of all true women in the war, who gives charm and heart to the tale. Locke, the romancer, is no longer romancing. He is telling spiritual truth.
“Well written, full of good character sketches and will be popular. Appeared in Good Housekeeping.”
“‘The white feather’ might have better suggested its central motive, for the chief figure in the action is an English officer with a lifelong strain of cowardice to fight down and conceal. ... A piece of clever claptrap. Any war might have served as the background.” H. W. Boynton
“Written with much skill, timely to the very minute, and full of human appeal. Mr Locke has succeeded, in his portrayal of Boyce, in giving a living character to literature. The conclusion is an artistic blunder, as well as distasteful from the moral point of view.”
“It is the astonishing combination of the modern and the mid-Victorian that fascinates the reader of ‘The red planet.’ A well-ordered globe is Mr Locke’s, an England rubber-tired and ball-bearing, not the dusty and irresponsible country of Mr Britling. And we are not sure that Boyce is not one of the most virile men that Locke has ever drawn.”
“A thoroly interesting story crisply and entertainingly written.”
“For all its clever and amusing detail, there is little sincerity in this book: even the great war is used merely as an off-stage convenience for the development of an essentially commonplace and artificial plot.”
“We cannot even pretend to believe in these people. They are pallid and patriotic and dull. They do not really exist.”
“Mr Locke has always shown remarkable skill in making interesting, even heroic or lovable, figures out of most unpromising material, such as that of his ‘Beloved vagabond,’ and none of that skill deserts him as he unfolds this story through the pen and personality of Major Meredyth, almost helpless paralytic though his leading character is. ... We can come into touch with the struggle only through the spirit. But his spirit flames and mounts, and in it one sees the spirit of England.”
“Mr Locke is always better in character rendering than in plot, and even more so than usual in this novel.”
“Skilfully constructed and worked out to a dramatic close.”
“While presenting but a tiny corner of the war drama, he makes the reader feel the spirit and far-reaching effects of the struggle.”
“It may be that recollections of ‘Lord Jim,’ and perhaps of ‘The four feathers,’ make Mr Locke’s analysis of Leonard Boyce seem a little confused and shallow.”
LODGE, HENRY CABOT.War addresses, 1915-1917.*$2.50 (3c) Houghton 308 17-14032
A collection of addresses made between 1915 and 1917. Among them are: Mexico, a speech delivered in the Senate, January 6, 1915; Force and peace, the Chancellor’s address at Union college, June 9, 1915; France, delivered before the Franco-American Republican club of Massachusetts, September 6, 1915; National defence, delivered before the National security league at Washington, January 22, 1916; Armed merchantmen, delivered in the Senate, February 18, 1916; The failure of the Executive to vindicate American rights, delivered in the Senate, February 24, 1917; and War with Germany, delivered in the Senate, April 4, 1917.
“Some of these addresses are of great interest and value to students of public affairs. All of them deal with topics of present day interest and all are of sufficient merit to warrant their preservation for readers of a future generation.”
“All the attributes of a sound statesmanship based upon a thorough knowledge of the past, a clear understanding of the present and a prophetic insight into the future are to be found in the volume of Henry Cabot Lodge’s ‘War addresses, 1915-1917.’” E. F. E.
“Naturally, Mr Lodge’s addresses in the Senate and elsewhere, during the years 1915-16, were those of a Republican senator criticizing a Democratic administration; and some of his criticisms were very keen. Yet even then, he was often in accord with President Wilson.”
“Mr Lodge’s shift from advocacy of a league of nations to opposition, coming coincidentally with Mr Wilson’s new emphasis and the raising of the question as an immediate practical issue, is the most important fact that ‘War addresses’ records. ‘War addresses’ is an exceptional book for its directness. But it leaves the impression that Mr Lodge is progressive where progressiveness matters least, and reactionary where the opportunity for liberalism is most bright.” C. M.
“There is a kind of luminous simplicity and earnestness in the statement of plain truths and sound ideals that hardly ever fails of its effect. This kind of eloquence is possessed in no small degree by Senator Lodge. ... The more controversial parts of the political speeches, too, will delight any not too unsympathetic reader who appreciates caustic criticism, subtle sarcasm, and argumentative skill.”
“The ‘War addresses’ are hardly important except as political documents—using political in the partisan sense. Of course Mr Lodge’s polished phrases give his speeches a superficial distinction which the oratory of the Senate frequently lacks. But no consistent application of principle is manifest in this collection and no fundamental policy besides the gaining of political advantage.”
LOEB, JACQUES.Organism as a whole.il*$2.50 (3c) Putnam 575 16-25201
Individual physiological processes are readily explained on a physiochemical basis, but how, from this point of view, is the fusion of individual processes into a harmonious whole to be accounted for? This is the problem to which Dr Loeb of the Rockefeller institute addresses himself in this volume. The book is based onhis experiments in recent years and consists of chapters on: The specific difference between living and dead matter; The chemical basis of genus and species; Specificity in fertilization; Artificial parthenogenesis; Determinism in the formation of an organism from an egg; Regeneration; Determination of sex; Mendelian heredity and its mechanism; Animal instincts and tropisms; The influence of environment; Adaptation to environment; Evolution; Death and dissolution of the organism.
“Scientific and accurate in details and should be read by all individuals interested in a mechanistic philosophy of living things.”
“The volume is a valuable addition to the science series—a series in which so many subjects have been treated—and is one that will appeal strongly to anyone who has the rudiments of a zoological training.”
“Gifted with strong scientific imagination, Professor Loeb is one of those who go on, making the most of the facts we have, imperfect though our comprehension be.”
LONDON, CHARMIAN KITTREDGE (MRS JACK LONDON).[2]Our Hawaii. il*$2.25 (2c) Macmillan 919.69 17-27941
A book that has grown out of the experiences of the Londons in the “little space of Paradise ... that is so beautiful and restful and green.” One of Mrs Jack London’s evident desires is that the journal, in addition to its descriptions of Hawaii, may reveal something of her late husband’s personality and manner of living. The journal covers a few months spent in Hawaii a decade ago and concludes with a résumé of experiences there in 1915-1916. Mrs London says, “I have tried to limn a picture of the charm of the Hawaiian Islander as he was, and of his becoming, together with the enchantment of his lofty isles and their abundant hospitality.” Maps and illustrations accompany the text.
“There are several reasons why ‘Our Hawaii’ is an exceedingly interesting book.”
“Her desire to express the spirit of Hawaii in the written word has made her book in some places resemble the attempts of a schoolgirl intent on writing a theme full of ‘atmosphere.’ In spite of being badly written, the book derives some interest—though not much—from its exuberant impressions and also from the biographical facts revealed about the author’s husband.”
LONDON, JACK.Human drift.il*$1.25 Macmillan 818 17-6354
A collection of miscellaneous papers and sketches reprinted from various magazines. The human drift is an essay on the movements and migrations of peoples in their search for food, and the rise and fall of races. Following this come four sketches drawn from Jack London’s own experiences on land and sea. The introduction written for “Two years before the mast” is reprinted, and the book closes with two short plays.
“London has not attempted much in the dramatic field. A reading of the two sketches included in this volume is enough to show that, with all his power of dramatic description and narration, the dramatic form itself is beyond him.” D: P. Berenberg
“Lovers of Mr London’s work will probably find him at his best and most individual self in the essay on ‘Small boat sailing,’ which will be a very enjoyable bit of writing for all devotees of that sport.”
“London voices no new thought in his philosophical sketch, ‘The human drift,’ but he does present old ideas in a new and vivid garb.”
LONDON, JACK.Jerry of the Islands.il*$1.50 (2c) Macmillan 17-12393
Jerry is an Irish terrier, a dog of many adventures. Born on one of the Solomon Islands, he early comes to know as master the man called Skipper. Skipper to Jerry is a god. To others he is captain of a boat engaged in “nigger-running,” the trade by means of which labor is supplied for the South Sea plantations. The calling is a dangerous one, and when Skipper meets his fate, Jerry falls into the hands of a head-hunting chief and a cannibal village becomes his home. Chance saves him from the cooking-pot and he escapes into the wilds. But unlike another dog hero, Jerry does not revert to the primitive. The yacht Ariel comes to his rescue, and in Harley and Villa Kennan Jerry finds two gods worthy of a dog’s worship.
“As a protracted dog yarn, the story is quite pleasant reading.”
“Jerry and his tale are more plainly fiction than that great dog story, ‘The call of the wild’; but what a story-teller this man was!” H. W. Boynton
“His knowledge of and sympathy with his subject is unbounded, and his imagination plays with all its customary vigor and variety over a multitude of scenes in which men as well as the dog hero have an important part. ... It is good, too, in his last novel to find Mr London a story-teller and not a propagandist.” E. F. E.
“While ‘Jerry’ is not in any sense one of London’s best works, it is yet worth reading.” D: P. Berenberg
“The story suffers a good deal from excess verbiage. ... This fault is at its worst and more discouraging in the early chapters, before the reader’s interest has been awakened. But if, by dint of hope and skipping, he goes on he will be well repaid.”
“The book is effectively written in a way, yet tediously full of the traders’ variety of pigeon-English called bêche de mer, which serves as a medium between white man and black. The home-staying white of this country will find it not easy to understand.”
“In this last story of his Mr London has struck a new note. He has sought to express the gentler emotions—the love of the dog for the master and the love of the master for the dog.”
LONDON, JACK.Michael, brother of Jerry.il*$1.50 (1½c) Macmillan 17-29517
Like Jerry, Michael was a dog of the South seas, and like Jerry he could make himself quite as much at home on slippery decks as on dry land. Michael’s first master is Captain Kellar of the Solomon islands, but after he is stolen by Dag Daughtry he comes to love that none-too-honest, beer-drinking steward with all a dog’s devotion. It had been Daughtry’s intention to sell the dog, but having given much loving patience to his training, he finds that he cannot part with him. Circumstances, however, takeMichael away from this considerate master and he falls into the hands of a noted animal trainer and enters the life that Jack London calls an animal hell. “Cruelty, as a fine art, has attained its perfect flower in the trained-animal world,” he writes in a foreword. Michael is rescued in time by Harley and Villa Kennan, but he is never the same dog again.
“Jack London was the founder of a school of writers in fiction whose work will outlive his own, but which is not likely to catch the trick, the magnetism—call it what you will—that distinguishes his own above the rank and file.”
“Red tears and bloody sweats!—these are the tributes Jack London loved to wring from the torn hearts (as it were) of his auditors. If the reader would put his finger on some special item in proof of this, let him read the description of the fight between Michael and a quite casual man which takes place after Michael has been rescued from the torment of the trained-animal world, and which is therefore clearly introduced on its own merits.”
“If the picture drawn by London of the training of animals for the circus and the stage is a true one, then the quicker we act to eliminate animal performances the better. It is to be hoped that ‘Michael’ has a wide circulation.” D. P. Berenberg
“It is, of course, scarcely necessary to say that much of this book is anything but pleasant reading. If, however, what it tells be indeed the truth, then it is reading which people should have forced upon them. Michael himself will appeal to all dog-lovers, and Dag Daughtry is well drawn.”
LONG, HAROLD C.Plants poisonous to live stock. (Cambridge agricultural monographs) il*$2 (5c) Putnam 581.6 (Eng ed Agr17-863)
The author says, “As in the case of a previous volume ‘Common weeds of the farm and garden,’ the preparation of this handbook was undertaken because of the great lack of readily available and reliable information on the subject in English scientific literature.” An introductory chapter discusses such matters as What is a poisonous plant? Harm done by poisonous plants, etc. The remainder of the book is given up to descriptions of plants and of the symptoms of poisoning. There is a chapter devoted to Plants suspected of being poisonous and one to The effects of plants on milk.
“A handy work of reference in a subject on which the literature is remarkably scattered. The author has brought together many facts from numerous technical reports and journals, and the compilation will be of great value to those responsible for the care and treatment of animals.”
“Mr Long has filled a gap in scientific literature with a monograph which shows wide knowledge. The bibliography shows the extent of his gatherings.”
LONG, WILLIAM JOSEPH.Outlines of English and American literature.il $1.40 (1c) Ginn 820.9 17-14159
This “introduction to the chief writers of England and America, to the books they wrote, and to the times in which they lived,” is based on the author’s earlier works, “English literature” and “American literature.” It is a work however in which “the material, the viewpoint, the presentation of individual writers” are entirely new. The author’s aim here has been to relate literature to life. He says, “The only valuable or interesting feature of any work of literature is its vitality.” For each literary period a brief historical survey and a review of literary tendencies are given. These are followed by biographical sketches of authors and discussions of their principal works. Each chapter is followed by a bibliography.
“Histories of English literature and histories of American literature are many, but rarely if ever has the one subject been compressed within the pages of a single volume in a way to show their unity and alliance. Dr William J. Long has, however, done this with exceptional skill. ... Attractively printed and bound, illustrated with many portraits and scenes, Dr Long’s book gives incentive to a study of literature. It is elementary, to be sure, but it contains much that is profitably enlightening to readers who are fully acquainted with the subject.” E. F. E.
“Excellent illustrations.”
“Written with much vivacity and charm. The latter third of the book is given to an uncommonly well balanced review of American letters.”
“The opening chapters excellently combine a view of the development of the language along with an account of the literary monuments. There is no attempt to bring American literature into relation with English; we have frankly two volumes in one. The story does not come beyond Stevenson and Ruskin, and Howells is the only living American author treated at length.”
Reviewed by E. F. Geyer and R. L. Lyman
“William J. Long, the well-known nature writer, could be pardoned a few heresies, for the author discloses considerable freshness in his impressions and his style; but the book is too full of erroneous statements and erroneous judgments to be accepted as an introduction to English letters.”
LONGACRE, LINDSAY BARTHOLOMEW.Prophet of the Spirit.*75c Meth. bk. 224 17-23303
“The sub-title of this book is ‘A sketch of the character and work of Jeremiah.’ In his preface Professor Longacre says: ‘The following brief study of the prophet Jeremiah has been made in the belief that attention to the distinctions of time and circumstance leads to a discovery of God’s methods of self-revelation. The purpose has been to portray a man rather than to expound a book.’” (Boston Transcript) “A preliminary chapter on the literary history of the book leads to a study of ‘The man his neighbors knew,’ and with this key in our hands we pass through his various struggles with king and people, and no less with himself and his God, till we emerge to the clear sunshine of the New covenant of spirit and life.” (Bib World)
“An admirable little book. It is excellently written and well adapted to the purpose for which it was written. The prophet Jeremiah is made to appear like a real man working among his fellow-men.” J. M. P. S.
“Professor Longacre’s conception of the character of Jeremiah is admirably carried out.”
LONGMAN, W.Tokens of the eighteenth century connected with booksellers and book-makers. il*$2 (9½c) Longmans 737
The practice of issuing “tokens” in lieu of small change grew out of the scarcity of coins of small denominations. A “token” issued by a tradesman corresponded to a promise to pay the amount stamped on the face. The author, a collector of these curious examples of coinage, has brought together all the information he has at his command concerning tokens issued by booksellers and others connected with the book trade of the 18th century, including authors, publishers, engravers and paper makers.
“The descriptions of the various tokens are accompanied by interesting notes on the life and history of their issuers. These include notably Eaton, Spence, and others who suffered on behalf of the liberty of the press at the close of the eighteenth century.” E. T. L.
“A delightful account written by a collector who knows his subject. ... It may be recommended to collectors of tokens, and to those for whom the history of booksellers, printers, etc., is attractive, as well as to any one investigating political opinions of the period.”
LONGSTAFF, FREDERICK V., and ATTERIDGE, A. HILLIARD.Book of the machine gun. il*$3.50 Dodd 358 (Eng ed 17-7941)
This work by two British officers consists of chapters on: The evolution of the machine gun; Machine guns in battle: The evolution of machine gun tactics;Matériel; Machine guns in the British army; Machine guns in Germany and Austria; Machine guns in various foreign armies; Tactics; Training. In addition there are appendixes giving A bibliography of unofficial works; List of some British patents; and Extracts from Colonel Mayne’s works. At the close of the book, following the index, are grouped a series of illustrations, arranged chronologically to show the development of the machine gun.
“Timely and complete.”
“Written with professional knowledge.”
“An authoritative work.”
“So far as skill may be learned from a book, it may be learned from this volume.”
LONGSTRETH, THOMAS MORRIS.Adirondacks. il*$2.50 (3½c) Century 917.47 17-25281
“There are but two kinds of travelers; those who enjoy the road, and those who think they shall have enjoyment at the end of it. To the latter pass the time of day good-naturedly enough, but reserve the former for your company.” (Preface) So two friends walked, motored, canoed, climbed, sailed and camped in every part of New York state’s natural park. This volume is the outcome of their wanderings which in addition to generous guide-book material gives an account of the early settlement in the Adirondacks of Napoleon’s brothers, tells of the different Indian tribes and their warfare, of Trudeau, Stevenson, Dewey, Warner and others whose names are associated with the region, and of the present-day work of the state’s conservation commission. The illustrations, reproduced photographs, show the grandeur and loveliness of the region at their best.
“Written in a pleasant style and well illustrated.”
“Mr Longstreth is not a Thoreau, but he is a first-rate observer and an amusing raconteur.”
“Mr Longstreth is a schoolmaster who has occupied his holiday time for many seasons in open-air living and journeying. He has spent more than one summer in the Adirondacks. ... The result is a book that is at once the record of a jolly summer, a history and description of the Adirondacks, and a succinct guide to those who would learn of its beauties and enjoyments at first hand. Mr Longstreth’s leisurely style has real charm—a quality not always to be found in a book so full of information as this.”
“Mr Longstreth’s book is most informal, sprightly, and vivacious, yet abounding in matter-of-fact detail of the sort most needed by the tourist.”
LORIMER, NORMA OCTAVIA.By the waters of Africa; with introd. by Douglas Sladen. il*$3.50 Stokes 916.7 (Eng ed 17-31878)
“A woman traveler’s account of what is going on to-day in British East Africa—how the settlers and government officers live and go about, and how the country is being slowly developed. An interesting feature of the book is the description of the famous African lakes, Victoria Nyanza and Albert.”—R of Rs
“Perhaps the homeliness of home-letters adds to the charm of the book, which, in spite of its faults of style, does tell of the common things which a man would have never thought of describing.” N. H. D.
“Great praise is due this lady who, in spite of many dangers, has done such remarkable exploring and given us such interesting information about it.”
“Miss Lorimer in her light-hearted pages from a diary gives perhaps a truer picture of daily life in these great colonies than we find in more serious works.”
“Unfortunately, she has accepted every piece of casual gossip about the history of the country without investigation. Those who will bear this in mind, and want merely an easily digested story of a woman’s experiences and adventures in both the towns and the back-veld of this amazingly interesting colony, will find Miss Lorimer an entertaining guide.”
LOTI, PIERRE, pseud. (LOUIS MARIE JULIEN VIAUD).War; tr. from the French by Marjorie Laurie.*$1.25 (2c) Lippincott 940.91 17-18154
A book of war sketches written between August, 1914, and April, 1916. Among them are: Two poor little nestlings of Belgium; A gay little scene at the battle front; Another scene at the battle front; An evening at Ypres; At the general headquarters of the Belgian army; At Rheims: All-souls’ day with the armies at the front; At Soissons; Two Gorgon heads.
“The book is interesting throughout, and the translator’s share has been well done.”
“In the perusal of this new volume by Loti, it is brought home to one again how inexplicably and beautifully his manner and matter are fused. He treats of the usual subjects, but in the atmosphere of this book, one sees everything bathed and refreshed.”
“In this book Pierre Loti is at his literary best, plus a tender genuine sympathy for his countrymen and their Belgian neighbors and a bitter scorn and hate for the German spirit that has outraged Belgium and France. Yet he seeks to maintain at least a mask of artistic restraint.”
“His pictures of the men in the trenches, the wounded, the refugees, etc., are indeed trivial and pallid compared with the narratives written by dozens of men who, before the conflict, were quite unknown to literature. The prevailing note is somewhat effeminate, strident, and hysterical.”
“It is not a coherent book, it is episodic, a scrap-book, a hodge-podge of emotions, judgments, reports. And this constitutes the book’sspecial charm and value. It is a glimpse into the mind of a highly sensitive and perhaps overcivilized man who has been deeply shaken by the tragedy of his native land and all the world. ... This is the war’s book—the war has made use of the delicate and sensitive instrument that is the mind of the author of ‘Pêcheur d’Islande.’”
“Those familiar with his rather dreamy and saccharine descriptions of Turkey, Palestine, Japan, and the South Sea islands will be a little surprised, we think, at the comparative terseness of phrase in this volume. The descriptions are of war especially as it affects little children, the Sisters of Mercy, the wounded soldiers, and the exiled rulers.”
“M. Loti’s book by virtue of the almost feminine fineness of perception, the exquisiteness of imagery and the sympathetic tenderness by which his pages are graced, will make an impression on the reader’s memory. The only occasions on which Loti is unworthy of himself are when he permits himself bitter and scurrilous personal attacks upon the Kaiser and the Crown prince.”
LOUGH, WILLIAM HENRY.Business finance.*$3 (1½c) Ronald 332 17-14250
“This book, as its name indicates, is concerned with the every-day financial problems of the private business concern. The point of view taken throughout is that of an organizer or financial manager of an enterprise. While the book deals primarily with business conditions and financial practice in the United States, it includes many references also to the experience and practice of other countries which may yield suggestions of value to American business men.” (Preface) The book is made up of five parts: Finance and business; Capital; Securing capital; Internal financial management; Financial abuses and involvements. The author is president of the Business training corporation, New York city. He is also author of a work on “Corporation finance.”
“Compactly conveyed information.”
“A book which takes rank as one of the important accounting books of the year. Its subject is not new, of course, as it treats of problems which arise every day in private business concerns, but it is a pioneer work in that it is the first attempt we have seen to assemble and co-ordinate data relating to methods of financing business enterprises and from such data to deduce proper and scientific procedure. ... The chapter on financial standards is of decided interest in connection with the proposed statistical library to be established under the endowment fund of the American institute of accountants. ... Not the least interesting feature of this book is the manner in which Mr Lough has driven home his points by numerous illustrations taken from famous (or infamous?) failures in commercial history. Concrete instances are worth many pages of theory to clinch an argument.” W. H. L.
LOVAT-FRASER, JAMES ALEXANDER.Henry Dundas, viscount Melville. il*$1.10 Putnam (Eng ed 17-13682)
“To portray a personality rather than to describe a political career, to delineate a character rather than to unfold a history, J. A. Lovat-Fraser has written a slender volume dealing with the life and activities of Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville.” (Boston Transcript) “The shrewd Scottish lawyer was for long the friend and chief colleague of the younger Pitt, ruled Scotland and India, managed the great war for some years, and was first lord of the admiralty till six months before Trafalgar.” (Spec)
“Mr Lovat-Fraser has written a discriminating and interesting biography of Dundas as a parliamentarian, as the holder of various offices of cabinet rank, and as a figure in social life in London and Edinburgh. But Dundas ranks with Newcastle and George III, as one of the three great political bosses of the eighteenth century; and despite Mr Lovat-Fraser’s book, we are still waiting for adequate studies of the methods and achievements of all these three bosses.” E: Porritt
“To tell the full story of the life of Henry Dundas, first Viscount Melville, is at present impossible. Numerous documents at the Public record office and in other quarters await investigation before a complete account of Melville’s career can be attempted. The author’s object, therefore, is, from the materials now available, ‘to delineate a character rather than unfold a history’; and he may fairly be said to have been successful.”
“Mr Lovat-Fraser’s volume is a concise summary of his life, although it scarcely succeeds in presenting a character and personality rather than a political career.” E. F. E.
“J. A. Lovat-Fraser’s excellent description of parliamentary political corruption in Scotland in the eighteenth century explains how it was that Dundas was able to rise and then to hold such autocratic power north of the Tweed that he was commonly known as ‘King Harry the ninth.’”
“Mr Lovat-Fraser resents Mr Fortescue’s denunciations of Dundas as one of the worst war ministers we have ever had, but he attempts no definite reply to the charge, presumably because it cannot be disproved. Dundas believed in scattering small bodies of troops over the whole theatre of war—a policy which cost us dearly in blood and treasure, especially in the West Indies. In this respect, and in others, he was Pitt’s evil genius.”
LOW, SIDNEY JAMES MARK.Italy in the war. il*$1.75 Longmans 940.91 16-24919
“Our knowledge of Italy’s part in the war has been limited. We have the more reason, therefore, to welcome a book that holds the promise of a notable enlargement of that acquaintance and understanding. ... It outlines the history of the country, political and military, since August, 1914. It makes plain the hope of the Italy of the future. It presents the problems and the circumstance of Italy’s part in the world conflict. ... In his study of the progress of the war Mr Low not only points out the necessary differences between the Italian battle lines and methods of fighting and those in France and Flanders, but shows where the Italian strength has been and where its weakness, where its mistakes have been made and lessons learned, and describes in detail the various steps in the conflict.”—N Y Times
“More than the majority of war books his seems to offer worthwhile information.”