6–18579.
6–18579.
6–18579.
6–18579.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“The citations are accurate and from so many writers that this volume at once becomes a source book of great value. The style is compact, but very readable. Only in a few of the first chapters did the reviewer have any sense of an attempt at hair-splitting. On the whole, the volume is a masterly discussion of great moral questions and leaves one anxious to see the second.” Carl Kelsey.
“Dr. Westermarck’s book makes good reading for all who are interested in the evolution of human ideas and human institutions, from the tariff to woman suffrage, and from capital punishment to the elective system in colleges and universities.”
“The interpretation of these facts may here and there be questioned, but the important thing is to have the facts collected so as to be within easy reach. Ethical theorists should find the work invaluable, as thus furnishing them with concrete facts to rest their theories on or to test their theories by. The sociologist will find illuminating discussion of many customs, while the general reader if interested in matters of universal human concern, cannot fail to get pleasure and instruction from the reading of the book. Altogether it is perhaps safe to say that the work is the most important contribution to ethical literature within recent years.” Evander Bradley McGilvary.
Western frontier stories, retold from St. Nicholas. (Geographical stories.) *65c. Century.
7–29581.
7–29581.
7–29581.
7–29581.
Sixteen stories for young readers of early frontier life which teem with such adventure as only western made grit can cope with. Indians, desperadoes, wolves and storms give the stout-hearted and quick of action plenty of opportunity to show their courage.
Weston, Thomas.History of the town of Middleboro, Mass. **$5. Houghton.
6–23056.
6–23056.
6–23056.
6–23056.
“This volume not only gives the dry facts of history and genealogy very fully, but also tells of the social customs of the eighteenth century, and supplies many pictures of and scenes in King Philip’s war and the French war.”—Ind.
“This is an unusually interesting history of a class which ought to be very large, for every town should have an official historian.”
“Does credit to all concerned in its publication.”
Weyman, Stanley John.Chippinge Borough.†$1.50. McClure.
6–37198.
6–37198.
6–37198.
6–37198.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“There is, perhaps, nothing better in the book than the sense of tension everywhere prevailing on the eve of an election.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“On the whole, we must congratulate the author upon what is very nearly if not quite the best of all his novels.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Stanley J. Weyman has come to that place as a novelist where he can afford to amuse himself when he writes whether he entertains the reader or not.”
Weyman, Stanley John.Laid up in lavender.†$1.50. Longmans.
7–32320.
7–32320.
7–32320.
7–32320.
“A venerable arch-deacon is entreated by a lady whom he knew in his youth to visit her in her illness. She is an actress, and has a daughter who is a well-known and beautiful actress; and he finds it rather embarrassing when he is asked to undertake the charge of the latter in the event of her mother’s death. When he does find his ward on his hands, he takes counsel of his son, a barrister, who gives him advice in the hypothetical case put to him. Of course the father, hoping to marry off the awkward ward to the man he has heard she loves, discovers this to be his own son under his writing name.”—Ath.
“They are all good stories, and each of them causes something of that feeling of excitement which Mr. Weyman knows so well how to produce.”
“[The stories] are uninspired and take the author’s reputation no further. Indeed, they ‘drop’ it.”
“Slight as they are, these early sketches leave the impression that Mr. Weyman understood contemporary life so well that a very promising disciple of Trollope was lost when he turned aside to don the sword and buskin.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“The variety of the provender supplied in the group makes a wholesome and digestible banquet from nourishing soup through seasoned entrée to contenting coffee.”
“None of the twelve tales has anything to raise it above the level of ordinary magazine fiction, and two or three of them are positively dull.”
“Most of the other tales bear internal evidence of having been written some time ago, and the author would have been best advised to have kept them still laid up in lavender.”
Wharton, Anne Hollingsworth.Italian days and ways.**$1.50. Lippincott.
6–41526.
6–41526.
6–41526.
6–41526.
The amusing experiences of “three women—one young, the others uncertainly older—who land at Genoa and travel through the highways of Italy à la American tourist.” (Nation.) The record of the travels is in the form of letters written by one of the older women to a friend at home.
“Lacks the humor and buoyancy of Mrs. Wiggin’s Penelope stories but has much human interest and reflects considerable culture and appreciation of Italian sights and scenes.”
“Something of the unfading charm of Italy is caught in the pages of Miss Wharton’s ‘Italian days and ways.’”
“There is a tendency to enlarge upon trifling incidents, which produces the effect of padding; but the spirit of enthusiastic enjoyment gives a fresh view to old scenes.”
“Her accounts of life in the various towns of Italy are as unhackneyed as they are simple and unaffected.”
Wharton, Edith.Fruit of the tree.†$1.50. Scribner.
7–32842.
7–32842.
7–32842.
7–32842.
The interest of the first part of this story centers in the efforts of young John Amherst, who occupies a subordinate position in the management of the Westmore mills, to solve some of the industrial problems there presented, particularly in providing for the health and safety of the employes. His opportunity to carry out his cherished plans seems to be at hand when he gains the sympathy and interest and finally the love of the beautiful young widow who owns the mills. The marriage follows, and a little later there befalls a terrible accident in which the wife is hopelessly injured and to put her out of her pain, Justine, friend and nurse, administers an overdose of morphine. Justine marries Amherst who thru the blackmailing scheme of a young physician learns of Justine’s act and for a time is overwhelmed with her technical responsibility of Bessie’s death while his reason tells him that she is innocent.
“A novel of extraordinary power and intense interest, interpreting American life of the present day, done with Mrs. Wharton’s usual subtlety, ease and precision.”
“Though a better book than its predecessor, is not likely to provoke an equal amount of that heated and emotional public discussion which is the true sign of popularity.” Edward Clark Marsh.
“Besides its accomplished artistry, Mrs. Wharton’s work always gives us the sense of ethical responsibility.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Again Mrs. Wharton has done a difficult thing with ease and precision.”
“The astonishing thing is that we close the book with the feeling that, after all, the execution is superior to the idea; the story is better told than such a story deserves to be. We admire, but we are a little chilled; Mrs. Wharton sits at her desk like a disembodied intelligence; acute and critical and entirely unsympathetic; she is as detached as a scientific student viewing bacilli under a microscope.”
“Even better than ‘The house of mirth.’”
“Is not a bringer of joy, but it is penetrating in analysis, and evades none of the issues it raises. It lacks humor and contrast of character. The luxury and frivolity of a certain set of society people are almost too insistently driven home.”
Wharton, Edith.Madame de Treymes.†$1. Scribner.
7–8219.
7–8219.
7–8219.
7–8219.
Mrs. Wharton’s stage is occupied by two women—one French by birth, the other by marriage—and an American who at forty is dabbling in the rather unsafe business of aiding one of them in divorce proceedings in order to attain his belated happiness. In transferring her point of observation from a New York to a Paris drawing room, Mrs. Wharton has made the enamel of convention only a little more brilliant, and in suffering it to crack to reveal a shrivelled up heart, only shows that underneath such gloss, life has ceased to ring true to any standards of spontaneity. Family, society, and the church are inexorable Molochs to whom must be sacrificed infant joy, freedom, hope and even courage.
“Now there is much that is admirable and subtle in the story and its treatment. The different points of view of two types of character are set forth with great clearness. The story, however, loses its poignancy owing to the fact that these types are not individualized.”
“The writing is distinguished by that blend of strength and grace which is characteristic of Mrs. Wharton.”
“Whether or not in her most recently published novelette Mrs. Wharton gives a just evaluation to the ideals of another race, there can be no two opinions of the story’s literary merits.” Harry James Smith.
“Although a miracle of condensation, in matter, in form, and by an unimpeachable distinction of style, Mrs. Wharton has written a short story which stands entirely above criticism.” Mary Moss.
“The author’s ideas are evaporated into Henry James subtleties, and so it is merely a little pamphlet of elegant discriminations.”
“Mrs. Wharton’s little story is as thin as her astral shape and should not be mentioned except to call attention to the fact that she has learned to begin where Henry James leaves off.”
“Her pages exhale the undefinable atmosphere and aroma of aristocratic French life of the present day—a phase of life almost incomprehensible to the foreigner. The author’s style is full of distinction and is marked by those exquisite reserves that characterize the born artist. Slight as the volume is, it reveals artistic possibilities hitherto undiscerned.”
“She succeeds in painting her gray picture not so subtly that we forget her art, but exquisitely enough for us to recognize how fine that art is.” Hildegarde Hawthorne.
“The precision of her technique ... the sensitiveness and significance of her observation, her feeling for the harmonious sentence and the suggestive phrase ... must always stamp her work as superior to that of many writers of wider sympathy and more spontaneous talent.” Olivia Howard Dunbar.
“A characteristic piece of work from an extremely careful and artistic writer.”
“An absolutely flawless and satisfying piece of workmanship.” Vernon Atwood.
“The great force of the French family as an organization has never been better treated by a foreign pen, and the little book is written with all the author’s usual delicacy and distinction of style.”
Whates, H. R.Canada, the new nation. **$1.50. Dutton.
6–43469.
6–43469.
6–43469.
6–43469.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
Wheeler, W. H.Practical manual of tides and waves. *$2.80. Longmans.
6–33569.
6–33569.
6–33569.
6–33569.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
Whelpley, James Davenport.Problem of the immigrant. *$3. Dutton.
5–11644.
5–11644.
5–11644.
5–11644.
Descriptive note in December, 1905.
“Mr. Whelpley’s conclusions are forcefully stated even though it is impossible to follow him in all of them.” Arthur B. Reeve.
Wherry, Elwood Morris.Islam and Christianity in India and the Far East. (The student lectures on missions at Princeton theological seminary for 1906–’07.) **$1.25. Revell.
7–17908.
7–17908.
7–17908.
7–17908.
In which the author “recounts and describes the various methods of conquest by which Islamism established itself in these several countries, how it has been modified by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, and, finally, what Christianity is doing for the conversion of the Mohammedans of these various countries, and what success is attending its efforts.” (N. Y. Times.)
“There is evident throughout the book a thorough knowledge of the history of Islamism, and also of present-day social and moral conditions in Mohammedan countries.”
Whinery, Samuel.Specifications for street roadway pavements. *50c. Eng. news.
“After a discussion of the theory of specifications, the general features of specifications are considered, such as those providing for inspection, public convenience and safety, extra work etc. Foundations are then taken up, concrete, old paving stone and broken stone being included. Under the heading ‘Bituminous pavements’ are found asphalt, block asphalt and rock asphalt. The various ingredients of these pavements are treated in detail, and the best methods for laying each pavement are specified. Granite, brick and woodblock pavements are given ample attention, and in the closing pages paragraphs of a general nature, relating to all pavements, are given, including payments, specifications for experimental and untried pavements, etc.”—Technical Literature.
“The pamphlet is a valuable contribution to the literature upon the proper construction of pavements, and will undoubtedly have much influence in standardizing, so far as local conditions will permit, specifications for this kind of work.” Edwin A. Fisher.
Whipple, George Chandler.Value of pure water. $1. Wiley.
7–8249.
7–8249.
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Here “an attempt is made from valuable data to establish formulae which may be employed to calculate the allowable depreciation due to sanitary quality, physical characteristics (colour, odour, etc.), hardness, etc., of a water supply.”—Nature.
“This little book is planned on novel lines and deserves recognition. The book is suggestive and stimulating reading, the various tables add to its value, and we heartily commend it to the sanitarian and water engineer.”
“The book is well worth its price and should be found in every water library.” W. P. Mason.
Whistler, Charles W.Gerald the sheriff: a story of the sea in the days of William Rufus. †$1.50. Warne.
A story of life in England in the twelfth century. “It tells of the outlawing of a young Saxon thane, who joined wits and grievances with a displaced Cornish sheriff and, gathering together a hand of Saxon malcontents, hatched a plot for driving out the hated Norman king and seating in his place a Saxon heir to the throne. The tale is told in the first person and merely recounts the adventures which befell the young man and his friend as they followed their forlorn hope. But the adventures are perilous and exciting, and they follow close upon one another, until finally the chief actors win back to place and lands and safety.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The author has made an interesting tale of swift action and high motives, and has told it with a simplicity and dignity of style worthy of a higher grade of work.”
Whitaker, Herman.Settler.†$1.50 Harper.
7–32564.
7–32564.
7–32564.
7–32564.
Manitoba in its primeval loneliness is the scene of his story. A gently reared girl enters the wilderness to care for her brother in his last illness. After his death she marries a rough, crude, strong-hearted settler, then permits her regret for the step to drive the pride-hurt man from her. The situations which grow out of the separation and final reunion are all intensified by the savagery of the wild surroundings.
“A rapid, active tale of adventure.”
“Much information may be gleaned from ‘The settler’ relating to lumber camps and farming lands of the Canadian Northwest and to the effects on its industrial conditions of the scheming of railway monopolists. We submit that the attempted realism here, especially in the freedom of speech employed by the women, is, in any case, unnecessarily offensive.”
Whitcomb, Ida Prentice.Young people’s story of art. $2. Dodd.
6–38344.
6–38344.
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6–38344.
A concise and interesting sketch of the Egyptian, Grecian, Roman, Italian, Spanish, German, Flemish, Dutch, English, and French schools of art into which are woven stories and legends of the artists and their works.
“It is interesting and instructive and will be read quite as eagerly and with as much profit by the older folks.”
“The accounts are full, biographically, historically and in a literary way, while the illustrations are in themselves of distinct value.”
“A sympathetically written text, interpolated with most carefully selected pictures. No child who has any sense of the beautiful will find this book dull. Its inspiration to visit museums and see with his own eyes the pictures described is undoubted.”
*White, Frederick M.Nether millstone. †$1.50. Little.
7–36980.
7–36980.
7–36980.
7–36980.
A fine old English estate is the scene of most that happens in this tale. Ralph Darnley, the lost heir, returns to find Sir George Dashwood the next of kin in possession, but with only his grandmother and an old butler in his confidence Darnley plans to conceal his identity until he teaches the girl he loves, the daughter of Sir George, the futility of her Dashwood pride which stands in the way of accepting his suit. He aids a false claimant to a nominalcontrol of the property, which renders Sir George and his daughter penniless. The daughter is thrown upon the world and when she has learned its lessons and discovered what true worthiness is Darnley reveals his identity and carries her back to Dashwood hall.
White, Frederick M.Slave of silence.†$1.50. Little.
6–24582.
6–24582.
6–24582.
6–24582.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“We are glad to notice in [this novel] the evidence of more care in its production than the last one or two from his pen had led us to expect.”
White, Stewart Edward.Camp and trail.*$1.25. Outing.
7–31474.
7–31474.
7–31474.
7–31474.
A practical experience book for the wilderness traveler. The author tells in detail how to select what is necessary and to reject what is unnecessary for camp convenience and comfort.
“Certainly with the drawings, and even the names of firms that furnish the desirable articles, the way of it all is as ‘plain as plum porridge,’ so that the westward-faring man, tho a tenderfoot, cannot err therein.” May Estelle Cook.
“The humors of life in the open air are happily touched upon, and make the book something more than a manual.”
White, Stewart Edward.The pass. *$1.25. Outing pub.
6–325827.
6–325827.
6–325827.
6–325827.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“He impresses one as being more true than Mr. Jack London, with a measurably broader outlook than Mr. Thompson Seton, and more vigorous, more actual than Dr. van Dyke. There are times when one cannot help wishing that he would be a shade less conscientiously breezy in his language.”
White, Stewart Edward, and Adams, Samuel Hopkins.Mystery; il. by Will Crawford. †$1.50. McClure.
7–2060.
7–2060.
7–2060.
7–2060.
“The plot turns upon the mysterious and wonderful happenings that occurred on a volcanic island in the Pacific and upon equally strange and uncanny encounters on the high seas. A long series of happenings follow. More astonishing than anything that ever occurred to the imagination of Stevenson or Marryat.”—Lit. D.
“The book is a happy mixture of R. L. Stevenson and Mr. H. G. Wells.”
“The authors indulge in more slang and technical detail of a marine sort than the ordinary reader can readily grasp.”
“A well-rounded romance.” Richard Hughes Remsen.
“The story is well told in a lively style, and the characters are strongly portrayed. Perhaps there is in the dialog a dash too much of smartness. The credibility of the reader is at times overstrained. But the novel has real merit and is a notable contribution to the ‘thrillers’ of the sea.”
“The narrative sags badly amidships, but the faith of the romancer serves to keep us afloat till we reach port.”
“Even ‘Treasure island’ has need to look to its laurels when books like the ‘Mystery’ are being written, though the former’s claims are safe as long as Mr. White and Mr. Adams are compelled to adopt such a theatrical device for their wonder worker as the precious substance which the chest on board the Laughing Lass was supposed to contain.”
“In a certain way it is very well done; but it is a tour-de-force, not a piece of real writing.”
White, William Allen.In our town.†$1.50. McClure.