3–6936.
3–6936.
3–6936.
3–6936.
Descriptive note for series in December, 1905.
“There is no other comprehensive treatment of this subject to compare with it. It is a most praiseworthy piece of editorial work.” James A. LeRoy.
Blaisdell, E. Warde.Animal serials. **$1. Crowell.
6–34712.
6–34712.
6–34712.
6–34712.
In which animals are drawn to express the “foibles, fancies, weaknesses, and conceits that are noticeable in human beings.”
“A unique and mirth-provoking collection of droll drawing.”
Blake, Mary Elizabeth.In the harbour of hope. **$1.25. Little.
7–37236.
7–37236.
7–37236.
7–37236.
A volume of verse by one to whom Dr. Holmes once said, “You are one of the birds that must sing.” Her poems touch upon religion, nature, humanity and ideals, and voice the sturdy yet peaceful notes of the simple life.
Blake, William.Letters: together with a life by Frederick Tatham; ed. from the original manuscripts by Archibald G. B. Russell. *$2. Scribner.
7–15910.
7–15910.
7–15910.
7–15910.
From all the material furnished in this “life and letters” one gathers a story of Blake’s life “quite apart from his poetry, his painting and his mysticism, and full of human interest.”
“A collection of letters as complete as it can be made at present.” A. Clutton-Brock.
“No more simple and straightforward letters were ever written, nor any in which an intimate ecstasy has found such immediate expression. The other part of Mr. Russell’s book, the life of Frederick Tatham, is of no literary value, but is invaluable as a document.”
“Mr. Russell’s introduction is written from large knowledge, and is a really valuable essay on Blake as an artist.”
“These letters give us a better idea of the man than any biography.”
“Mr. Russell has made amends for some want of editorial judgment by restoring the true reading in one line of poetry, misprinted in Gilchrist, and consequently in every edition of the poems.”
Blanchard, Amy E.Four Corners in California. †$1.50. Jacobs.
7–30993.
7–30993.
7–30993.
7–30993.
In which the four Corners go on a trip to California where new scenes and experiences call forth all their young enthusiasm. There are bits of instruction which the young reader may cull from the story.
Blanchard, Amy E.Three little cousins.(Little maid ser.) †$1. Jacobs.
7–28974.
7–28974.
7–28974.
7–28974.
One from England, one from the east and one from the west, three little cousins meet for the first time at their aunt’s cottage by the sea. This story tells of the good times they had during a summer together.
Bland, Edith (Nesbit) (Mrs. Hubert Bland).Railway children; with drawings by C. E. Brock. †$1.50. Macmillan.
6–34371.
6–34371.
6–34371.
6–34371.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“Told with something of the humor and originality of the ‘Would-be-goods’ but overdrawn, inclined, to sensationalism, and not nearly so good.”
“It must be confessed, however, that the incidents in ‘The railway children’ are quite as conventionally melodramatic as in many of the American stories.”
Bland, Edith (Nesbit) (Mrs. Hubert Bland).Story of the amulet; with 48 il. by H. R. Millar. $1.50. Dutton.
7–32330.
7–32330.
7–32330.
7–32330.
“Here we have what we may call ‘Alice in Wonderland in excelsis.’ A family of children, whose father has gone as a war correspondent, while their mother is on a health voyage, discover a wonderful creature called a Psammead. By his help, together with the amulet which figures in the title, they are transported to various scenes in the past, after the fashion of the king who lived a life while he was dipping his head in a pail of water. They go to pre-dynastic Egypt, when palaeolithic man was in the Nile valley; they see Babylon, whose queen has an opportunity of expressing her views about social conditions in London; they see the vanished Atlantis, and Julius Caesar when he was in Britain, and then, by a backward leap, a Pharaoh, one of the special devotees of the Amen-Ra.”—Spec.
“A delightful book, destined to be read and re-read by (or to) her small admirers.”
“Children who like fairy tales will enjoy the book and unconsciously acquire a certain amount of knowledge.”
“Characteristic of E. Nesbit are skillful delineation of childish individuality and facility in charging the most impossible situation with a current of sweet reasonableness, and these features distinguish ‘The story of the amulet.’”
“Very delightful book which is interesting for old as well as young.”
“A fascinating narrative, and one which has beneath the surface a gentle satire and also a kindly human sympathy.”
“The general result is a very clever extravaganza, which an intelligent young person will hardly be able to read without acquiring, unconsciously, or even against his or her will, a certain amount of knowledge.”
Bland, Hubert.Letters to a daughter. *$1.25. Kennerley.
“A staid book of imaginary letters” in which the writer “instructs a young woman in that mysterious art, in which all that is subtle, all that is beautiful, all that is morbid, all that is delicate, all the all of all, can be expressed—the art of being a woman.” (Acad.)
“He drags Epicuranism over the ultimate precipice of cynicism, and it is only because he does it with humor and an eyeglass that we forgive him. Our admiration in any case must follow him.”
“One thing Alexa’s father did not have, and that was keen sense of humor, a thing hardly to be forgiven in a letter writer.”
“They are eminently readable. How far the instruction they contain is suited to the age of their supposed recipient—a girl of nineteen—is another matter.”
Blunt, Reginald.Paradise row; or, A broken piece of old Chelsea. *$3.50. Macmillan.
7–25145.
7–25145.
7–25145.
7–25145.
Being the curious and diverting annals of a famous village street newly destroyed, together with particulars of sundry notable persons who in former times dwelt there, to which are added likenesses of the principal of them and their several houses; the whole collected and presented by Reginald Blunt.
“Our author’s style does not always please us, and is sometimes complicated.”
“He tells his story very agreeably.”
Boardman, Rosina Cox.Lilies and orchids. *$2.50. Cooke.
7–24620.
7–24620.
7–24620.
7–24620.
“A guide to those interested in this particular branch of floral and botanical study, and is of use also to all lovers of wild flowers. The flower families are illustrated by specimens chosen mainly in the United States east of the Rockies, but with a few also from Canada and California.”—Outlook.
“A timely and attractive publication.”
“A really unusual book.”
“The color-studies are notable for their exquisite tints and faithful reproduction of the originals.”
Boigne, Comtesse de.Memoirs of the Comtesse de Boigne; ed. from the original ms. by M. Charles Nicoullaud. **$2.50. Scribner.
7–21749.
7–21749.
7–21749.
7–21749.
v. 1.“This new collection covers the period extending from the last days of the old monarchy, through the revolution and the first empire, to the restoration of the Bourbons by the allied sovereigns of Europe.... The pages are filled with lively reminiscences and amusing anecdotes in which figure all the famous folk of this wonderful time, men and women distinguished in society, politics, and literature, from Mme. Récamier and Lady Hamilton to Guizot and Lamartine, from Lafayette to Mme. de Staël.”—N. Y. Times.
v. 2.“The reminiscences of the Comtesse are continued during the Hundred days, Napoleon’s return from Elba, the events of Waterloo, and the restoration down to the year 1819. During this period the Comtesse returned to England with her father, who was French ambassador. Anecdotes of the English court and aristocratic society abound, and much criticism of English manners and customs, pointed by comparisons with French social and political life, makes highly entertaining reading.”—Sat. R.
“These memoirs are exactly what memoirs should be—to be of value and interest. No attempt is made to write history; there is nothing pretentious about them, nothing dull.”
“A volume which, while here and there open to doubts as to accuracy, is everywhere attractive.”
Reviewed by S. M. Francis.
“The translator, modestly anonymous, has succeeded in giving to his version the agreeable effect of an original work.” Percy F. Bicknell.
“This second volume is inferior in interest to the first, owing to the lesser importance of its subject-matter.”
“This volume is one of exceptional readableness.”
“The Comtesse de Boigne is a good talker, and we cannot have too much of her. She is not as piercingly clever as Madame du Deffand, or as steely in her philosophical content as Madame Geoffrin, or as sensitive as Madame de Beaumont, or as sensible as Madame d’Epinay. But she is what the frontispiece tells us—a shrewd, sagacious, witty, unexaggerative Frenchwoman, with enough heart to serve our turn and enough experience to make her wise—not enough, perhaps, to make her lovable. She may have been more trenchant than profound, but to quarrel with her is impossible.”
“The work contains much distinguished trifling, and is interesting for desultory reading or as a mine for quotation.”
“The appendix is stored with some interesting correspondence, which the judicious editor has carefully sifted from the text in order to make the latter coherent. Everywhere his literaryskill and historical knowledge are in evidence but never intrusive.”
“Decidedly, these memoirs are among the best and most valuable published this autumn. No lover of biography and personalia can afford to forego the pleasure of their perusal. No historian of the period can ignore them. Incidentally, both will be under deep obligation to M. Charles Nicoullaud, the editor, whose literary adjustments have undoubtedly added to the coherence of the book and whose running commentary and appendices make its authority complete and secure.”
“Delightful reading of their kind.”
“What makes these memoirs so interesting is that Madame de Boigne describes, with pitiless fidelity, the intimate life of three successive régimes, that of Louis XVI., that of Buonaparte, and that of Louis XVIII.”
“She was a shrewd observer, wrote cleverly, and her little cynicisms, mingled with aristocratic complacency, are extremely amusing.”
“A readable translation, though it appears to miss the point of one of Madame de Boigne’s best stories.”
Bolce, Harold.New internationalism. **$1.50. Appleton.
7–6637.
7–6637.
7–6637.
7–6637.
The financial and commercial amalgamation of the nations is the central theme of Mr. Bolce’s discussion. The following comparison between this book and Miss Jane Addams’ “Newer ideals of peace” is enlightening: “Mr. Bolce is material; Miss Addams spiritual. He puts his trust in the development of international trade; she detects the development of cosmopolitan friendship. One sees, in the financiers and merchants, the architects of the new internationalism; the other finds among the feeblest immigrants the harbingers of the new ideals. But the books are complementary, not contradictory.” (Ind.)
“The book is scrappy and somewhat superficial, but clever, interesting and emphasizes a note that needs emphasis at the present time, that of reciprocity and the economic interdependence of modern nations.”
“Though written primarily for English readers, it has interest for American students of the subject, but it does not pretend to be a book for experts. If it can lay claim to no striking merits, the volume is also free from striking defects.”
“There is nothing visionary or academic about Mr. Bolce’s economics. His sympathies are all with the men who do things, and he thinks them competent to teach the closet theorists.”
Bölsche, Wilhelm.Haeckel; his life and work; tr., with an introd., by Joseph McCabe. *$4. Jacobs.
6–24940.
6–24940.
6–24940.
6–24940.
A “plain study” of Haeckel’s personality and the growth of his ideas which is intended in its approximately true appreciation to replace “a hundred Haeckels grotesque in their unlikeness to each other” which “circulate in our midst today.”
“The distinguished German biographer brings to his task not merely literary style and imaginative qualities, but a technical and intimate knowledge of science in its latest development.”
“This is an unusually successful work in a difficult field. While we must give credit to the author for teaching us a great deal of zoology in a pleasant manner, the most difficult part of his task, he has hardly done justice to an exceptionally interesting individuality.”
“Prof. W. Bölsche’s study of Ernst Haeckel is, like the frontispiece of the book, a picture in warm colours. The author is nothing if not enthusiastic, and indeed no one can think over the achievements of Haeckel’s life without sharing the author’s admiration for his hero.”
“In the nature of things—and the German professional point of view and literary manner—the total is rather hard reading. Yet there is much of real interest.”
“Is a model biography for the unprofessional, but cultured reader.”
“Very lucid and interesting account of this veteran biologist’s life and work.”
Bond, Beverly Waugh, jr.Monroe mission to France 1794–1796. 50c. Johns Hopkins.
7–22912.
7–22912.
7–22912.
7–22912.
A detailed account of this important diplomatic incident, which is based upon the Monroe papers and gives the inner history of the mission, definitely establishing the circumstances and the motives of the actors.
Bonner, Geraldine.Rich men’s children; il. by C. M. Relyea. †$1.50. Bobbs.
6–37925.
6–37925.
6–37925.
6–37925.
A western story in which a multimillionaire’s son marries an adventuress, takes to the mountains to win back his peace of mind, falls in love with a bonanza king’s daughter and hopes for developments that will permit an honorable marriage. The way appears when the former husband of the unfit wife appears, and is a welcome factor in straightening the tangle.
“Is one of the strongest romances of the year.”
“All things considered, it is rather the best piece of fiction that has yet come from Geraldine Bonner’s pen, the clearest character drawing, the strongest situations, the most thoroughly human appeal from first to last.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“Miss Bonner’s book is primarily about the children of two of these bonanza families, but its best and most interesting, parts are those that treat of the parents.”
Booth, Mrs. Maud Ballington.Twilight fairy tales. **$1.25. Putnam.
6–38892.
6–38892.
6–38892.
6–38892.
Mrs. Booth’s tales follow the fortunes of a little boy “who found the magic land of ‘Maybe’ the more readily for faithfulness in the land of ‘Is,’ and so lived cheek by jowl with fairies when he had behaved himself properly.” (Nation.)
“The stories are new and ‘different.’”
“Mrs. Booth writes fluently and gracefully. The pictures are somewhat strained in effect and badly drawn.”
Booth, William H.Water softening and treatment, condensing plant, feed pumps, and heaters for steam users and manufacturers; with figs., diags. and tables. *$2.50. Van Nostrand.
7–4532.
7–4532.
7–4532.
7–4532.
The work is divided into five sections as follows: 1, Treatment of water by softening, together with the separation of oil and filtration; 2, Air pumps, condensers, and circulating pumps; 3, Feed heating and stage heating; 4, Water cooling; and 5, Feed pumps and injectors.
“From those portions of the book more closely related to its title the American engineer will learn but little. The methods of analysis given are inadequate and the forms of softening apparatus described are evidently less efficient than those in common use in this country.” George C. Whipple.
“Altogether, the book contains complete information with respect to the purification and supply of water to steam boilers, which will be valuable to users of steam; whilst the first portion on water softening, will be very useful in indicating the methods by which hard water may be rendered available for various manufactures requiring pure water.”
Booth, William Stone.Practical guide for authors in their relations with publishers and printers. *50c. Houghton.
7–14814.
7–14814.
7–14814.
7–14814.
“A clear and terse exposition of ‘those questions and difficulties which may arise during negotiations for the sale of a manuscript to a publisher, or in the relations which exist between a publisher and an author after a work has been accepted.’”—N. Y. Times.
“Mr. Booth writes with authority, having full and very helpful knowledge of his subject.”
“He writes of the practical side of things with sanity and clearness.”
“The best book of its kind we have seen, both for its simplicity and its comprehensiveness. It is in reality an excellent ‘style-card’ for printers and proof-readers, as well as a book of directions for writers.”
“Should prove of great service in making the creators and publishers of books more often walk the primrose path.”
“Aside from the scholarly work everywhere evident in the book, there is an interest not usually associated with books of a similar kind—in fact Mr. Booth’s book makes entertaining instruction of a very dry subject.” H. E. Coblentz.
Borden, Spencer.Arab horse; with preface by Prof. Henry Osborne; il. **$1.20. Doubleday.
6–36199.
6–36199.
6–36199.
6–36199.
“An interesting history of the animal, both on his native heath and in the countries to which he has been exported. Considerable space is given to the Arabs in America; and their pedigrees and history are interesting to the lovers of the breed.”—Nation.
Borden, Stephen Whiley.How to check electricity bills: containing methods of charging for electricity with directions for reading and testing electric meters. *50c. McGraw pub.
7–31191.
7–31191.
7–31191.
7–31191.
“The first part of this little volume is given over to a non-technical definition of a watt, by considering how many watts the common forms of apparatus use. Chapters are included on general principles of meters, troubles and systems of charges and discounts.”—Engin. N.
Bosanquet, Helen (Mrs. Bernard Bosanquet).Family. *$2.75. Macmillan.
7–11569.
7–11569.
7–11569.
7–11569.
“This book is a sociological study in which the ethical interest is clearly recognized throughout as the dominant interest. It is the history of an institution considered as embodying certain moral ideas. In tracing the development of the family, in examining its various forms, and in tracing its relation with other institutions, Mrs. Bosanquet keeps unfalteringly the human point of view. The book is quite uncontroversial in tone.... The first part is historical.... The second part treats of the modern family—its bases, economic function, its constituent parts, its outlook.”—Int. J. Ethics.
“Mrs. Bosanquet gives us a rich collection of truths; but they are not the whole truth; and without the whole truth the whole picture of the family becomes distorted,” C. S. Devas.
“Preserving throughout the ethical interest, the optimistic view. Written in a luminous, easy style.”
“The author has done a valuable work in bringing together the results of the most careful investigators into the early history of the institution as well as a study of the modern family.” Emily Fogg Meade.
“With an easy, luminous style, ready but unobtrusive humor, and a warmth that grows into eloquence, almost into passion towards its close, the book is in its fundamental attitude an admirable contribution on a most important subject.” Mary Gilliland Husband.
Reviewed by Mary L. Bush.
“Some chapters compare favorably with anything to be found elsewhere on the same subjects. Many of the reflections are perhaps not very profound. There are rather too many formless generalities; the conclusions lack precision; they do not always escape being platitudes. Mrs. Bosanquet raises many problems, physical and moral, only to leave some of them much as she found them. These drawbacks notwithstanding, there is a rare vein of reflection, there are delicate observations, perception of circumstances which escape the eye of the ordinary observer; and we are constantly in the company, if not of an acute economist, of a moralist who has an eye for much to which the latter is apt to be blind.”
“It should be said that this volume contains occasional passages of rare eloquence, such as those on p. 160 and onwards, on the very real and spiritual entity of the family.”
“It would be possible to deal rather roughly with various aspects of family life, but her general tone is one of gentle optimism, and we are afraid it is the glorified ideal of the family rather than its materialised form that she traces for us.”
“Mrs. Bosanquet’s book is remarkably restrained and uncontroversial in tone.”
“An interesting volume.”
Bose, Jagadis Chunder.Plant response as a means of physiological investigation. *$7. Longmans.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“A biologically equipped reader with no special knowledge of plant physiology will experience dazzled admiration for the logical, progressive way in which the author builds up, not in words, but actually experiment on experiment, a complete functioning plant from three simple conceptions. A student of plant physiology, who has some acquaintance with the main classical ideas of his subject, will feel at first extreme bewilderment as he peruses this book. It proceeds so smoothly and logically, and yet it does not start from any place in the existing ‘corpus’ of knowledge, and never attaches itself with any firm adherence. This effect of detachment is heightened by the complete absence of precise references to the work of other investigators.” F. F. Blackman.
Bottome, Phyllis.Imperfect gift [a novel]. †$1.50. Dutton.
“The author has taken for her central characters two sisters, one of whom is obviously and remarkably beautiful; the other is beautiful in her heart and mind, whilst far from impeccable, and lovably human. The lives of these two girls are traced from their early childhood, with a widowed mother in Italy, to their establishment in life in London; and their characters are developed before our eyes with subtlety and skill.”—Ath.
“The whole book is very unequal and unfinished; the people do not live or gain the reader’s sympathy, and difficulties are avoided at the expense of truth.”
“There are 340 pages in it, and not one of them is a page wasted or spoilt. It is a fine sober piece of literary workmanship, as well as an entertaining novel.”
“The story is smoothly and competently told, and while its basis lies in the realm of mediocre, respectable fiction, the observation of detail, if a shade shopworn, is always sufficiently correct and agreeably expressed to make the whole fairly readable—if no better novel be at hand.”
“The reader will find the story completely satisfactory until the moment comes when he is told what is the particular talent to which the heroine is going to devote herself.”
Boulting, William.Tasso and his times. *$2.75. Putnam.
A biography full of side-lights on the history of Italy during the latter part of the sixteenth century. Tasso’s personal history is a succession of failures and troubles; it is a record of one too weak to buffet his way among despots and courtiers identified with Italy’s decline and corruption.
“We may have appeared to have criticised Mr. Boulting severely, but we have done so because his book seems to deserve careful consideration, and we desire to recommend it to many readers whom its more conspicuous merits will instruct and entertain.”
“From every point of view, historical, biographical, literary, and critical, ‘Tasso and his times’ will be found most satisfactory.” Walter Littlefield.
“It is rather because this volume gives us a clear picture of Italy in the latter part of the sixteenth century than because it is a biography of Tasso that it will be welcome to a large circle of readers.”
“This book, heralded so loudly, is a popular and superficial account, not so much of Tasso as a poet as of Tasso at court, without a single note or an allusion in the text to any authority save a reference in the last chapter to Professor Solerti. Mr. Boulting mistakes the whole dream and purpose of the Italian renaissance.”
“Mr. Boulting does a biographer’s duty without partiality, and makes an effective picture of the man. On Tasso’s poetry Mr. Boulting gives us some excellent criticism; this is, we think, the best part of his book. Of the ‘times’ he has much to say. He has gathered materials with unsparing industry, sometimes, it may be going too far afield, and bringing back what it might have been better to leave behind. Still, he has written a very readable book.”
Boulton, William B.Thomas Gainsborough, his life, work, friends, and sitters. *$2.75. McClurg.
This is as complete and comprehensive as a study of every bit of available material can make it. The interesting stages of Gainsborough’s development are followed, facts concerning his friends and the subjects of his portraits are recorded, and a good summary of the achievements of the artist and the characteristics of the man fills the last two chapters. The evolution of his genius is also traced in the forty reproductions of his paintings.
“In spite of unavoidable gaps and deficiencies, even the early chapters of the book are not dull. He has utilized the accepted sources of biographical material, marshalling his facts in simple orderly fashion, and dealing with them in a dignified and yet thoroughly genial and appreciative way.” Edith Kellogg Dunton.
“Mr. Boulton has a very uneven style, and the proofreader is guilty of several slips, but these little blemishes do not prevent a reader from enjoying the absence of dryness, one of the common failings of ‘art books’ in all ages. He feels that he has come perceptibly nearer to an understanding of the impetuous yet shrewd, Thomas Gainsborough.” Charles de Kay.
Bourchier, Dr. Helen.Darry’s awakening. †$1.50. Warne.
A book for girls which tells the story of a child’s loveless training among grandparents and aunts who were “doing their duty” by the daughter of the departed member of their family who had married a man unfit, so they believed, to be responsible for the child. The father returns, carries his daughter off to India with him, and there, thrown upon her own resources, she tries and succeeds in righting a life whose warped beginnings furnish but poor encouragement.
“This might have been an innocuous book for girls just turning up their pigtails, had not the author apparently believed Darry’s truthfulness justifiably wrecked for life by the tinned salmon.”
Bourke, S. Ten Eyck.Fables in feathers. il. †$1. Crowell.