7–17014.
7–17014.
7–17014.
7–17014.
A book for nurses, physicians and students which gives a clear description of the fundamental principles of the causation and manner of transmission of infectious diseases, and includes chapters on bacteriology, animal parasites and disinfectants and disinfection.
“For the general reader, it would be hard to find a better concise statement of the more modern view of micro-organisms in their relation to disease. But the classification of the non-specific bacteria (p. 51) is somewhat obscure,and the terminology, although justified by numerous precedents, is inconsistent.”
Lankester, Edwin Ray.Kingdom of man. **$1.40. Holt.
7–29194.
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This is not “as its title might indicate, an anthropological treatise, but rather a group of three very interesting and striking essays on scientific subjects, especially as related to the needs and interests of humanity. The first is the Romanes lecture at Oxford in 1905, and is a ... plea that the English universities abandon the compulsory study of Greek and Latin and make the study of nature an integral and predominant part of every man’s education.... The second essay is an outline of the advance in science made in the last quarter of a century, being the presidential address at the recent meeting of the British association for the advancement of science.... The closing essay is on the ‘Sleeping sickness’ which is now devastating tropical Africa and bids fair to become the third great plague of the race.”—Dial.
“He has conjured up for us, in the three chapters of this book, a lurid picture of our position to-day; while, at the same time, he gives us a masterly exposition of what the new learning will do for us, both as regards our private and our public affairs. The latest discoveries in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology are here lucidly set forth; and in such a way that even the most skeptical must feel that we have too long neglected our duty in this matter.” W. P. Pycraft.
Review by Charles Atwood Kofoid.
“The volume is a valuable addition to popular scientific literature. Its skeptical, almost contemptuous attitude toward certain conclusions of psychologists, quite as well established as the human nature of the ‘pithecanthropus,’ e. g. telepathy, freshly illustrates the streak of provincialism observable in men of the highest special learning.”
“A work of interest and scientific insight.”
Lansdale, Maria Horner.Chateaux of Touraine. **$6. Century.
6–34856.
6–34856.
6–34856.
6–34856.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“Authoritative, accurate, and charming in style.”
“The only chapter in which the author breaks new ground is that on Luynes, which relates at some length the history of the descendants of Charles d’Albert.”
Reviewed by Harriet Waters Preston.
Lapponi, Giuseppe.Hypnotism and spiritism: a critical and medical study; tr. from the 2d rev. ed. by Mrs. Philip Gibbs. *$1.50. Longmans.
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“The doctor carefully distinguishes hypnotism from spiritism; and he points out the two considerations that have led some writers to confound them. The first is that hypnotic subjects, as well as spiritistic media, belong to the neurotic class; the second is that from hypnotic to spiritistic phenomena the distance is not great, and very frequently they are found side by side, alternately, or even together.”—Cath. World.
“The author treats his subject in a simple, popular fashion, and does not profess to have any personal experience of spiritistic manifestations, and no expert acquaintance with hypnotism.”
“Unquestionably it is highly interesting, but its interest is for [one] who wants to study the mind of a pope’s physician rather than occultism, or for an ardent disbeliever in metaphysics who may be pleased by an agreement with his thoughts.”
Reviewed by Hildegarde Hawthorne.
Larned, Josephus Nelson.Books, culture and character. **$1. Houghton.
6–36012.
6–36012.
6–36012.
6–36012.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“Mr. Larned’s book to some degree shows the limitation under which many good treatises suffer. They deal with what ought to be, to the exclusion of what is.” Wm. T. Brewster.
“The addresses are neither erudite nor ‘literary.’ But they are commendable for the plain common-sense and simple clear-sightedness with which they resolve some of the confusions and sophistries of the day.”
“The appeal for a more humanistic teaching of history and the straightforward attack upon many sophistical subtilities of the present day commend the book to those who are not bored by the plain good intention and right-minded common-sense.” George H. Browne.
*Lasance, F. X.Thoughts on the religious life. *$1.50. Benziger.
On the general principles of religious life, on perfect charity the end of the religious life, on vocation, the vows, the rules, the cloister virtues and the main devotions of the church.
*Lathers, Richard.Reminiscences of Richard Lathers. **$2.50. Grafton press.
7–21270.
7–21270.
7–21270.
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Reminiscences of sixty years of active life spent in South Carolina, Massachusetts, and New York. Tho a Southerner, the author’s attitude was against secession and he stood for the preservation of the Union.
“The many friendships that he formed during and after the civil war with men of prominence give a peculiar interest to his letters, which chiefly make up the present volume.”
Lathrop, Elise.Where Shakespeare set his stage. **$2. Pott.
6–33547.
6–33547.
6–33547.
6–33547.
“Lovers of Shakespeare will be particularly interested in the Lathrop volume.”
“The book is a welcome, if not a weighty, addition to the Shakespearian literature, and will form a profitable companion volume to an edition of his works.”
Latta, Marion Nisbet-.Handbook of American gas-engineering practice. *$4.50. Van Nostrand.
7–30142.
7–30142.
7–30142.
7–30142.
A three-part work as follows: 1, Water-gas manufacture, from the consideration of the fuels and materials to the gas-holder; 2, Gas distribution, including also a discussion of the various gas-burning appliances and their attendant data; 3, General technical data, containing theoretical, mathematical, and technical information on the properties of gases and steam caloric values, temperature data, etc.
“The sweeping condemnation of any work should ever be unpleasant and not lightly done. Nothing else seems possible, however, in the case of this book and gas engineers, should beprompt to disavow it as representing to any appreciable extent ‘American gas engineering practice.’” Walton Forstall and Charles J. Ramsburg.
Lau, Robert Julius.Old Babylonian temple records. **$1.50. Macmillan.
6–46312.
6–46312.
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“In the winter of 1894–95 DeSarzec, the explorer of Tello, unearthed ... large collections of inscribed clay tablets, estimated to number about 30,000.... Columbia university acquired 258 of them, which Dr. Lau has published in this small and handy volume. A little more than one-third of the tablets he has transcribed. These appear in facsimile reproduction with a sign list and glossary. Prefixed to this is a catalogue of the entire collection, containing a description of each tablet and its contents.”—Nation.
“It is a fine piece of work, accurately done, and a credit to the university’s scholarship; while it illustrates the importance to a university of having access to such original material for study.”
“Intended primarily for Assyriologists, they contain material of the first value for the student of the history of mankind.”
Laughlin, Clara E.Felicity: the making of a comedienne. †$1.50. Scribner.
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The story of a stage career. Felicity Fergus, orphaned in babyhood, is brought up by an austere grandmother who fought the child’s irrepressible sense of humor, vivid imagination and general spirit of hero worship. Felicity comes under the spell of an old comedian, who discovers the spark of histrionism in her, but who discourages an ambitious aunt in starting the child upon the long road to stage fame. Nevertheless the start is made, and the reader is given an intimate view of hardships that pave the way to success, of heartaches and struggles that lie just back of the footlights. The great charm of the story lies in the unsullied freshness with which Felicity emerges from her developing process against odds to grace the high places in her profession.
“It leaves you with the pleasant feeling that the world is full of gentle and brave people; that suffering is accounted for by the sweetening of character under its ministry; and that love will not pass by on the other side if one’s heart is ready to receive it.” Harry James Smith.
“Studies of theatrical life, that bear the imprint of accurate knowledge are so few and far between that ‘Felicity’ would still be a noteworthy book even without the blending of tender humour and pathos which it in no small degree possesses.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“It is, on the whole, a novel of such interest and charm that we are content to accept it, with whatever defects may accompany its qualities, as one of the most pleasing contributions to the season’s output of fiction.” Wm. M. Payne.
“It is the first American story of stage life that promises to achieve a popular success, perhaps because it does not go too far below the surface.”
“The story gives a very fair idea of the wholesome side of the stage.”
“The merits of this book lie largely in its freedom from the usual features of the theatrical novel.”
“There are some awkward constructions. The story upon the whole, however, is an admirable one, quite out of the common, and full of varied interest.”
“It is full of unusual qualities, but there are too many monologues and duets in it; everybody except Phineas Morton talks too much.”
Laughlin, James Laurence.Industrial America; the Berlin lectures of 1906. **$1.25. Scribner.
6–37187.
6–37187.
6–37187.
6–37187.
These lectures given at Berlin by Prof. Laughlin of Chicago university were delivered in the German language and include the following industrial subjects: American competition with Europe, Protection and reciprocity, The labor problem, The trust problem, The railway question, The banking problem, The present status of economic thinking in the United States.
“The volume is to be commended to all who are seeking to understand these questions.”
“But while we believe Professor Laughlin has not over-stated the facts concerning the Senate we wonder at his inability to reason consistently when he attempts to discuss some other important problems.” Robert E. Bisbee.
“Interesting and well-written volume.”
“It must be admitted that he has not duly considered in his argument some very important aspects of the subject.” Charles Richmond Henderson.
“Tho much contained therein may appear to us trite and commonplace, the volume, nevertheless, forms a noteworthy addition to our economic literature.”
“There is nothing now in print better worth the attention of American readers of average intelligence, who are looking for explanations of those problems at once clear, calm, and of moderate compass.” Horace White.
“Professor Laughlin has acquitted himself creditably, and we trust that his successors may be equally fortunate in their diplomatic missions.”
“The topics touched are pregnant with present and future interest, and even those who dissent from the author’s views upon highly contentious matters will find much said in little compass.” Edward A. Bradford.
“Not all readers will agree with all of Dr. Laughlin’s conclusions. There can be but few readers, however, to whom the book will not be suggestive, and that is the highest merit of any work of utility or art.”
“It must be said, however, that the lectures are so elementary and the lecturer’s conclusions so trite that it is doubtful whether they will be of much use to those who have time for even a brief course of reading.”
Laurie, Simon Somerville.Synthetica: being meditations epistemological and ontological; comprising the Edinburgh university Gifford lectures of 1905–6. 2v. *$7. Longmans.
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The first of these volumes contains nineteen meditations on knowledge, the second, eighteen meditations on God and man.
“As we read Dr. Laurie we cannot escape a sense of strangeness, amounting almost to despair. It all seems aloof and unfamiliar. He has a language and a terminology of his own, which we can only regard as gratuitously scholastic and unhomely. There can be no question but that his thought would have come to us more easily if he could have written more simply.”
“Again, the first volume is by no means free from the confusions between psychology and epistemology, against which Sidgwick uttered an emphatic warning. However, whether we agree or disagree with the conclusions drawn—and they are many and controversial—the book well repays the not inconsiderable trouble of reading it.”
“The interest of these volumes as a whole, apart from the feeling, and in many parts real inspiration and ‘élan,’ with which they are written, will probably be found in the comprehensiveness with which the problem of philosophy is grasped, and the sustained effort that is made to escape from the Scylla of the static or ‘stagnant’ Absolute without falling into the Charybdis of subjectivism and pluralism. In their own peculiar way they contain much that is helpful towards the restatement of idealism which is the chief philosophical requirement of the present time. Why this irritating form? It is not only that the second volume is merely a somewhat less technical restatement of the first, but in the argument of each there is endless repetition. For whom, again, is the book written? The uninitiated will find far too little; the initiated would be satisfied with much less; the positivist who could understand it if he would is not likely to persevere long in the attempt. But all this might be passed over if the writer had not made clear the point on which, as he rightly perceives, the whole must rest.” J. H. Muirhead.
“Difficult in expression and intellectually confused as the work is, its general aim and method as well as its philosophical affiliations may yet be detected.”
“Regard for a rigorously clear form of exposition would have resulted in the simplification of many passages as well as the elimination of numerous repetitions. The author also has a tendency to construct for himself an elaborate terminology quite his own, and to employ unusual words when those of more general acceptance among philosophical writers would often have served his purpose equally well. These defects are the more to be regretted, as Dr. Laurie, at his best, is the master of a style which is clear, forceful, and not wanting in a note of distinction.” Walter G. Everett.
“It is by no means easy reading, but it will reward a careful study.”
La Villeniere, Toussaint-Ambrose Talour de la Cartrie, comte de.Memoirs of the Count de Cartrie; with introd. by F: Masson, and appendices and notes by Pierre Amedee Pichot. *$5 Lane.
W 6–336.
W 6–336.
W 6–336.
W 6–336.
Descriptive note in Annual, 1906.
“Cartrie’s narrative is thrilling; M. Pichot’s editing almost perfect; and Mr. Lane’s bookmaking very attractive.” G: M. Dutcher.
“Certainly M. Pichot’s distinguished success in discovering the identity of the Count de Cartrie, and in tracing his family history, is a very pretty piece of highly skilled detective work.” S. M. Francis.
“Though of no particular historical value, sheds a good deal of light on the condition of provincial France during the months of the Terror.”
Lavis, Fred.Railroad location, surveys and estimates. *$3. Clark, M. C.
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A work that combines detailed instruction on modern American methods of location with data on the estimating of quantities and unit prices.
“Despite the reviewer’s criticism of some of the author’s methods, yet he quite agrees with the author that the method of location advocated by him is most thorough and up-to-date, and the best practice. The book is comprehensive, is an excellent epitome of good modern practice, and well adapted to the purposes for which it was designed.” M. P. Paret.
“After the teacher has given us what he can out of his study-room, then the young engineer will turn to such books as this one, gaining much information and getting by proxy valuable experience which, without such a book, would cost him much time and pains to acquire. The railroad engineers will appreciate this book and feel thankful to its author.” Willard Beahan.
Lawrence, C. E.Pilgrimage. †$1.50. Dutton.
“Peruel, an angel of the army of the lost, seeks reentrance into heaven. Being given a chance, through the influence of Azrael, he becomes incarnate as a foundling baby in a country called Argovie. There he grows up as Luke, swineherd to the monastery of St. Donstan, where the situation between some of the friars vividly recalls Browning’s ‘Soliloquy of the Spanish cloister.’ The entire book is devoted to Luke’s spiritual struggles, his persecution by bigoted monks, by outlaws, and men at arms.... He ends, triumphant, a leper in a lazar house.”—Nation.
“Mr. Lawrence has no quaint humour, no impassioned sincerity, no superb poetry, that can do justice to such an idea. His book is little more than pleasantly sentimental; there is no backbone of earnest or new thought.”
“His present work, we fear, is too shadowy; too remote from experience, and too ethereal.”
“The story is written with unusual delicacy of touch and with a knowledge of human nature that considering the spiritual quality of the tale, is somewhat surprising.”
Lawrence, Sir Thomas.Sir Thomas Lawrence’s letter-bag; ed. by G. S. Layard. *$4. Longmans.
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Letters collected from Sir Thomas Lawrence’s voluminous correspondence which “correct and proper” epistles that they are and having little to do with his love affairs, tend to banish from the reader’s mind the story of the artist’s unhappy relations with Mrs. Siddons’ two daughters.
“In these letters there is a good deal that is valuable as well as interesting.”
“This volume does not make material additions to the known circumstance of Lawrence’s life as set forth in Williams’s ponderous biography, but it is undeniably interesting.”
“This volume contains much new and interesting personal information about the great English painter.”
“It should be added that the illustrations are excellent and well chosen, and that the ‘Recollections’ by Miss Croft, who was an intimate friend of the painter for many years, are a very interesting addition to the book.”
“A more delightful volume than Mr. Layard’s it would be hard to find.”
“We do not relish Mr. Layard’s literary style. It is vehement and familiar. Nor are the letters of Sir Thomas Lawrence pleasing, as letters. They are dry and formal and generally ungrammatical and obscure. The facts of the great artist’s life as exhibited in the letters are however interesting enough.”
“With the material at his command, Mr. Layard might have produced a satisfactory biography. He has been content to give us this material (or a part of it) instead of the finished work.”
Lawson, Thomas W.Friday the 13th. †$1.50. Doubleday.
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The spirit of frenzied finance hovers over this tale in which figure a proud ex-governor of Virginia, who loses in a speculation game carried on with trust funds, a loyal daughter, and a hero who plays the stock market to retrieve the Virginian’s fortune. “It may be characterized as a nightmare of love and stock gambling, wherein the ‘System’ shakes its gory locks and brandishes a handful of bloodstained razors, stalking the while prodigious over the necks of its prostrate victims.” (N. Y. Times.) “What Mr. Lawson attempts to do is to show the degrading effect of speculation upon character.” (Nation.)
“The author fails to convince us that his theory is without flaw, or that it could be depended upon in practice, to produce the results which he desires.”
“A crude, shrieking dime novel is this story, and therefore not likely to be without its host of readers. It is an incendiary book as well.”
“The reader has an uncomfortable impression of a stuffed dragon and a stage St. George. But there are stirring incidents in the book, many pieces of lurid description, and not a little moralizing.”
“The delineation of character requires more literary art than Mr. Lawson, with all his red-hot, hyphenated adjectives, can show, and as for his plot, it steadily thins instead of thickens. Of course everyone that has been within a mile of Trinity church knows that the book, as a picture of Wall Street life and methods, is absurd.”
“The moral was Mr. Lawson’s first thought, perhaps, but the book shows him as a sentimentalist of the deepest dye. He quite loses in the depth of that sentiment sight of the fashion in which his moral turns and rends his own chosen personages and protagonists of the tragedy of greed.”
“Mr. Lawson is another offensive partisan in literature—or perhaps I had better say fiction. It’s a poor novel.” Vernon Atwood.
“We are certain that such a novel as ‘Friday the 13th’ will do little or nothing to cure the evil of stock-gambling. None of Mr. Lawson’s characters—if indeed they deserve the name, for they are merely puppets—are lovely or lovable.”
Lawton, Frederick.Life and work of Auguste Rodin. *$3.75. Scribner.