Chapter 16

19–18454

In this volume of Preliminary economic studies of the war Professor Bogart of the University of Illinois presents a discussion, with tables and estimates, of the war costs in each of the countries concerned. The foreword says: “In the following pages the direct outlays of the governments, which are matters of usual financial procedure, may be said to be fairly accurate; the attempt to estimate the indirect costs of the war, however, is attended with a considerable amount of conjecture and must be regarded merely as the best guess which is possible at the present time.” The work closes with a bibliography of thirty pages and an index.

“It is not as an accurate summary of the costs of the war, but as an outline of the financial history of the great powers, that the book will prove permanently useful.” Alzada Comstock

“This book by Professor Bogart is the most complete and authentic account now in print of the losses of the war, stated in terms of dollars. The work bears the mark of painstaking cautions and scholarly method. An extensive bibliography and good index adds to its value.” C. J. Bushnell

Reviewed by C. C. Plehn

“Professor Bogart has produced a careful, sober, and thoughtful analysis of the cost of the war to the world at large, so far as the items can be stated without over-indulgence in ‘estimates,’ and with all proper caveats.”

BÖHME, JACOB.[2]Confessions of Jacob Boehme; with an introd. by Evelyn Underhill. *$2 Knopf 189

“Mr Scott Palmer has done a valuable piece of work in getting together in a small volume the more personal utterances of Jacob Boehme. It is a book that will appeal to many people who have felt an interest in the great mystic, but, at the same time, have found his writings, when presented to them in mass, heavy and difficult reading.”—Freeman

“Mr Scott Palmer has been wise in keeping as far as possible to William Law’s eighteenth-century translation, the simple language of which is so admirably adapted to the profound meditations of this homely tradesman. Quite apart from their speculative and philosophic value, certain sentences in this volume have about them the intense and innocent beauty of really great literature.” Llewelyn Powys

“We are grateful to Mr Scott Palmer and Miss Evelyn Underhill for their help in faithfully elucidating Böhme’s doctrine and revealing the man himself.”

BÖHME, JACOB.Six theosophic points, and other writings. *$3 (1½c) Knopf 189

20–4124

This book, written in 1620, has here been newly translated into English by John Rolleston Earle. In addition to the Six theosophic points, the contents are: Six mystical points; On the earthly and heavenly mystery; On the divine intuition.

“Valuable for helping to clarify a book written four hundred years ago in a very difficult vocabulary. Too obscure and special for any but the student of the question.”

“These new translations have something more than the face value of new translations of an old and more or less inaccessible author. Students of German mysticism are indebted to the scholarship of John Rolleston Earle as a commentator as well as a translator.” G. H. C.

Reviewed by Preserved Smith

“In the ‘Six theosophic points’ one will wander long unless one is provided with some chart. Page after page record the wanderings of a puzzled, ever-searching, ill-equipped, penetrating spirit, with no compass or chart; often over-stepping, it would seem, the bounds of sanity, but from time to time letting fall a pregnant saying. Even in his incoherences are gleams of light.”

BOJER, JOHAN.Power of a lie. *$2 Moffat

“The novel tells the story of two men living in a small Swedish town or village, tells what the power of a lie did to them, to their families, and to those persons who came in contact with them—and it. Knut Norby, a wealthy farmer, has indorsed a note for a friend, Henry Wangen, a note for 2,000 kronen. Three or four years later Wangen becomes a bankrupt and Norby denies his signature, denies that he ever saw the paper, or ever signed one for Wangen. The witness is dead; Wangen is convicted of forgery and sent to prison, while Norby is given a banquet by his fellow-townsmen. The innocent man is punished; the guilty man is fêted.”—N Y Times

“Here is a novel of compelling power and dignity, illuminated by a bleak beauty like that of the aurora borealis.”

“Bojer does not allow himself the luxury of beauty except where it aids his story. He strips his narrative bare, trims it exquisitely to the least detail, and lets it glide straight before the wind. Johan Bojer is undoubtedly a great artist, although by no means a luxuriant and happy one. He has been aided in his American venture by the admirable translation of Jessie Muir, which deserves the highest praise.” R. L. Duffus

“The novel is indeed admirably written, the author indulging neither in verbal fireworks nor in splashes of black, white or scarlet. One reads it with the feeling that it is the truthful account of a real occurrence, but of an occurrence seen from all sides. ‘The power of a lie,’ in short, stands head and shoulders above the average contemporary novel.”

Reviewed by H. W. Boynton

“The idea is presented with fine suggestiveness and artistic vitality.”

BOJER, JOHAN.Treacherous ground; tr. from the Norwegian by Jessie Muir. *$2 Moffat

20–4783

“Young Erik Evje has two characteristics; he is a man whose former immoral aberrations weigh heavy on his conscience, and a man imbued with high ideals in connection with social reform. By putting into practice his ideals he hopes to atone for his sin. He can find no solace in religion, and he makes of his philanthropic work his crucifix. The little colony that he plants on a hillside is the only tangible evidence of his ideals, and at the same time his atonement. But he is told that his house is built on sand, that a landslide will carry it away. It is too necessary as his last grip on the best part of himself for him to give it up. The landslide occurs and wipes out several families.”—Springf’d Republican

“A story with interesting characters, a pleasant background and well sustained suspense, that is thoughtful without a touch of heaviness.”

“Its trenchant clearness is almost frightening, like transparent glass where one expected wooden walls; its teaching is both true and tragic.” R. M. Underhill

Reviewed by R. L. Duffus

“The tale has the bite and ‘follow through’ of an Ibsen play, a ‘Wild duck’ or an ‘Enemy of the people.’ It lacks, accordingly, the rich sympathy of ‘The great hunger.’” H. W. Boynton

Reviewed by H. W. Boynton

“The theme is peculiarly and very strongly developed. Johan Bojer employs a very realistic style and presents a vivid picture of the Evje farm.”

BOK, EDWARD WILLIAM.Americanization of Edward Bok; the autobiography of a Dutch boy fifty years after. il *$5 Scribner

20–17333

In writing his autobiography the author has treated himself objectively, which accounts for the title. It is with the editor and publicist that the book deals, not with the author’s private self. Not until he retired from the editorship of the Ladies’ Home Journal, did he cease to be two personalities and become simply himself. The book abounds in reminiscences of editorial experiences and of famous men, contains facsimiles of autographs and manuscripts, a list of biographical data, illustrations and an index.

“Mr Bok has done more than merely carry the reader with him along the pleasant paths which he has trod. He has thought deeply upon the problem of the immigrant and the result is a valuable contribution.” H: L. West

“This autobiography of the ex-editor of the Ladies’ Home Journal is likely to produce upon the sophisticated reader that impression of exasperated amusement which I have noted in more or less civilized Britons when they have undergone a course of the Saturday Evening Post, at my suggestion, in order that they might become familiar with that microcosm of the United States.” E. A. Boyd

“This is an extraordinary array. In all the account of it there is not one gleam of intellectual speculation, not one sign that Mr Bok ever heard of the world of ideas, or that he understood any passions stronger than sentimentalism. His criticism of the America in which he lived and which he seems to have understood so well, is always merely trivial.” I. B.

Reviewed by A. M. Jungmann

“Considered in every aspect, ‘The Americanization of Edward Bok’ is an affording and a significant book. In style it is as simple and perspicuous as Xenophon’s ‘Anabasis,’ which was also written in the third person and by a man of shrewd common sense who trusted his instincts.”

“There is a great deal that is stimulating to energy, originality, and resourcefulness in this autobiography, as well as much that is amusing and agreeable reading.” R. D. Townsend

“It is pleasant reading and happily stimulating to wholesome ambition.” R. R. Bowker

“All in all, this is a remarkable book. Edward Bok is as compelling a writer when telling his own story as when writing on other themes, and this ought to be one of the ‘best sellers’ of the year.”

BOLTON, GUY, and MIDDLETON, GEORGE.Light of the world. il *$1.75 Holt 812

20–19671

The scene of this three-act play is Oberammergau, the village of the Passion play, just previous to a new performance; the time, between the choosing of the actors and the opening of the play; and the theme, the disparity between the teachings of Christ and the daily life of Christians. Anton Rendel, the chosen Christus, discovers, on the eve of his friend Simon’s wedding, that Simon has betrayed the girl Anton had loved. Anton forgives but advises confession to Ruth, the bride, and is left under the impression that it was made. The girl and her baby seek refuge and find shelter in Anton’s house. His rivals among the actors throw suspicion on Anton and insist that he drive out the girl or give up his rôle as Christus. He does the latter and before the play is to open a mob comes to set fire to his house. At that moment the truth of the situation has just been revealed to Ruth. She exacts open confession from Simon as the price of her love, whereupon the rôle of Christus is once more offered to Anton.

“In no sense is this a play that will live, but it is a workmanlike performance with a creditable motive—defence of the unfortunate and misunderstood.”

“Guy Bolton and George Middleton have made a real addition to the literature of our contemporary stage. Yet curiously, perhaps, the illustrations interspersed through the published play serve as a check rather than a spur to the reader’s enjoyment.” Dorothy Grafly

BOLTON, HERBERT EUGENE, and MARSHALL, THOMAS MAITLAND.[2]Colonization of North America, 1492–1783. il *$4.25 Macmillan 970

20–16766

“A solid treatise (arranged in headed paragraphs) by two American history professors, giving a comprehensive survey of the colonization of North America from 1492 to 1783, and providing a more complete account than previous works have done of the colonies of nations other than the English and of English colonies other than those which established their independence. A special attempt has been made to do better justice to Spanish achievements in North American colonization. Of the three sections into which the work is divided the first deals with the founding of the colonies, the second with their expansion and the international conflict (Anglo-Spanish and Franco-Spanish as well as Franco-English), and the third with the revolt of the English colonies. Numerous convenient maps elucidate the text. Index 53 pp.”—The Times [London] Lit Sup

“A convenient and readable sketch of the whole subject.”

“The style of the work is far from distinguished, and it is a text-book rather than a work of history; but it shows just that breadth and firmness of treatment which will aid the student to acquire a true perspective of past events. The excellence of the idea should have considerable effect on the elementary teaching of history.”

“Because of this comprehensive character, from the point of view of our present interests instead of from that of the original thirteen states of the union, it will be particularly appreciated by those of us who feel the importance of intelligent acquaintance with our historical backgrounds but have not the time to specialize in colonial history.” Lilian Brandt

BONI, ALBERT, ed. Modern book of French verse in English translations. (Modern books of verse) *$2.50 Boni & Liveright 841.08

20–8026

“‘The modern book of French verse’ covers the whole field of French poetry from Guillaume de Poitier’s writing in 1071 to Jules Romain’s, who was born as late as 1885. All the famous figures of French poetry are generously included, the book being starred with the names of Villon, Marot, de Ronsard, Du Bellay, Chenier, De Beranger, Victor Hugo, De Musset, Gautier, De Lisle, Baudelaire, Prudhomme, Mallarmé, Verlaine, Samain, Laforgue, De Régnier, Jammes, Paul Fort and Vildrac. Among the translators may be casually noted Jethro Bithell, Robert Bridges, Chaucer, Austin Dobson, Ernest Dowson, James Elroy Flecker, Andrew Lang, Arthur O’Shaughnessy, John Payne, W. J. Robertson, Rossetti, Swinburne, J. A. Symonds, Arthur Symons and Francis Thompson.”—N Y Times

“Mr Boni’s admirable compilation of English translations of the best French poetry makes a delectable volume. There are very few false notes in this varied chorus.”

“An excellent anthology of translations. Should be valuable in courses in comparative literature.”

“The wealth of material at Mr Boni’s command must have made his editorial task a pleasure as it has undoubtedly made the resultant book invaluable. In future editions, however, Mr Boni should fill a few very obvious gaps.” Ludwig Lewisohn

“His anthology has many gaps, judged as a selection of French verse. However, it is useful and interesting to have this collection of translations, not only for a better idea of French verse among those to whom the originals are sealed, but for a study of poets of the whole subject of translation.” W. P. Eaton

“It must have been a labor of love on Mr Boni’s part, and, like all labors of love, it vindicates itself by its completeness and high average of value. The book will be found invaluable by those who do not read French easily.”

“The quality of the verse is comparatively high; none of it is high enough to dissuade a sensitive reader from learning French.”

Reviewed by E: B. Reed

BONJOUR, FELIX.Real democracy in operation: the example of Switzerland. *$1.50 (3c) Stokes 342.4

20–9847

The author of the book, a former president of the Swiss national council, outlines and explains the constitution and the workings of the Swiss federal republic, which he considers to be in the vanguard of democratic evolution. The twenty-five more or less autonomous states comprising this confederation are political laboratories which borrow one from another those forms of government which appear to succeed best—a practice which insures continuous democratic growth. Contents: Federalism in Switzerland; The evolution of democracy in Switzerland; The Landsgemeinde; The referendum; The results of the referendum; The popular initiative; The results of the initiative; The election of the government and officials by the people; Democracy in the communes and the churches; Compulsory voting and woman suffrage; Proportional representation; Democracy in the army and maintenance of neutrality; The future of democracy in Switzerland; Appendix; Index.

“Written in a pleasing style and admirably translated.” R. C. Brooks

“We recommend those who are interested in the theory and art of modern politics to read this volume of Mr Felix Bonjour with attention, even though they may be bored occasionally with its inevitable parochiality.”

“A book such as M. Bonjour’s was much needed.”

BOOKof Marjorie. *$1.50 (6½c) Knopf

20–4704

The book is an idyl of married life told by the husband. It begins with that night in spring when he first told Marjorie that he loved her and makes the reader a confidant of all the intimate details that lay between then and the time when they both bent over Peter’s bassinette and knew that they “should live forever in Peter and Peter’s children.”

“The book offers no unusual problems and its reactions are simple and happy.” D. L. M.

“The telling is graceful and natural; the little autobiographical fragment is a thing to cherish.” C. W.

“‘The book of Marjorie’ is a simple description of a happy marriage by a writer whose main charm is simplicity.”

BORDEN-TURNER, MARY.Romantic woman. *$2 (1½c) Knopf

20–15390

The story of a Chicago heiress who marries into the British aristocracy. It opens in Chicago, here lightly disguised as “Iroquois,” with the heroine’s own account of her democratic and rather hoydenish girlhood and an introduction to the childhood friends, Louise, Phyllis, Jim Van Orden and Pat O’Brien, who play a part in her later life. Perhaps she should have married Jim and settled down to a conventional and comfortable American life, but traveling with her father in India she falls romantically in love with a handsome cavalry officer, not knowing that he is heir to a dukedom. He, on his part, tho genuinely attracted to the girl, is not unconscious of her wealth. Marriage brings disillusionments and introduces the naïve American into a society whose standards are quite incomprehensible. There is considerable analysis of the two contrasting points of view and the story ends with a glimpse of the war.

“If you can find either constructive idea or positive personality in this book, I cannot; and therefore it remains for me, despite its clever elaboration of detail, that thing which Mr Hewlett rightly dismisses as not worth the name—a string of anecdotes, and no more.” H. W. Boynton

“Her picture of that city [Chicago] and its people is one of the very brilliant things in recent literature. Its temper is not harsh, but it has an edge and the edge cuts clean every time. Always she conveys the richness, the distinction, and the vigor of an arresting character and mind.”

“Miss Borden is not a little pretentious. She does not avoid trying to take more soul out than she has really put in. At the same time, she has a rich theme and she knows her theme. She has a real Englishman in hand and she knows him; and she has a vitality almost as good as the vitality of art. Hers is not the detachment of art or the sincerity of artistic self-expression. It is the drive of emotion, the sincerity of a personal confession told in provisional terms.” F. H.

“Except where it becomes too involved the book is well written. Where its author has been most successful is in the atmosphere of dull discontent, of poignant disillusion, which she evokes throughout. There are neat characterizations, epigrammatic bits of phrasing and some passages written with unblushing frankness.”

“It is a book worth reading slowly and must be so read, for it is told in that peculiar manner practiced by Conrad. It is a taxing style, but it has its fascination.” M. K. Reely

“The work is characterized by contrasts, there are times when the climaxes and the description are vivid but between these there are pages where the writing is labored.”

BOSSCHÈRE, JEAN DE.City curious. il *$3 Dodd

20–18755

A fantastic fairy tale, retold in English by F. Tennyson Jesse. Smaly and Redy, husband and wife, who live in a charming little white house, regret that they haven’t three daughters to occupy their little bedrooms. They wished for them and said a magic verse, but nothing happened. Then they set out to look for them. The story follows their strange adventures and describes the very curious people they meet. The grotesque pictures by the author are in keeping with the text.

“The Belgian turns of thought and imagery have been kept, but not at the expense of good English, as is sometimes the case in a translation.”

“It is really ingenuous of M. de Bosschère and his admirers to imagine him as qualified to draw for children. We should hide all his pictures from them.”

BOSTWICK, ARTHUR ELMORE.Librarian’s open shelf; essays on various subjects. *$3 (3c) Wilson, H. W. 814

20–26990

“The papers here gathered together represent the activities of a librarian in directions outside the boundaries of his professional career, although the influences of it may be detected in them here and there.” (Preface) The book forms a companion volume to “Library essays” and like that volume is composed of collected papers and addresses prepared for various occasions. Partial list of contents: Do readers read? What makes people read? The passing of the possessive: a study of book titles; Selective education; The uses of fiction; The value of association; Modern educational methods; Some economic features of libraries; Simon Newcomb, America’s foremost astronomer; The companionship of books; Atomic theories of energy; The advertisement of ideas.

BOSTWICK, ARTHUR ELMORE.Library essays. *$3 (2c) Wilson, H. W. 020

20–26991

The author celebrates his twenty-fifth year of librarianship with the publication of this volume of collected essays and addresses. They are arranged chronologically and “reflect to a certain extent the progress of library work during the past quarter century.” (Preface) Among the subjects covered are: Pains and penalties in library work; How librarians choose books; The work of the small public library; Lay control in libraries and elsewhere; The whole duty of a library trustee, from a librarian’s standpoint; Library statistics; The love of books as a basis for librarianship; The library as the educational center of a town; The librarian as a censor; How to raise the standard of book selection; The library and the business man; The future of library work; The library as a museum; The library and the locality. There is an index.

BOSWELL, A. BRUCE.Poland and the Poles. il *$4 (4½c) Dodd 943.8

20–26318

The book is based on a study of Poland extending over many years and on personal contact with Poles during a five year’s residence of the author in their country. It is rather a series of essays than a continuous narrative and aims to treat Poland ethnically rather than politically and to describe all the region where Polish civilization is an important element. The contents are: The land; The people: National characteristics; The past of Poland; Divided Poland; Political parties; The country-side; Commerce and industry; The Ukraine question; Work at the foundations; The capital city; The great romantic poets; Modern currents in Polish literature; Education and science; Art and music; The war; Three maps, numerous illustrations and an index.

“A valuable contribution to the literature dealing with a country of which too little is known by the English reader. The Polish national characteristics are very clearly described.”

“We would draw attention to Mr Boswell’s able summary of the Ukrainian problem.... On the other hand, although he devotes a whole chapter to Polish affairs during the war, his treatment of the Teschen question is, in our opinion, neither adequate nor correct. The purely informative sections of Mr Boswell’s book are accurate and thorough. His treatment of ethnographical matters is particularly good, while the two chapters he devotes to Polish literature cover a large amount of fresh ground.” P. S.

“One of the foremost impressions made by the book is that of the earnest effort of the author to give a truthful delineation of the country and the people of whom he writes. This after the long years of propaganda on the part of both Germany and Russia is too important to be overlooked.” D. L. M.

“A readable and instructive book by a competent authority. The concluding chapter gives a useful sketch of Polish policy during the war which was very perplexing for western readers.”

“Unlike some supporters of the Polish cause he has no need to make up in sentiment what he lacks in knowledge; on the contrary his knowledge saves him from an unqualified and undiscriminating enthusiasm. The historical and political side is naturally the most important at the present time, and it is in regard to this that Mr Boswell’s work is most illuminating.”

BOSWORTH, THOMAS OWEN.Geology of the mid continent oilfields. il *$3 Macmillan 553

20–26532

A work covering the oil fields of Kansas, Oklahoma and north Texas. A bibliography of four pages following the introduction shows the sources on which the author has drawn. The sections of the book are then devoted to: Geographical and geological situation of the mid continent oil region; History of the development of the mid continent oil region; Geological structure of the mid continent oilfield region; Geological history of the oil bearing deposits; Stratigraphy and the oilfields; The oil accumulations and their relation to geological structure; Character of the oil; The natural gas; Production of gasoline from natural gas; Salinity of oilfield waters; Some general conclusions. There is a folding map showing the region under consideration, with additional maps and drawings and eight illustrations from photographs. The book is indexed.

“Although the vocabulary of the book is more or less technical, nevertheless the lay reader may pursue it with comfort and understanding.” I: Lippincott

“There is certainly nothing strikingly new in Dr Bosworth’s book, and one further perceives in the work a strong undercurrent of bias to prevalent American opinion. For the rest, the book certainly contains some useful features.” H. B. Milner

BOUCICAULT, RUTH BALDWIN (HOLT) (MRS AUBREY BOUCICAULT).Rose of Jericho. *$1.90 (1½c) Putnam

20–6707

Sheelah Brent was literally picked up by a traveling theatrical company and pressed into their services as substitute for a sick stage child, when she was only seven. For six weeks she thus tided over, with her earnings, a crisis in her family while her widowed father was ill from overwork. Later, when she came to choose her own course, it was the theater. She made good in her profession and in due time became an artist. Towards this latter development her love experiences as a woman helped. But it meant struggle and heartache for Sheelah and defiance of all conventions. Heart solitude once more overtakes her when her son Michael, the fruit of her first girlish and illicit love, is sent to school in England under the guidance of his English father. It is then that she finds so much solace in a book that she writes to the author for more spiritual help. With the coming of the war both Michael and his father volunteer and the latter rescues his son at the cost of his eyesight. The usual thing follows but not before Sheelah has turned to religion, Michael has been killed and she has discovered in her former lover the author of the helpful book.

“A good deal of the novel is well written, particularly the first two ‘books,’ but it drags badly toward the close.”

“The beginning is cleverly human, but the close is strongly-presented pathos of the type commonly classed as ‘sob stuff.’”

BOUCKE, OSWALD FRED.Limits of socialism. *$1.50 (1½c) Macmillan 335

20–7869

After having made it clear that he considers socialism as neither a chimera nor a crime the author makes an attempt at a sympathetic examination of its various tenets with a view to laying bare its weak points and demonstrating the necessity for amendments of the original creed. “Revision is a step in the onward march of civilization. Science itself is nothing if not continual growth and redefinition of terms, whose finest fruit is the advancement of humanism.” The book falls into two parts. Part 1, The limits in theory, contains: The problem; Karl Marx and the economists; The economic interpretation of history; Justice. Part 2, The limits in practice, contains: The limits in production; The limits in distribution; The limits in consumption; The limits in government; A petition. There are seven statistical tables and an index. The author is professor of economics at Pennsylvania state college.

“In regard to the program of socialism, the author makes a worthy contribution to a much neglected subject in that he points out the difficulties which socialists will encounter in trying to realize their ideals, and the limited success which they are likely to attain.” J. E. Le Rossignol

“When he leaves the field of economics he is less convincing. The book will prove rather stiff exposition to the general reader, who will be annoyed at the needlessly scientific vocabulary.”

“The book is stimulating to thought because it is itself thoughtful, a model in manner and temper, a better antidote to socialism’s errors than denunciation or denial of the evils it seeks to cure.” E: A. Bradford

“There is much good stuff in the book, some shrewd ideas, and some sound generalizing, which if turned into language understanded of the people would be valuable.”

BOULENGER, JACQUES.Seventeenth century. *$3.50 (2c) Putnam 944.03

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