“Mr. Nisbet Bain is too faithful a chronicler. He tells his story in such detail that we miss the broad features and lack some perspective of Russia’s relationship to the rest of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.”
“But is perhaps unfair to carp at these minor inaccuracies (as they seem to us), and it is a more congenial task to praise this interesting book for the many pictures of old Russian life with which it abounds.”
“It is seldom that a book combines in so high a degree the charm of imaginative writing with the graver interest of history.”
“‘The first Romanovs’ is a work which covers less ground than is traversed in the Scandinavian volume, and is marked not only by a greater fulness of detail, but by greater concentration of purpose. The present volume is in many respects the best he has given us.”
“It is a conscientious, well-balanced history of that remarkable century. The whole story is well and interestingly told in fluent and often pictorial English.” Wolf von Schierbrand.
“The work is essentially readable. Such a book as this is valuable as affording insight into what was really a formative period of European history.”
“Upon the reader’s acceptance or rejection of Peter’s role as a mighty regenerator will necessarily depend the value and interest of Mr. Bain’s work. At the same time we fail to find that he brings any really new light to bear upon the subject.”
Bain, Robert Nisbet.Scandinavia: a political history of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. $2. Macmillan.
The period from 1513 to 1900 is treated in this volume which deals with the rise, decline, and fall of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as powers.
“The most comprehensive that has yet been written.”
“In his conclusions he frequently differs from earlier writers, but, though his generalizations are often dangerously bold, his statements, as a rule, are well supported.” Laurence M. Larson.
“We have found Mr. Bain’s narrative clear and very readable. It is throughout a scholarly production.”
“Mr. Bain’s narrative, however, is usually vivid and sometimes even eloquent. Inaccuracy rather than obscurity is the fault of the book. As is natural when the scope of the work is so wide, many of the author’s views are open to question.” W. F. R.
“His epitome of Scandinavian annals is clear and well arranged giving about equal prominence to Denmark and Sweden.”
“Mistakes are rare, and those that may be found are too insignificant for exposure. And he tells a good story. This failure of Mr. Bain to enter into the spirit of the time is glaringly apparent in his treatment of Christian II. of Denmark. On the whole his judgments of present-day men and measures are correct and well balanced.” Edwin Bjorkman.
“Keen insight into causation is manifest; social as well as political movements are studied, not a little light being thrown on hitherto neglected phases of Scandinavian history; and the facts presented have been carefully verified. The style, without being impressive, is fluent and agreeable.”
“A very useful historical volume.”
“Mr. Bain’s story is, by force of circumstances, highly compressed, but he has succeeded in making it both clear and attractive.”
Baker, Cornelia.Queen’s page.†$1.25. Bobbs.
This story is all about Pedro and Petronilla, twins of Béarne, who at the start could not understand why when Aunt Catalina said that they had some blue blood in their veins should see only red blood start from a knife wound. They themselves thus remind the reader that they are very much flesh-and-blood little mortals. Their experiences at the court of Francis the First, and their travels and adventures are full of interest for the young reader. The illustrations are the clever work of Fanny Y. Cory.
“A pleasant way for any boy or girl to get acquainted with the sixteenth century is to read ‘The queen’s page.’”
Baker, George P.Forms of public address.**$1.12. Holt.
This little volume is offered by Mr. Baker as a needed supplement to the ordinary oratorical work done in colleges. It is designed for school use, and sets forth its purpose in an introduction addressed to teachers. The book consists of famous historical letters, both private and open, editorials, inaugural addresses, speeches of eulogy, commemoration, dedication, welcome and farewell, and after-dinner speeches. There are an appendix and explanatory notes.
“The selections presented as models give a value to the volume that the general reader, as well as instructors and students, will appreciate for their historical or personal as well as literary worth.”
Baker, Henry B.Relation of preventable disease to taxation. Michigan State board of health.
“We have here a valuable analytical study of local expenditures in Michigan during 1903 on account of indigent sufferers from dangerous communicable diseases: also computations of the money values of the lives apparently saved in 1903 through the lowered death rate from smallpox, typhoid fever, scarlet fever andconsumption since the organization of the State board of health.”—Engin. N.
Baker, Louise R.Mrs. Pinner’s little girl $1. Jacobs.
A pretty story of a little orphan, Mary Daingerfield, who is separated from her sister and brothers and adopted by the rich and kind-hearted Pinners. Thru her sweet unselfishness she succeeds in bringing home to them their son, Dave, and also in reuniting her orphaned family—Kit, Buz, the baby, and their faithful old black Aunty.
Baker, Moses Nelson.Sewerage and sewage purification. 50c. Van Nostrand.
A second revised and enlarged edition of this valuable little volume which was first published in 1895.
Baker, Rev. P.Short instructions; or, Meditations on the Gospels for each day in Lent; ed. by Rev. W: T. Conklin. 75c. Christian press.
“These instructions were first published in 1834 ... [and] are based on the holy Gospels for every day in Lent. The Gospel for the day is given; then follows a short instruction on the same, concluding with a prayer.”—Cath. World.
Baker, William Henry.Cement-worker’s handbook. 50c. W. H. Baker, Wadsworth, O.
More than 50 most important subjects on cement and its uses in construction are covered in this volume, which is compiled to meet the requirements of the common workman.
“The description of the proper way to make cement walks is the best that we have seen in print.”
Baldwin, Charles Sears,ed. American short stories. See Wampum library of American literature, v. I.
Baldwin, Charles Sears.How to write,*50c. Macmillan.
Taking the English Bible as a model of style, the author has written a practical little book which tells “plain people” how to prepare essays, how to tell stories, and how to describe.
“The book will be very useful as a practical rhetoric.”
“The author has succeeded in making his directions practical and untechnical enough really to help the people for whom they are designed.”
*Baldwin, May.Girls of St. Gabriel’s.†$1.25. Lippincott.
“A sprightly story of the experiences of an English girl of fourteen, who spent two years at a convent school in the north of France, on the Belgian frontier.... The heroine’s interests were varied by the neighborhood of a French uncle with a haunted château.... There are illustrations and a good deal of minor detail of the life of a French country house.”—Nation.
*“The tale has incident enough to make it good reading for any girl under eighteen.”
*“The theme is a good one, and well worked out.”
Baldwin, Simeon Eben.American judiciary and judicial system.*$1.25. Century.
This is the sixth volume in the “American state series” whose object is to describe “comprehensively the manner in which the Governmental agencies of the American state are organized and administered.” The subject matter falls under two heads: Part 1. The nature and scope of the judicial power in the United States, and Part 2. The organization and practical working of American courts.
*“So far as description goes, it is here and there loosely written.”
“His work maintains the high standard set by the other published volumes of the ‘American state series.’” Robert Livingston Schuyler.
“Is characterized by thoroughness, accuracy, and readableness. Laymen and jurists alike will find this book interesting and helpful.”
“He has accomplished his difficult task admirably.”
Balmforth, Ramsden.Bible from the standpoint of higher criticism. 2v. ea.*$1.25. Dutton.
Two volumes devoted respectively to the Old and New Testament, which discuss in popular and non-technical form the results of the higher criticism. “The true basis of religious union is shown to be where Jesus put it, not in the speculative doctrines which divide men, but in the moral effect which unites them.” (Outlook.) Illustrations are drawn from the various classes of literature and periods of history.
“Its object is to show that, after all, the Bible is worth studying.”
“Some of the principal facts brought to light in recent study are presented fearlessly and with no little skill.”
“Mr. Balmforth’s discussions are bold, almost blunt, but they are reverent and well considered, and they will do good service in promoting familiarity with the achievements of Biblical scholarship in its most important field.”
“A lucid and popularly written account of the results of modern critical study.”
Bandelier, Fanny,tr. Journey of Cabeza de Vaca.**$1. Barnes.
A new volume in the “Trail-makers library” which narrates the experiences and adventures of the first white man to cross the continent. “His journey begun in Florida in 1528 ended on the Pacific in 1536. The translator and editor have had a valuable idea in extracting from the original confused and garrulous narrative what was essential and important.” (Outlook.)
“The work is edited by no less an authority than Ad. F. Bandelier, the foremost in this line, and the translation is by his wife, whose quick intelligence and absolute familiarity with the Spanish language has enabled her to fathom many intricacies of the vague and confused record.” F. S. Dellenbaugh.
*Bangs, John Kendrick.Mrs. Raffles; being the adventures of an amateur cracks-woman narrated by Bunny.†$1.25. Harper.
“In his well-known humorous style Mr. Bangs has portrayed Mrs. Raffles, the widow of the famous cracksman, and her never-to-be-consoled admirer ‘Bunny.’ The yarns ... contain material for detective stories that quite surpass the plots invented for the original thief by Mr. Hornung.”—Critic.
*“The yarns one and all are amusing.”
*“A parody of Mr. Hornung’s stories of Raffles, the amateur cracksman, very badly done.”
Bangs, John Kendrick.Worsted man: a musical play for amateurs.†50c. Harper.
Eight lonely women at a summer hotel in New Hampshire attempt to get even with Fate for not sending a single youth their way. They construct a worsted man from an afghan, stuffing it with cotton. A certain famous spring-water brings this man of wool to life, and he becomes an unmanageable flirt.
Banks, Nancy Huston.Little hills.†$1.50. Macmillan.
Phoebe Rowan is widowed shortly after the ceremony which joins her in a loveless marriage with the village minister. It becomes a duty to her to call to her “wren’s nest” the destitute parents of her husband,—a father who is a cripple and a drunkard, and a step-mother “austere, ignorant, narrow-minded, with a faculty for ruling all around her with an iron will.” The story follows a thorny path with a triumphant turn out into the open.
“It is not given to her, as it is to Mr. Howells, to write an interesting story about nothing. The various characters to which Mrs. Banks introduces us are not convincing.”
“The score of characters who move through Mrs. Banks’s pages are quaint, charming, whimsical, by turns, but never exaggerated or burlesqued. The central thread of the story, which binds the whole together with a strength surprising in a plot of such fragile delicacy, is imbued with a simple pathos that at times evokes an almost painful sympathy.” F. T. Cooper.
“The author has a riotous sentimentality, no sense of humor, and an over-worked knack of detaching scenic bric-a-brac from the landscape.”
“The book is somewhat cumbered with description, and several of its characters have toppled over into caricatures, but it will be read with interest both because of a plot out of the ordinary and of the freshness and spontaneity of its treatment.”
“There are bits here which are gently provocative of a smile, and always the sentiment is sweet and gracious, but the total effect is rather faint.”
“Appears as a frank imitator of Miss Mary Wilkins, and the imitation is not very successful.”
Barbour, Ralph Henry (Richard Stillman Powers, pseud.).Orchard princess.†$2. Lippincott.
How Miles Fallon, bachelor, becomes a ready target for Cupid’s dart when April sunshine and the scent of apple blossoms lure him on to the orchard princess is lightly sketched in this love tale with a pastoral setting. The man is a novelist, and the girl is an artist, yet these two idealists are very human in the “little nothingnesses” that pave the way for their romance.
*“The heroine is a real girl, which cannot always be said of romantic heroines.”
Bard, Emile.Chinese life in town and country.**$1.20. Putnam.
Viewing China and the Chinese “with the eyes of a man of affairs,” and avoiding “exaggerated optimism”, the author has treated of Chinese traits, customs and character, of their religions, education, government, history and economic and social life. The book is concise and interesting, and contains over a dozen illustrations and a good index.
“Altogether this is a clever and readable book.”
“The book has no air of hasty generalization; the chapters, though brief, are full of information, set forth in the clearest possible manner.”
“The characteristic and chief value of the book is its freedom from bias. The little volume is singularly free from inaccuracies.”
“The translation, or rather adaptation, is one that takes away all stiffness and puts the reader at his ease. With index and illustrations, this makes one of the books on China most pleasant for reference and reading.”
“He is a kindly, though just, observer.”
“The translation seems well done.”
“He has come as near to an understanding of the Chinese character as is possible for an occidental.”
Barnes, James.Blockaders. 60c. Harper.
Thirteen short stories for girls as well as boys. The “Blockaders” is a tale of a Confederate blockade runner which is captured by the Federals and turned into a United States gunboat. Then there are stories of flying machines, cannibal kings, and adventures in Africa, where savages pursue the finders of certain diamonds. There is a story of an ice boat, where two boys carry a bag of money fifty miles to save a bank, and of harrowing experiences in an apparently inaccessible village of the cliff dwellers. There are many others equally varied.
“The stories are well written; the plots are worth writing about; the boys who figure in them are real flesh and blood boys; and the style is crisp, direct, and natural.”
“The sort of thing boys like to read.”
“They are of all sorts—adventurous, amusing, and pathetic—and all good.”
Barr, Martin W.Mental defectives; their history, treatment, and training.*$4. Blakiston.
An interesting and practical treatment of the subject by one who has had long and successful experience in the training of the mentally deficient. The modern methods of sifting and classifying these children, are given in detail, and the work suitable for each class is described. It is an interesting book for everyone, but is intended primarily for teachers and parents. There are 152 illustrations.
“In his interesting study, Dr. Barr has spoken to an audience of teachers and parents, rather than to scientists.” Albert Warren Ferris.
“It is by all odds the most thorough and well written treatise upon the subject with which we are familiar, not excepting those of Ireland, Doun, or Seguin; besides it is modern.”
Barr, Robert.Speculations of John Steele.†$1.50. Stokes.
John Steele, the hero of this story, runs the entire gamut of financial adventure. He starts as station master in the “lone shanty” known as Hitchen’s Siding where his bravery in side-tracking a freight train without the dispatcher’s orders, thus averting a collision, was the beginning of a series of promotions. He becomes the owner of a railroad, dabbles in wheat, loses a fortune, wins it again with the woman he loves thru a coup de force.
Barrett, Mrs. Charlotte,ed. SeeBurney, Frances.Diary and letters of Madame D’Arblay.
Barrington, Mrs. Russell.Reminiscences of G. F. Watts.*$5. Macmillan.
Conversational reminiscences of the sculptor-artist jotted down by one who was his friend and neighbor. Many interesting details are given, which reveal his character and his attitude toward his own work and the work of other artists.
“An extremely readable story of her long and intimate friendship with Watts.”
“Comprehensive volume.”
“At times it must be admitted she rather overloads her pages with minor details. The book is written pleasantly, interestingly, tho without any great distinction of style—but it is only fair to add that there is no pretension to style.”
*“The most important book about that painter yet published.”
*“Mrs. Barrington combines in an unusual degree the literary and artistic gift.”
“We cannot help thinking that the author would have done better to hand over her notes to the biographer who, under the general direction of Mrs. Watts and with access to the painter’s private papers, is at work upon a complete biography.”
“Mrs. Barrington’s book, with all its enthusiastic fervor and intimate outpourings, adds practically little to what has already been published.”
“Mrs. Barrington’s is not a biography, but a personal work, which incidentally reveals a good deal of the writer’s personality.” Charles de Kay.
*“A noble biography of a noble man.”
*“This volume, while perhaps not exhaustive, is certainly accurate.”
Barritt, Leon.How to draw.**$2. Harper.
The author “here sets forth, in a simple and practical manner, the basic principles of illustration in pen and ink and pencil.” After describing fully the materials necessary, he outlines the steps of procedure. The first lesson is on a block letter alphabet. Next are rules for drawing the human head and features, the hands, feet, and the human figure. “How to measure an object by the eye” is followed by an explanation of how to draw from life, studies in expression, animal drawing, perspective, landscape drawing, spatter work, water studies, comics, cartoons, wash lampblack drawing, drawing on silver prints, distemper drawings, lettering, foliage study, and the reproduction of drawings. The last part of the book is devoted to the well-known American illustrators and cartoonists.
Barren, Leonard,, ed. Roses and how to grow them.**$1. Doubleday.
Omitting everything that does not bear directly upon the subject of practical rose growing, this manual teaches the American amateur all that is necessary for him to know “in order that he may intelligently make a rose garden, select his varieties and grow a harvest of bloom.” A number of half-tone illustrations accompany the text. The book belongs to the “Garden library.”
“The book is freely and attractively illustrated, most of the inscriptions being amply descriptive of the purpose of the pictures.” Edith Granger.
“To those who desire roses and know nothing about them this little volume will be an especial boon, so precise and unveiled by the drapery of unnecessary words are the instructions.” Mabel Osgood Wright.
Barry, Richard.Port Arthur: a monster heroism.*$1.50. Moffat.
Under such chapter headings as, The city of silence, A battle in a storm, Cost of taking Port Arthur, and A contemporary epic, are told the horrid things, pitiless and true, which the author saw in the East on the field and in the trenches where the little brown men fought so bravely.
“Barry knows how to tell a story in words and sentences that seem part of the war itself.” William Elliot Griffis.
“This book is that of an eye-witness profoundly and sympathetically impressed, still young enough to have every impression deep and clear, and old enough to set it down justly and vividly.” Wallace Rice.
“Not strictly a well-written book, this is nevertheless full of the vitality of the field, and the impression that it gives of a record made on the spot is heightened by the numerous illustrations from the author’s own camera.”
“The book is on the whole more to be commended for its material than the manner in which the material is used.”
“He gives a series of vivid pictures of Japanese methods of warfare, of life in the besieging trenches, of the characteristics of the Japanese soldier and his commanding officers.”
Barry, William (Francis).Life of Ernest Renan.**$1. Scribner.
Beginning with a chapter which discusses the widely known scholar and writer as “The Breton peasant,” Mr. Barry traces the career of Renan, describing his youthful struggles to understand the Catholic faith, his giving up the priesthood, his lectures as a teacher of Hebrew, the influence of his sister, his travels and his work upon his “Life of Jesus,” and his other books.
“Is in many respects an excellent and most instructive biography, but he is somewhat too prone to argue with Renan’s opinions without trying to ‘place’ him amid the powerful influences of the nineteenth century.”
“It chiefly consists of translation or paraphrase of books within reach of every one, and the moment Dr. Barry essays to be original he falls into blunders.”
“This work is finely wrought as a piece of literature, is judicious, brave, and reverent.”
“From the able pen of a keen and sympathetic critic.”
“He has written a superficial book on a subject worthy of more intelligent treatment.”
“The thesis is cleverly maintained, and the book, in spite of its obvious dogmatic purpose, is interesting throughout.”
“Falls several points short of being satisfactory as an exposition of the reality behind the man who was an atheist, ‘devoutly and with a sort of unction.’”
“Interesting, well written, appreciatively critical.”
“It says much for the wealth and variety of Dr. Barry’s resources, both as a scholar and as a literary artist, that he has achieved this task with eminent success.”
Barton, George Aaron.Year’s wandering in Bible lands.*$2. Ferris.
This volume is made up of home letters written by the director of the American school of Oriental research, and it contains no dry archaeological detail, but is an account of the experiences of the author and his party, and a description of the localities visited, including Athens, Corinth, the churches of Asia, the Holy land, Alexandria, Italy, and the Alps. There are 145 illustrations in half-tone, from views taken during the trip.
Reviewed by Wallace Rice.
“Its fine and numerous illustrations give it special value as a pictorial companion book to the Bible.”
Barton, Samuel Marx.Elements of plane surveying.*$1.50. Heath.
To form a connecting link between the mathematical branches as taught in the secondary schools and the practical work of surveying is the author’s chief purpose in presenting this text. It is subdivided into the following chapters: (1) Instruments, their adjustments and uses; (2) Chain surveying; (3) Compass surveying; (4) Computation of areas; (5) Transit surveying; (6) Leveling; and (7) Tables. The last 111 pages are devoted to several useful and practical tables: a table of squares, cubes, square roots, and cube roots; of chords; stadia tables; six-place logarithms of numbers and of trigonometric functions; the natural functions to five places; and an auxiliary table for small angles. The author enters a plea against the insertion of six-place tables in texts on plane surveying as wasteful of time and labor.
“He has quite well met the needs of one class. The class whose interests seem to have been consulted, in the main, is that of the strong high-school, or early college, student of mathematics who feels he would like to know for what all these years of barren formalism are supposed to prepare one, at any rate. From a mathematical student’s point of view the book is a clear, simple, and educative treatment of the fundamental problems of surveying.” G. W. Myers.
Bashore, Harvey Brown.Sanitation of a country house. $1. Wiley.
“This little volume tells simply and clearly how to locate and build a country house to insure the most healthful conditions, how to provide a pure water supply, and how to dispose of the waste in an economical and sanitary manner.”—Outlook.
“The suggestions that he offers to the prospective builder of a country house are eminently practical, based on a scientific study of rural conditions.”
*Bassett, Mrs. Mary E. Stone.Little green door.†$1.50. Lothrop.
“A French romance of the time of Louis XIII. The scene is partly placed in a retired garden belonging to the King and entered by a ‘little green door.’ The book is not of the swashbuckling type, although there is an occasional clash of swords.”—Outlook.
*“The attempt is for quiet charm rather than for strenuous dramatic effect.”
Bate, Percy.English table glass.*$2.50. Scribner.
“The early pages tell of the author’s own proceedings as a collector and his growth as a connoisseur.... There are 254 separate glasses illustrated, all arranged upon the black backgrounds of sixty-seven half-tone plates.... There are many historical curiosities among these pieces, and of course Jacobitism in abundance.” (Nation.) 1586 is the date of the earliest glass shown.
“A book at once pleasing and packed with information, personal and yet of broadest application.”
“The author is very enthusiastic, and has much knowledge of his subject, and his guidebook will be a welcome help to the large body of students of an attractive subject. We rarely find Mr. Bate at fault.”
“As far as it goes, however, the book is a careful account, rather by way of classification than of historical or technical discussion, of English table glass up to 1800.”
“Full of the knowledge and the insight of the enthusiastic collector.”
Bates, Oric.Madcap cruise.†$1.50. Houghton.
The story of a young Harvard man whose uncle refused to supply him with funds for a trip to Europe. As the girl he loves is already there, nothing can stop him, so he takes his chum with him, steals his uncle’s yacht, cruises from Maine to the Mediterranean, wins the girl and comes home to be forgiven. There are many amusing and stirring adventures, such as a race with an English yacht, smuggling art treasures out of Italy, and a storm at sea.
Reviewed by Wm. M. Payne.
“Lively narrative and clearcut description, written for the most part in excellent English. A thoroughly wholesome and readable book.”
“It is light, but simple and pretty.”
“The story is cleverly told, remarkably so for the author’s first attempt, and is entertaining in spite of the superabundance of slang.”
“The author’s style is buoyant, and he rides blithely over choppy seas that have brought to grief many an older writer.”
Batten, Rev. Loring W.Hebrew prophet. $1.50. Macmillan.
“Dr. Batten seeks to realise the actual conditions under which the Jewish prophets lived and worked. He inquires how they gained a subsistence, what they did for their countrymen, what was thought and expected of them, and whether they wrote down their utterances in advance.... These and other questions are discussed with an open-mindedness and sobriety which are not always in evidence on either side of the ‘Higher criticism controversy.’”—Spec.
“An excellent handbook for the use of intelligent Bible students. The method of presentation is clear and simple, and the underlying principles are scholarly and safe.”
“The book is popular yet critical, neglecting neither the problems of scholars nor the practical applications of the history.”
“A very sensible and seasonable book.”
Battine, Cecil.Crisis of the confederacy: a history of Gettysburg and the Wilderness. $5. Longmans.
“This volume is substantially a history of the American civil war, though special attention is given to the Gettysburg campaign (June 27th-July 14th, 1863), and to Grant’s operations in the Wilderness in May and June, 1864.... The story of years of serious fighting is compressed into something less than four hundred pages. Then comes a chapter in which the lessons of the war are drawn in a very instructive way.” (Spec.) There are six maps in the book, and a colored frontispiece showing the battle flags of the confederacy.
“Captain Battine has done faithful and able work in his book, and it must remain a permanent contribution to the history of the crisis of the Confederacy.” J. P. S.
“If he has nothing very new to say on the subject, he has the gift of writing a clear narrative. Would be improved by a better index and by more references to authorities.”
“Capt. Battine tries to be fair, and is on the whole.”