“O,” pseud.See Yellow war.
O., E. G.Egomet.*$1.25. Lane.
A collection of fifty-three essays which “are simply the book-talk of a book-lover, that and nothing more.” In them E. G. O. frankly states his likes and dislikes, but allows his readers to agree or disagree with him, just as they choose.
“They have the double merit of being sincere in themselves and of being simply and naturally set down.”
“The author makes no attempt to be profound, but he succeeds in interesting even where he does not carry conviction with the statement of his opinions. He is delightfully frank, and does not hesitate to put forth various literary heresies.”
“His manifest sincerity in all his literary judgments, and his abounding enthusiasm for a wide range of good books make his chapters delightful reading.”
Oates, William C.War between the Union and the Confederacy, and its lost opportunities.*$3. Neale.
“This is chiefly of interest to military students of the Civil war as a criticism of the action of President Davis of the Confederacy, the Confederate congress, and Confederate general officers in the field, with the object of showing that under other management the South might have won.”—Outlook.
“Rambling and careless in style, frequently in error as to events, sometimes grotesque in opinions and occasionally prejudiced against individuals. In one sense is worthless and in another is of the highest importance as a revelation of men.”
“Much matter which the future historian will be glad of. The General himself speaks frankly as a partisan.”
Ober, Frederick Albion.Hernando Cortés, conqueror of Mexico.**$1. Harper.
“Despite its title. Mr. Ober’s book comes under the category of history rather than biography, for by far the greater portion is devoted to the three years’ campaigning which ended in the Spanish conquest of Mexico.... It may be commended to those desirous of obtaining a brief, readable account of the conquest and an impartial idea of the leading figure therein. An especially interesting feature is the identification by its author (who has traveled widely in Latin-American countries) of scenes and relics associated with the New World exploits of Cortés.”—Outlook.
*“Readable it certainly is, to one who is not fastidious regarding the historical accuracy of the book he is reading.”
*“However the telling is well enough, and the facts seem sufficient for the purpose in hand. Except for that purpose the book strikes one as distinctly superfluous.”
Ober, Frederick Albion.Our West Indian neighbors.**$2.50; ¾ lev.**$5. Pott.
The author, who has visited and studied the islands in 1879-1880, who was commissioner to the world’s fair of 1891 from the West Indies, and who has furthered his knowledge of them in late years, gives an account of the islands of the Caribbean sea, “America’s Mediterranean,” their picturesque features, fascinating history, and attractions for the traveler, nature-lover, and pleasure-seeker.
“Many quaint and little known facts are recorded, but the total result is very unsatisfactory. The account is rambling and superficial.”
“A timely and good account of the islands of the Caribbean sea.”
“One of the most complete and authoritative of recent books.”
Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson.Abraham Lincoln.**$1.25. Jacobs.
A full account in compact form of the development of a great man and the circumstances which favored this development. The chief battles which mark the course of the Civil war are treated rather summarily. The book deals essentially with the man, his motives, and personality, and the nation’s struggle forms an impressionistic back-ground.
“This double sectionalism and these standards of elegance are fatal to the usefulness of a book which does not pretend to a ‘vast amount of research into sources not before used,’ and which presents few new ideas. Nor is the execution faultless.” Carl Russell Fish.
“The author has produced a well-balanced, readable, compact book, that gives the important facts of Lincoln’s life. He has brought to his work historical training and a practised hand.”
“Dr. Oberholtzer writes clearly and forcibly for the most part, but with an occasional verbal arrangement that makes his meaning hard to understand. The ‘Bibliography’ of this volume is remarkable for its inadequacy. Dr. Oberholtzer’s predilection is for such memoirs as serve the more sordid and vulgarizing conception of Lincoln’s character.”
“No man, whichever his side of the fence can fail to find much pleasure and satisfaction in contemplating Mr. Lincoln in the angle of view in which Mr. Oberholtzer has chosen to look at him. The author manages as a rule to be astonishingly fair to both sides and to get, in most cases, very close to the truth. There are lapses of course. Times, too, when in his eagerness to make bold generalizations the author misses things he should have considered.”
*O’Brien, William.Recollections.**$3.50. Macmillan.
“William O’Brien, the energetic Irish member of the British Parliament ... reveals a most interesting and complex personality in this work. Many of this vigorous fighter’s recollections concern the fierce, endless warfare over Ireland’s rights and wrongs. But he was a poet in his youth. He has strong sympathies with the Gaelic revival, he was an ardent theatregoer in his young manhood, and is still, it seems, in the intervals when the Irish contingent in the House of Commons is not active, a dreamer of brave dreams.”—N. Y. Times.
*“Mr. O’Brien writes as a rule in scholarly fashion; but there are some passages which fail conspicuously when so considered.”
*“Although written from a standpoint differing somewhat from that of Mr. McCarthy’s reminiscences, they recall the latter, not simply in subject matter, but in tone and treatment. They are pervaded by the same geniality, quiet dignity, pathos, tenderness, humor, and unfailing optimism.”
O’Connor, Mary Hamilton.Vanishing Swede. $1.25. Cooke.
“The story has to do with the discovery of a long-lost silver mine, the ‘Vanishing Swede,’ the finding of which was preceded by many adventures, hairbreadth escapes from death by the wild beasts of the forests, and leads up to the happiness of the young brother and sister, who are the principal characters in the story, and of another couple. The mysterious character is the Leather hermit, who turns out to be the man who had discovered the silver mine.”—N. Y. Times.
“The humor of the ‘Vanishing Swede’ is of the primitive sort that springs only from youth and health; it is not humor, indeed, so much as animal spirits.”
“Interesting story of pluck and adventure in the forests of Oregon.”
Oertel, Philipp Friedrich Wilhelm (W. D. Von Horn, pseud.).Maria Theresa; tr. from the German by George P. Upton.*60c. McClurg.
“Masculinity of intellect, together with a strength and wisdom, a firmness yet kindliness of disposition which but few men have manifested” are gifts which enabled Maria Theresa to take her place among the famous queens of the world. How she benefited her realm by strengthening its laws and bringing about wise reforms is sketched in a manner to interest young readers. The volume belongs to “Life stories for young people.”
O’Higgins, Harvey Jerrold.Smoke-eaters. $1.50. Century.
Thru his experience on a New York newspaper, the author learned to know and admire the men of the fire department, and in the “Smoke-eaters” he has written an epic of the city firemen, a story of danger and excitement. He follows the fortunes of a certain hook-and-ladder crew and thru the smoke and flame their actual characters reveal themselves, real and elemental. Captain Meaghan, who earns his pension by thirty-five years of gallant service, Lieutenant Gallagher, who wins a reputation and his chief’s adopted daughter, and Sergeant Pim, whose grim humor relieves many a tense moment, are as vivid as their flaming background.
“They are told with extraordinary simplicity, with no glow of rhetoric or splash of color, but they carry complete conviction.”
“At last the American fireman has had something like justice done him in our literature.”
“This is a good book for boys, altho not designed especially for young readers. It contains much healthful excitement, a mass of information, and many lessons in manliness, but no false bravado.”
“It is not too much to say that he has written the epic of the New York firemen, and notonly are they the best sort of stories about firemen, but some of them would stand as models of all that any short stories should be—so compact, so restrained, and yet possessed of a vigor and force that keep expectation keyed to the highest tension.”
“The stories are full of action, fine character-drawing, and humor.”
Okakura-Kakuzo.Awakening of Japan.*$1.20. Century.
Assuming that the West has as much to unlearn about the East as the East has to learn about the West, the author frames his evolutionary study for general enlightenment. He answers the question “From what sources are drawn the intellectual and moral qualities which have enabled the present generation of statesmen, citizens, soldiers and sailors, under an able emperor, to enter suddenly, as a first class liberal power, into the company of nations?” The sketch touches the conditioning factors of Japanese development from the period of isolation during the dark Night of Asia, to the present period which the author characterizes as the “dusk of humanity.” He shows Japan in her chrysalis state when the shogunate exercised the powers of government, in her rallying state when the power of the shoguns was overthrown, and in her state of a developing national conscience which made ready the way for Commodore Perry and the western aid in the restoration. The author’s virility, enthusiasm and conscience are stamped upon every page.
“He is a poet, a philosopher and a historian, and he possesses in no small degree an intimate knowledge of Occidental history and the trend of our civilization, while his knowledge of our language enables him to write of The awakening of Japan with the skill of a master of English. For these reasons this work is a volume that no Occidental student of the Orient can afford to slight.”
“With Mr. Kakuzo’s views on the older civilization of Japan we entirely disagree. Even his chronology is wrong by a thousand years.”
“The present work is simpler and more concrete than ‘The ideals of the East;’ in its purely literary qualities it would do credit to an author writing his own tongue. Now that Lafcadio Hearn is dead, Mr. Okakura may be regarded as the foremost interpreter of his people to the western world; an interpreter not less subtle, and obviously more authoritative.” R. B.
“‘The awakening of Japan’ is marked by the same epigrammatic style and forceful utterance that characterize ‘The ideals of the East.’” Frederick W. Gookin.
“It is a story of the new Nippon after the brilliant and unscholarly fashion of Carlyle.” Adachi Kinnosuké.
“One of the best volumes, in brief compass, on Japanese historical development, and answering the question, What has enabled the Japanese people to escape the fate of the other Asiatic nations when in contact with the West? is ‘The awakening of Japan.’ He writes in English with a broad culture.”
“No more fascinating book on Japan, or one bearing more distinctly the character of amultum in parvo, has been produced than this.”
Okakura-Yoshisaburo.Japanese spirit; with an introd. by George Meredith.**$1. Pott.
“The volume consists of reproductions of lectures delivered by Mr. Okakura at the University of London. The essays take up and discuss most of the peculiarly characteristic national traits of the Japanese people.”—R. of Rs.
“They are illuminating and instructive, but lack the literary quality of the two books by the author’s brother.”
“This book is not so strong or original as ‘The awakening of Japan,’ but it seems to do more justice to the work and influence of Buddhism as the mother and nurse of Japanese civilization.” Wm. Elliot Griffis.
“His little volume has the distinctive characteristics of breadth, lucidity, and felicity of expression which gained for the ‘Ideals’ such a wide and appreciative audience in this country.”
“To philosophic capacity he adds those of criticism and of logical arrangement of his materials, all of which combined have enabled him to produce a clear, succinct and well-expressed essay on his subject.”
“Really valuable analysis.”
Okey, Thomas.Story of Venice.$2. Macmillan.
A volume in the “Mediaeval towns” series. The history of Venice as an independent state, covering a period of more than a thousand years, and including an account of Venetian art. The second part of the volume describes the Venice of to-day, dividing it into twenty sections and making the description a practical one for the use of travellers. There are illustrations by Nelly Erickson.
“Will be acceptable both to travellers and students.”
“This little work is a model of clear and concise narrative. The author knows how to make the most of his subject and tells his tale in a very attractive way.”
“The story is told compactly, but with sufficient fullness.”
“Such a book is a boon to many men, who will find it concise but not perfunctory, learned but never dull.”
“He has had no easy task in compressing into the limits of even the larger volumes of this series so great a mass of material; and he has performed it with skill and success.”
Older, Mrs. Fremont.Giants.†$1.50. Appleton.
“One giant is an oil trust magnate; the other a young man who opposes him. Scenes are laid in ‘Oilville,’ California, and New York, where the young man has carried a reform campaign and become district attorney. The book falls in with a popular tone of antagonism to trusts as throttling competition.”—Outlook.
*“The whole narration is pitched in the highest key of sensationalism, and the figures that take part in it have but slight resemblance to real human beings.” Wm. M. Payne.
“Some readers will consider it rabid, sensational trash; others a blow on the right side.”
Olmsted, Frederick Law.A journey in the seaboard slave states. 2v.*$5. Putnam.
A series of letters written for the New York Times during a three months’ trip in 1852-3. These letters were revised and published in 1856, and are now issued again in a two-volume edition. They contain an account of the author’s impressions of the southern people, black and white, of their institutions, and their social, political, and industrial economy.
“They are like faithful daguerreotypes of the worst features of southern civilization. The author’s spirit was so fiercely prejudiced against the South....”
“Occasionally one finds evidence of partisan feeling, but in the main the story reads well, giving a distinct impression of a fair-minded observer anxious to see just how things are, and equally anxious to make a record of actual conditions.” Francis W. Shepardson.
Oman, Charles (William) Chadwick.Seven Roman statesmen of the later Republic.*$1.60. Longmans.
“The seven statesmen are the two Gracchi, Sulla, Crassus, the younger Cato, Pompey, and Caesar. Their lives ... completely cover the last century of Rome’sancien régime; or, more precisely, they cover the course of the Roman revolution.... Each of Mr. Oman’s seven statesmen, with the exception of Cato, ... represented the monarchial principle, each more distinctly than his predecessor. Thus the true meaning of the whole process, ... may be brought out by concentrating attention upon the personal element.”—Am. Hist. R.
“Although the cardinal facts of the story are common property and allow of no radically new explanation, yet they are invested with new interest by Mr. Oman’s literary skill, his graphic and often colloquial style, his genial and pungent wit—as of the Oxford common-room, his thoroughly individual appreciation of each of the leading figures, and his presentation of the whole movement in modern and realistic terms.” Henry A. Sill.
One hundred best American poems, selected by John R. Howard. 35c. Crowell.
These poems are selected from the works of sixty-four American poets. All living authors have been excluded and the editor does not claim that he has chosen the one hundred best poems, but one hundred from among the best. The selections are given in chronological order, beginning with Philip Freneau (1752-1832) and closing with Richard Hovey, who died in 1900. An index of authors and another of first lines gives easy access to any poem.
*“The selection, as a whole, is very satisfactory.”
*“One may quarrel with some of the selections ... but it can hardly be said that they do not all deserve praise and preservation.”
Opal. $1.25. Houghton.
An unusual story of a living opal, a woman of wondrous beauty, who feels “everything a little, but nothing much,” and who is a clever reflection of each personality with whom she comes in contact, “a thousand women in one.” Then there is the “one woman in a thousand,” strong and homely, whose “character and features are at constant warfare.” And there is the man in whom lay the possibilities which might make of him either “a leader of men or a follower of women.” This is the important material. Boston and the other characters are mere background. The real woman loves the man, but gives him the opal because she fancies it will make him happy. It is the usual story of the unlucky stone which brings misfortune to the donor and possessor; and the iridescent girl, with no more evil intent than the gem itself, wrecks the lives of all who come in intimate contact with her. In the end, when what she has done is legally undone, the finer qualities of the real woman’s character keep her from her heart’s desire.
*“Written with such marked individuality of style.” Frederic Taber Cooper.
“The argument is unusual, and it is strikingly presented. It seems, however, to be a theme too extensive for treatment so brief, and there are other evidences, slight but convincing, of lack of craftsmanship.”
“Such a flat, foolish and unconvincing creature has, therefore, no reason for existence, at least not in a novel.”
“Of unusual interest and originality. The women are admirably drawn, both of them, but the character of ‘the opal’ is a bit of portraiture quite unique.”
“Most of the story is made up of conversation, which is entertaining. The action is rapid.”
“The development of the story is skilfully managed, the conversations as a rule are very entertaining, and the whole book has the touch of a bright, keen, thoroughly trained woman, not by nature a novelist, but able to turn her hand to the writing of fiction with unusual adroitness both of judgment and skill.”
“Is unusually witty and readable.”
“The treatment meets the theme but half way. It ought to be a masterpiece and it is not.”
Oppenheim, E. Phillips.Master mummer.†$1.50. Little.
A plotting archduchess hides her orphaned niece, direct heir to the family’s millions, away in a convent, and substitutes her own daughter’s claim to the fortune. By merest chance a young author living a struggling bohemian life becomes the protector of the unfortunate girl as she emerges into the world for a brief moment. His efforts are strongly seconded by the “master mummer” a great actor, who had loved the girl’s mother. Together they foil every attempt of the arch-plotters, and bring about well-merited happiness.
“It has an ingenious plot, and a steady stream of romantic and dramatic incident; he writes well, too, without exaggeration, and with pretty touches of sentiment. In construction, management, style, and variety of incident, we can recommend ‘The master mummer’ as one of the best stories of its kind that has appeared for some time.”
“The book has the exciting and the dramatic elements that will render it popular with a large class of readers who are less critical about the form, presentation and probability of a tale than they are about its absorbing interest.”
“Not that there is anything extraordinary or remarkable or great or strong or wise or literary about it—it’s just a good story.”
“The story is frank melodrama, but is readable in its own particular line.”
Oppenheim, Edward Phillips.Mysterious Mr. Sabin.$1.50. Little.
Mr. Oppenheim’s former books, “A prince of sinners,” and “Anna, the adventuress,” as well as the present story, make an incognito personage the central figure. The mystery in each case is the sort to be dealt with non-professionally. The mysterious Mr. Sabin is an unscrupulous French royalist who aids the German government in a conspiracy of war against England. His part in the plot is that of securing valuable papers recording the coast defenses of England, for which services he demands Germany’s conquest of France, and the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Prince Henri and his cousin, Helene of Bourbon. The coveted papers are the guarded possession of an English admiral “partly crazed by the tragic destruction of the Victoria, but still so profoundly wise on naval matters and coast defenses that the spies of rival empires lay siege to a study in which he works at plans to save his country.” Princess Helene figures in a pretty romance which in spite of threatening intrigue keeps free from politics and diplomatic complications.
“It is one of the most clever mystery tales of recent years, abounding in highly dramatic situations, with a strong and well-sustained love interest. In the present story there are many situations and happenings that are highly improbable, and in some instances practically impossible. Barring this grave fault, however, the story is almost all that the lover of romantic fiction could desire.”
“We have the impression that the tale is, in fact, not a new one; however, it is not bad of its kind.”
“The book has more thrills and less probability to the square inch of text than can be found anywhere outside the pages of a dime novel.”
“Skilful in plot.”
“It is all glaringly impossible, yet not without power or real fascination.”
Oppenheim, Lassa.International law.*$6.50. Longmans.
This, the first of a two-volume treatise, deals with international law in time of peace. An introduction discussing the foundation and development of the law of nations is followed by four parts: States as subjects of the laws of nations; State territory, the open sea, and individuals as the objects of the laws of nations; Diplomatic envoys, and the like, as agents of states in their international relations; and International transactions. The work aims to be an elementary text.
“Taken all in all, Mr. Oppenheim has given us the best treatment of the Law of Peace that we have as yet had.” Leo S. Rowe.
“The merit of the volume is that it presents a fair, well-balanced summary of accepted results, and that it puts the reader in touch with the best modern literature of the subject.”
Orcutt, William Dana.Flower of destiny: an episode of the second empire; with il. by Charlotte Weber.†$1.25. McClurg.
A charmingly told story of the romance of Napoleon III. and Mlle. Eugénie de Montijo which ends with the crown of violets in the forest of Compiégne.
“Altogether makes a pretty little gift to carry with one on a summer vacation.”
“A pretty romance.”
“But great names of themselves do not make a story, and in ‘The flower of destiny’ we have little else to look to.”
Orczy, Baroness.Scarlet pimpernel.†$1.50. Putnam.
“The Scarlet pimpernel is the leader of a little band of titled young Englishmen who make it their business—and pleasure—during the reign of terror to assist condemned or suspectedemigrésto escape to England. An interesting complication arises when the young Frenchwoman married to the lazy, careless English lord finds that in putting the French agent on the trail of the scarlet pimpernel to save her brother’s life she has in reality condemned her husband to death. Of course, he doesn’t die, and of course they all, or most of all, lived happily ever after.”—Pub. Opin.
“A thrilling story.”
*“A melodramatic but picturesque and well told tale.”
Osborn, Frank C.Osborn’s tables of moments of inertia and squares of radii gyration, to which have been added tables of the working strengths of steel columns, the working strengths of timber beams and columns, standard loads and unit stresses and constants for determining stresses in swing bridges. $3. Osborn eng. co., Cleveland, O.
A thoroly modernized edition based upon the work of fifteen years ago.
“Though it does not meet all the needs of the structural designer in its specific field, it promises to be a useful desk companion and to regain much of its former prestige.”
Osborn, Hartwell, and others.Trials and triumphs: the record of the Fifty-fifth Ohio volunteer infantry.*$2.50. McClurg.
“The Fifty-fifth Ohio was recruited in Huron county (of which Norwalk is the county-seat), after the reverses at Bull Run had stirred the North to greater efforts; it had its full share of the campaigns in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, and of the terrible work at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. This is related with clearness and graphic power by Captain Osborn; and, besides the narrative, the book is unusually complete in regimental statistics, sketches of officers and citizens, and personal notes and recollections of soldiers. Photographs, both ‘wartime’ and modern, have been reproduced in profusion.”—Dial.
“The work is in every way a real contribution to the literature of the great struggle.”
“Its record presents a good picture of the most stirring events of the war. East and West.”
“It is a book of incomparable interest to the veterans of the old command, of considerable value to historians, and not without interest also for the general reader.”
*Osbourne, Lloyd.Baby Bullet, the bubble of destiny.†$1.50. Appleton.
“Baby Bullet is a motor car, a fifteenth hand ‘crock’ of early French design, joyfully presented to two American ladies, a girl and a schoolmarm, who are discovered by the roadside wearily enjoying a tramp in England. Thedonor ... runs away lest his gift should be thrust back upon him. Baby is in a state of sulks, and the two Americans climb into her, and hire a carter to tow them behind a furniture van. At cross-roads they meet another car, a gigantic and glorious machine, with the power of sixty horses, unfortunately unavailable because hermécanicienhas forgotten the gasolene.... The American owner of the big car borrows petrol from the American owners of the little, and tows them in exchange. The result is a week of wild romance and a thoroughly amusing book.”—Acad.
*“The light dexterous writing of the book pleases us like clever juggling.”
*“The narrative is ingeniously contrived and ought to appeal to a large public.”
*“The story abounds in slang and is neither exciting nor amusing.”
*“The narrative moves at a speed suitable to the subject, and the pitch of high-spirited comedy is never lowered.”
Osbourne, Lloyd.Motormaniacs.†75c. Bobbs.
This little pocket-book contains four short love stories, in each of which an automobile is chief matchmaker. In the “Motormaniacs,” a break down brings the right man into the story opportunely, and in “The great bubble syndicate,” “Coal oil Johnny” and “Jones,” a Fearless, a Despereaux, and a Porchar-Mufflin car play important roles.
“Lively, ingenious, and amusing.”
Osgood, Herbert Levi.American colonies in the 17th century. 2v.**$5. Macmillan.
“The first [volume] is given over to the abortive experiments of Gilbert and Raleigh in founding settlements in the New world, to the first proprietary province, Virginia, and to the corporate colonies of New England; the second, to the later proprietary provinces and to a systematic survey of the colonies as a whole, at the close of the period under discussion.”—Outlook.
“In the main, however, the difficulties of the book are of a kind almost inevitable from the nature of the topic chosen, and the serious reader will find it not only instructive, but full of interest. For the student of our institutional beginnings, Professor Osgood has provided one of the few treatises which are really indispensable.” Evarts B. Greene.
“Method of presentation and clarity of statement are other commendatory traits.”
O’Shea, Michael Vincent.Education as adjustment: educational theory viewed in the light of contemporary thought.*$1.50. Longmans.
“This new work, which is centered around the idea of adjustment, is divided into three parts. In Part I. the present status of education as a science is faithfully described.... The last chapter of Part I. treats of the data for a science of education, discussing the respective values of the various classes of facts contributed by the study of biographies, autobiographies, and the survival of the fittest in education, as well as by the experimentation and research advocated by sane leaders in the child-study movement. Especially valuable is the section which explains the evolutionary point of view.... Part II. examines the meaning and aim of education.... Chapters VI., VII., and VIII. of Part II. deal respectively with the implications of adjustment as the end in education, with adjustment as affected by social organization, and with the general effect of adjustment upon teaching.... The method of obtaining adjustment is treated in Part III.... Chapters XIII. and XIV. are devoted to the doctrine of formal discipline.”—Educ. R.
“Looked at as a whole, ‘Education as adjustment’ does not reveal marked originality; but it is a luminous and vigorous presentation of the best educational thought of the present day. It is, furthermore, refreshing in that it betrays neither superficiality nor dogmatism. His work, tho written in untechnical, popular language, is, nevertheless, neither inane nor inaccurate. It is worthy of occupying a valued place among the text-books used in normal schools and college schools of education.” W. S. Sutton.
Osler, William.Aequanimitas, and other addresses to medical students, nurses, practitioners.*$2. Blakiston.
A collection of 18 addresses and essays all pertaining to medicine. The title gives the keynote to the volume, the successful nurse or doctor must be imperturbable. Dr. Osler gives a review of medical science in the nineteenth century, and his thoughts on education, investigation, ethics, religion, and the conduct of life. He gives advice to young physicians, suggestions as to their relations to both patients and nurses, and tells them that the master-word of progress is “Work.”
“Dr. Osler’s extensive sympathy, his elevation of thought, his insistence on worthy ideals, his wide reading are all strikingly exhibited in the volume before us.”
“The style of Dr. Osler is most felicitous; and those who think they care but little for the professional aspect of this volume, will be charmed by its graceful expressions, its acute suggestions, its thorough good sense.”
Osler, William.Science and immortality.**85c. Houghton.
The frankly agnostic spirit of modern “intellectuals” dealt with in this volume is best summed up by quotations from the text itself: “Though his philosophy find nothing to support it, ... the scientific student should be ready to acknowledge the value of a belief in the hereafter as an asset in human life.... He cannot be dogmatic and deny the possibility of a future state, ... he will ask to be left, reserving his judgment, but still inquiring.... Science is organized knowledge, and knowledge is of things we see. Now the things that are seen are temporal: of the things that are unseen science knows nothing, and has at present no means of knowing anything.”
“The simple and charming style of the writer, as well as his apt quotations from the masters, makes this book a delight to read.”
Reviewed by E. T. B.
Reviewed by H. B. Alexander.
“The importance of this little book is quite out of proportion to its size. He writes with evident honesty. It is a crystallized statement of much that had been in solution, as it were, heretofore; it makes us know where the majority of modern scientists stand with regard to the only matters that they themselves consider more important than science itself.”
“The argument is not of the strenuous sort; the words flow gently and naturally, as they expose the mellowed thought of a mature and reverent mind.” T. D. A. Cockerell.
“The brief pages of this lecture are of delightful literary charm and of great interestas indicating the trend of present thought on the subject of the future life.”
Osterhout, Winthrop John Van Leuven.Experiments with plants; with a preface by L. H. Bailey.*$1.25. Macmillan.
In this convenient handbook “Professor Osterhout of the University of California has given us hints for the experimental study of living-plants by means of the very simplest apparatus ... and suggests innumerable contrivances which are to be made off-hand in any house, and with which the plant can be severely cross-examined.... It is one of the most helpful laboratory handbooks, and it deserves wide employment in all classes of plant-laboratories.” (Nation.)
“On the whole we may commend it as one of the very best of its class, and in some respects in advance of any similar book known to us. An excellent index adds to its value.”
“The book on the whole will be most valuable for teachers of botany in high schools.”
“The text is, for the greater part, extremely clear and interesting, and needed only rather better illustrations to come into the very first rank of attractive text-books.”