Sentence Reviews
Abroad at Home, by Julian Street. [The Century Company, New York.] So far as what he will write is concerned we don’t give a rap whether Shaw visits America or not. Yes, we don’t believe evenhecould lay out the statisticians as Street does when he advises us on the purchase of pig iron; or display such fiendish glee at the chance of hurting the feelings of a professional Fair booster: or—well, every paragraph of every chapter is worth reading.Reminiscences of Tolstoy, by Count Ilya Tolstoy. [The Century Company, New York.] The book is richly illustrated; this is its main value. Nothing is added to what we have known about Tolstoy’s personality; we have had numerous, perhaps too many, works on his intimate life; Sergeyenko nearly exhausted the subject. True, we gain considerable information about the great man’s son, Count Ilya, but, pray, who is interested in it?American Public Opinion, by James Davenport Whelpley. [E. P. Dutton and Company, New York.] The name is misleading: the book presents a series of articles on American internal and foreign problems, written from the point of view of a conservative. Why call Mr. Whelpley’s personal opinion “American Public Opinion”? The articles on our foreign diplomacy are valuable; they reveal our infancy in this peculiarly European art.Jael, by Florence Kiper Frank. [Chicago Little Theater.] The production of this play was treated subjectively in the last issue of this magazine. In the reading of it the verse impresses one in much the same manner as the viewing of the production. The two effects are so similar as to impress one with the coherence and wonderful worth of the Chicago Little Theatre in harmonizing the value of the play as literature with the importance of the production.The House of Deceit.Anonymous. [Henry Holt and Company, New York.] Maurice Sangster had a “conviction in his heart that he was born to make a conflagration of the Thames”. He came to London and proceeded to attack the religious, political, and social institutions of the present day. He serves merely as a blind for the author, who, attacking almost everything under the sun, is not courageous enough to reveal his identity.The Mystery of the Oriental Rug, by Dr. G. Griffin Lewis. [J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.] To the lover of Persian and Caucasian rugs the book will surely bring moments of exquisite joy. The author possesses both knowledge and taste, and he tells us curious things about the history of the oriental rug.(A number of reviews of important books are held over until next month because of lack of space.)
Abroad at Home, by Julian Street. [The Century Company, New York.] So far as what he will write is concerned we don’t give a rap whether Shaw visits America or not. Yes, we don’t believe evenhecould lay out the statisticians as Street does when he advises us on the purchase of pig iron; or display such fiendish glee at the chance of hurting the feelings of a professional Fair booster: or—well, every paragraph of every chapter is worth reading.
Reminiscences of Tolstoy, by Count Ilya Tolstoy. [The Century Company, New York.] The book is richly illustrated; this is its main value. Nothing is added to what we have known about Tolstoy’s personality; we have had numerous, perhaps too many, works on his intimate life; Sergeyenko nearly exhausted the subject. True, we gain considerable information about the great man’s son, Count Ilya, but, pray, who is interested in it?
American Public Opinion, by James Davenport Whelpley. [E. P. Dutton and Company, New York.] The name is misleading: the book presents a series of articles on American internal and foreign problems, written from the point of view of a conservative. Why call Mr. Whelpley’s personal opinion “American Public Opinion”? The articles on our foreign diplomacy are valuable; they reveal our infancy in this peculiarly European art.
Jael, by Florence Kiper Frank. [Chicago Little Theater.] The production of this play was treated subjectively in the last issue of this magazine. In the reading of it the verse impresses one in much the same manner as the viewing of the production. The two effects are so similar as to impress one with the coherence and wonderful worth of the Chicago Little Theatre in harmonizing the value of the play as literature with the importance of the production.
The House of Deceit.Anonymous. [Henry Holt and Company, New York.] Maurice Sangster had a “conviction in his heart that he was born to make a conflagration of the Thames”. He came to London and proceeded to attack the religious, political, and social institutions of the present day. He serves merely as a blind for the author, who, attacking almost everything under the sun, is not courageous enough to reveal his identity.
The Mystery of the Oriental Rug, by Dr. G. Griffin Lewis. [J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.] To the lover of Persian and Caucasian rugs the book will surely bring moments of exquisite joy. The author possesses both knowledge and taste, and he tells us curious things about the history of the oriental rug.
(A number of reviews of important books are held over until next month because of lack of space.)