B (continued 3)
Reading edition
“The volume is a frank and interesting study of the intimacies of married life; but it contains, in our opinion, nothing that is undesirable for clean-minded youth.”
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 433. O. 10. 100w.
“We could wish that the author’s delicate talent had been employed upon a worthier theme, or a theme, bearing a closer relation to normal existence.” W: M. Payne.
−
Dial. 45: 91. Ag. 16, ’08. 260w.
“[The author] does her work faithfully and discerningly, and her story rings true.”
+
Nation. 86: 427. My. 7, ’08. 550w.
“It is not at all a bad novel. Parts of it are written with insight and skill, and there is very little that does not indicate both feeling and intelligence. What dooms the book is not 43its construction, not its phraseology, not its mental or artistic standpoint, but its characters.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 248. Ap. 25, ’08. 200w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 130w.
Boyle, Eleanor Vere. Peacock’s pleasaunce. **$1.50. Lane.
“A bundle of papers lightly and fancifully connected through the pretty, fantastic title. Her Prologue in explanation of this title is characteristic of her style and manner, and well prepares the reader for what follows. The peacock is merely a figure, a symbol standing decoratively at the head of her page, to light the way into the pleasaunce. E. V. B. writes of strange flowers and woods, of birds and weeds, of art and insects—being catholic and benignant in her taste.... The pages are scattered with iridescent fragments of old myths and legends, showing the author’s often mystic leanings.”—Ath.
“The only exception we can take to this pretty volume is that the author has included two papers on ‘Art education’ which seem to us out of place here.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 765. Je. 20. 300w.
“In the semi-suggestions of the supernatural that sprinkle her pages, as well as in the veil of mysticism thrown over all, there is something almost Hawthornesque—a nameless charm that makes one forgive the fine writing in which the author is prone to indulge.”
+ −
Dial. 45: 120. S. 1, ’08. 220w.
“To persons who share her delights the reading of her essays will furnish a certain amount of pleasure, although it must be confessed that other writers have treated her subjects more entertainingly.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 380. Jl. 4, ’08. 110w.
Bradford, Gamaliel, jr. Matthew Porter: a story of to-day. $1.50. Page.
8–10859.
The social and political life of Boston forms the setting of this story into which enter the conflict of personalities, character development, and an appealing human element. The hero, a candidate for governor, is a reformer; he holds to the belief that more power should be vested in the governor and less in the legislature. The story traces the influence of his liberal views upon a young woman belonging to an aristocratic Boston family. She turns from her musicians, sculptors, writers and painters and tries her hand at practical campaigning. The hero wins both his office and the heroine.
“The narrative is cumbered with many irrelevant persons, and the inevitable love-theme is a wearisome affair.”
−
Nation. 86: 557. Je. 18, ’08. 500w.
“He has used the story as a peg upon which to hang a great many not very novel lectures on what politics and government ought to be.”
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 318. Je. 6, ’08. 280w.
Bradley, Arthur Granville. Round about Wiltshire. (Highways and byways in England.) *$2. McClure.
W7–180.
A monograph which shows the author’s delight in his “rambles and his topics—in the ancient camps and temples on the downs, in the deserted abbeys and old manor houses of the slopes and the valleys, in the thatched cottages and their rustic tenants, in the cornlands and the meadows, in the streams and the trout.” (Sat. R.) It is illustrated with fourteen reproductions of water-colors, and numerous halftones.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 128. My. ’08.
“This Marlburian chronicle is interesting, doubtless, but there is too much of it; it throws the work out of scale and compels the omission of divers famous local themes which might well have been illustrated. Its chief charm lies in the ease and spontaneity of the narrative; in the manifest gusto with which the author has set about his task.”
+ −
Lond. Times. 6: 211. Jl. 5, ’07. 920w.
“It is full of information and full of appreciation of the peculiar features of Wiltshire scenery and legend.”
+ −
Sat. R. 104: 146. Ag. 3, ’07. 1750w.
“Mr. Bradley handles his materials with judgment, and talks well about them all, and his felicity in narrative is incontestable.”
+
Spec. 98: 868. Je. 1, ’08. 300w.
* Bradley, Samuel Carlyle. Jesus of Nazareth. *$2. Sherman, French & co.
8–32494.
A life of Jesus that aims first to bring into prominence the “Manliness of Jesus” by emphasizing the saying of Paul that Jesus was in all points tempted like as we are; and second, to fill up the gap in the record of Jesus’s life which includes the formative period that prepared him for his later mission.
Brady, Cyrus Townsend, comp. Northwestern fights and fighters. †$1.50. McClure.
7–36235.
A collection of accounts of operations against Indians most of which were written by army officers who took part in the engagements described. “The general desire of Dr. Brady as editor seems to be to vindicate the army, which has so often been under unjust critical fire.” (Ind.)
“Are of use principally as entertaining reading for men and boys, and offer nothing of any particular value to the student.”
− +
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 37. F. ’08. ✠
“The book as a whole is full of adventure and is real into the bargain.” M. J. Moses.
+
Ind. 63: 1478. D. 19, ’07. 100w.
“Mr. Brady’s own contribution to the history is clear and full of patriotic fire.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 2. Ja. 4, ’08. 110w.
R. of Rs. 36: 758. D. ’07. 50w.
Braid, James. Advanced golf. **$3. Jacobs.
8–20687.
Instruction and advice combine to make this handbook valuable for advanced golfers, especially, as the rudimentary details of the game are omitted. Mr. Braid, a champion player, “writes intelligently of the choice of clubs, gives sound instruction on such delicacies of play as intentional pulling and slicing, as to play in wet weather and against direct winds, as to putting, systems of practice, and the ‘science of the stroke.’ He has chapters on the planning of courses, and relates frankly yet modestly some of his personal experiences.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Braid’s book will be generally welcomed by golfers. Its charm lies in its lucidity.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 376. Jl. 4, ’08. 630w.
+
Sat. R. 106: 170. Ag. 8, ’08. 1200w.
“The biographical characters are highly entertaining.”
+
Spec. 100: 677. Ap. 25, ’08. 400w.
Brainerd, Ira Hutchinson, ed. Edwin Davis French: a memorial; his life, his art. Priv. ptd. De Vinne press.
8–13734.
Deals authoritatively with the life and work of a noted book-plate engraver. “The selection of biographical material has been painstaking and discriminating; the plates used as illustrations cover a wide range. The check list of the French plates, as published by Paul Lemperly in 1899, has been continued, and the series brought to a finish. A supplementary list of designs and engravings other than bookplates has been included. The edition is limited to 475 copies, of which 425 are on handmade paper and 50 are on imperial Japanese vellum.” (Nation.)
“The biographical portion of the volume has been delightfully written.” Laurence Burnham.
+
Bookm. 28: 49. S. ’08. 1100w.
44“He has carefully avoided saying too much and has not left unsaid anything vital.”
+
Ind. 64: 977. Ap. 30, ’08. 110w.
“An admirable piece of work.”
+
Nation. 86: 385. Ap. 23, ’08. 150w.
Brand, Jack. By wild waves tossed; an ocean love story. †$1.50. McClure.
8–13949.
A spirited romance which begins with the abduction of an English girl by a profligate captain of the royal navy, and continues on board a merchant ship whither an American naval officer, masquerading as a common sailor, had conducted the rescued girl for passage to America where relatives would claim her. The times are those just prior to the war of 1812 and the frigate Constitution figures in the story.
N. Y. Times. 13: 212. Ap. 11, ’08. 30w.
“A story of love, war, and the sea in the spirit of Sir Walter when he deals with that romantic trinity of elements.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 437. Ag. 8, ’08. 250w.
“It is bright of its kind, clean and wholesome, and has never a serious moment for the jaded reader.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 514. S. 19, ’08. 320w.
R. of Rs. 37: 764. Je. ’08. 50w.
Breasted, James Henry. History of the ancient Egyptians. (Historical ser. for Bible students, v. 5.) **$1.25. Scribner.
8–15332.
An abridgment and condensation of Professor Breasted’s larger work to which have been added such recent discoveries as the finding of Gem-Atom in Nubia, and the discovery of the Hittite capital at Boghaz Koi in Asia Minor. It is based directly on original monuments and is adapted for class use.
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 170. Je. ’08. ✠
“Notable book.”
+
Bib. World. 32: 79. Jl. ’08. 70w.
“Is as trustworthy as present study can make it.”
+
Ind. 65: 436. Ag. 20, ’08. 140w.
“The story is told in a plain and lucid style, without ornamentation, and with the earnestness of a man who has something to tell and is intent merely upon the telling.”
+
Nation. 87: 462. N. 12, ’08. 260w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 392. Jl. 11, ’08. 150w.
“Is a history, the most reliable yet produced, not merely of Egypt, but of the Egyptian people.”
+ +
Outlook. 89: 768. Ag. 1, ’08. 90w.
+
Spec. 101: sup. 812. N. 21, ’08. 200w.
Brebner, Percy James. Vayenne. $1.50. McBride, J.
8–7896.
A story charged to the brim with adventure in which an unlawful successor to the Duchy of Montvilliers resorts to foul trickery to push his claim, but is outwitted by a young soldier of fortune and a court fool. The latter unite their energies and wits to put upon the throne the rightful heir. Sword play, bloodshed, justice grown eloquent to sway the multitude, sacrifice, and romance mingle in dramatic variety.
“Of its class it is a member in good standing.”
+
Nation. 87: 12. Jl. 2, ’08. 140w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 267. My. 9, ’08. 50w.
“The action of ‘Vayenne’ is as rapid as any of its proto-types, and dramatic episodes are born, flourish, and pass away on every page.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 200w.
Spec. 100: 344. F. 29, ’08. 20w.
Breck, Edward. Way of the woods: a manual for sportsmen in northeastern United States and Canada. **$1.75. Putnam.
8–11766.
A practical field manual containing concise, comprehensive and authoritative information on all subjects of interest to the camper, the fisherman and the hunter; not omitting the essentials of a complete outfit, their place of purchase and approximate cost.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 234. O. ’08. ✠
“It ends with a good working bibliography wherefrom further knowledge may be gained.” Wallace Rice.
+
Dial. 44: 343. Je. 1, ’08. 130w.
“It is an ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ of the woods. Our only criticism of the book is that the outfits are inclined to be elaborate.”
+ −
Ind. 64: 1292. Je. 4, ’08. 200w.
“As a sportsman’s manual [this book] would be hard to surpass in its breadth and compactness of information, without sacrificing readability altogether.”
+ + −
Nation. 87: 32. Jl. 9, ’08. 350w.
“The interesting manner in which practical hints are presented and the sterling good sense give Mr. Breck’s book a real value, which will be appreciated alike by veterans of the woods and novices.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 264. My. 9, ’08. 200w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 170w.
R. of Rs. 38: 253. Ag. ’08. 80w.
Brenan, Gerald, and Statham, Edward Phillips. House of Howard. *$6. Appleton.
8–15740.
A two volume work which sketches the history of this notable family than which none in England “has been more concerned in the political, social and religious developments of the English people: none shows to greater advantage upon the rolls of the English nobility at the present time. Messrs. Brenan and Statham do not undertake in their book to take account of all the branches of the family that are now in existence; what they give us is a historical record of the family chiefly with regard to those members who have held the more prominent positions and especially those who have enjoyed the highest hereditary titles.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The style of the book is so well maintained that, if the facts were not known, it would be difficult to differentiate one collaborator from the other. No fault can be found with the historical portion of the work, which is fairly and impartially written. These genealogical tables are generally accurate, though misprints are occasionally to be found.”
+ −
Ath. 1907, 2: 721. D. 7. 1100w.
“Errors of detail in dates, spellings, and misinterpretations of documents are to be found on nearly every page. Its virtues would have been enormously enhanced, and its faults correspondingly diminished, had the book enjoyed the advantage of systematic and scholarly revision.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 524. N. 26, ’08. 1200w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 573. O. 17, ’08. 300w.
+
Spec. 100: 227. F. 8, ’08. 460w.
* Brereton, Austin. Life of Henry Irving. 2v. **6.50. Longmans.
“This biography is just a chronicle—admirably exact and faithful—of its hero’s public life. All Irving’s professional experiences, from his appearances in Sunderland, Edinburgh, Dublin, Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool down to his farewell seasons at the Lyceum and Drury Lane, and his final performance of ‘Becket’ at Bradford, are here presented with a carefulness that merits enthusiastic acknowledgment. If ever there was an object-lesson in what can be done by an actor, through force of character, to overcome natural defects and the 45obstacle of self-consciousness, it is surely afforded by Irving’s career, and in Mr. Brereton’s chapters the moral is consistently pointed.”—Ath.
“The reader will search in vain for information as to what the man was apart from his art. His writing, so far from having any distinction, does not rise above the level of average journalism. Mr. Brereton’s statistics are among the most important features of his book.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 551. O. 31. 1000w.
“The author is not impartial in his attitude toward his subject, indiscriminating admiration being its keynote.”
+ −
Ind. 65: 1176. N. 19, ’08. 100w.
“Its unexceptionable sources of information and capital index make it an exceedingly useful work of reference for the student of the theatre. Though on the historical side it is complete and accurate, on the critical it is less trustworthy.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 418. O. 29, ’08. 1500w.
“It may be accepted as the definitive life of Irving, published with the sanction of his family and executors.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 651. N. 7, ’08. 550w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 741. D. 5, ’08. 280w.
“Contains many interesting passages. Yet one cannot but reflect how much better it would have been as a book in its quiddity if the author had but read and marked to practical purpose Isaac Disraeli’s comment on biographies at large.” W. H. Pollock.
+ −
Sat. R. 106: 605. N. 14, ’08. 1400w.
Brewster, William Tenney. Specimens of modern English literary criticism; chosen and edited by W. T. Brewster. *$1. Macmillan.
7–33232.
Contains the following: Stephen’s Wood’s halfpence, Masson’s DeQuincey’s writings, Johnson’s The metaphysical poets, Macaulay’s Montgomery’s poems, Bagehot’s Dickens, Pater’s Wordsworth, Robertson’s Poe, Dryden’s Preface to the fables, Harrison’s Ruskin as a master of prose, Lamb’s Tragedies of Shakespeare, James’s The art of fiction, Poe’s Philosophy of composition, Arnold’s Study of poetry, Coleridge’s On poetry and poetic form, and Shelley’s Defense of poetry. “The essays,” says the author, “proceed from the simplest, most matter of fact and most easily demonstrable to the more general, more abstract, and less easily provable.”
“What is particularly admirable in the execution of his plan is the broad and generous introduction, which discusses freely and interestingly not only the general type of literature included, but also the particular selections themselves.”
+
Ind. 65: 311. Ag. 6, ’08. 100w.
“To adapt a well-known dictum—by Augustine Birrill, we believe—a man may talk like a gentleman and scholar for a year on the material gathered from this book.” H. E. Coblentz.
+
School R. 16: 345. My. ’08. 340w.
Brierley, Jonathan (“J. B.,” pseud.). Sidelights on religion. *$1.40. Whittaker.
A series of observations aiming to show that religion broadly considered is the real and only explanation of the riddle of existence.
Briggs, Ernest Edward. Angling and art in Scotland: some fishing experiences related and illustrated. *$4. Longmans.
“Mr. Briggs shows us how companionable his two arts are, how each serves the other, and how the man that is committed to them finds his days in the woods and along the streams full of delight. Where Mr. Briggs has fished in Scotland there also has he painted, and vice versa, and his book gives us charming records of his achievements in both respects.”—N. Y. Times.
“A book with many charms; foremost among them are the thirty-two coloured plates, but they are run close by the descriptions of Galloway and the Highlands, and by the admirable production of the volume.”
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 471. O. 17. 640w.
“His pictures, which are reproduced in color, are little gems. He tells his fish stories beautifully.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 638. O. 31, ’08. 360w.
Brinton, Christian. Modern artists. il. **$6. Baker.
8–9098.
Fourteen artists are presented from Fragonard to Zuloaga. “Mr. Christian Brinton does not state explicitly anywhere in his studies what constitutes his idea of modernity and thereby his basis of selection. But in general his test seems to be virility of insight and workmanship, a compelling personality, above all the power to paint realities, whether ideal realities like Watts, rococo realities like Fragonard, or the stern reality of toil like Meunir and Segantini. Of the fourteen artists discussed all are painters; eleven are still living or have died within the present century; and all are figure painters.” (Dial.)
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 170. Je. ’08.
“Mr. Brinton is able to approach each painter with open mind and ready sympathy. His criticism is interesting in that it seizes so readily upon salient features and phrases its conclusions so forcibly.”
+
Dial. 44: 247. Ap. 16, ’08. 400w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 214. Ap. 11, ’08. 50w.
“What the author writes of the people as well as of their art is extremely entertaining, and much of it is informing.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 276. My. 16, ’08. 350w.
Bristol, Frank Milton. Life of Chaplain McCabe, bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church. **$1.50. Revell.
8–23284.
A eulogistic record of the deeds of a man whose motto thru life was “Ich dien.” He served as army chaplain during the civil war and was loved for his cheerfulness, helpfulness and his sympathetic voice. For thirty years after the war he labored to strengthen and extend mission work in the Methodist church, being known as the most “irresistible beggar” of his times; for ten years he served in the high ecclesiastical office of bishop. “If his biographer’s style occasionally reminds one of the hallelujahs and amens heard in old-fashioned Methodist prayer-meetings, it is pardonable, as if caught from the perfervid spirit of his subject.” (Outlook.)
N. Y. Times. 13: 495. S. 12, ’08. 1200w.
“It is not pardonable in Bishop Bristol to inject into his memorial of this Christian hero an accusation of ‘rationalism’ and ‘infidelity’ against the theological schools and university professors who teach differently from the evangelists and class leaders.”
+ −
Outlook. 90: 136. S. 19, ’08. 170w.
Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Shafer, John Adolph. North American trees; being descriptions and illustrations of the trees growing independently of cultivation in North America north of Mexico and the West Indies. (American nature ser. Group 1. Classification of nature.) **$7. Holt.
8–15485.
A splendid volume of nearly nine hundred pages devoted to descriptions and to illustrations of all the kinds of trees known to grow independently of planting in North America, north of Mexico and the West Indies. The descriptions contain as few technical terms as possible and are aided by the illustrations in rendering easy the identification of trees by their foliage, flowers and fruit. There is a general key to families, a glossary of special terms and an index to English names.
46“Libraries having Sargent will find Britton useful as meeting a different need; those having Hough will perhaps not find Britton necessary.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 255. N. ’08.
“The authors are in an exceptionally favorable position to make such a book accurate rather than merely popular, and it is a good thing now and then for men who have the facts to give to the public something that can be relied upon.” J. M. C.
+ +
Bot. Gaz. 46: 62. Jl. ’08. 300w.
“The tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee of nomenclature, and all the inconsistency of the disfiguring use of capitals in common and scientific names, need not here detain us. Dr. Britton’s work is a notable contribution to the science of his country and the world.” T: H. Macbride.
+ + −
Dial. 44: 341. Je. 1, ’08. 600w.
“An impressive work which is an honor to American scholarship.”
+ +
Educ. R. 36: 422. N. ’08. 80w.
“Extremely valuable book.”
+ +
Lit. D. 37: 227. Ag. 15, ’08. 120w.
“The authors have brought together a considerable amount of trustworthy and valuable information relative to uses, pharmaceutical and other.”
+ +
Nation. 86: 561. Je. 18, ’08. 460w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 200w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 353. Je. 20, ’08. 280w.
R. of Rs. 38: 127. Jl. ’08. 120w.
Brodrick, Mary. Trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. *$1.25. Longmans.
8–26255.
Three lectures based upon a careful study of Jewish law. They are The arrest, The trial and condemnation and The crucifixion and the site of the holy sepulchre.
“The three lectures, short though they are, are interesting in every detail, and deserve the attention of the ordinary reader as well as the New Testament student and scholar. Miss Brodrick has certainly studied Jewish law to good purpose.”
+
Ath. 1908, 1: 666. My. 30. 630w.
“One must utterly dissent from the conclusion of this book.”
−
Outlook. 89: 625. Jl. 18, ’08. 80w.
* Bronson, Edgar Beecher. Reminiscences of a ranchman. †$1.50. McClure.
8–30304.
Here are set down the experiences of a New York newspaper man, who, something of a physical wreck from illness, turns to the plains and casts his lot among the “nervy nomads of the range” who are forced to “make good or make tracks.” The trials and physical hardening process that marked his course from tenderfoot cowboy to ranch owner are interspersed with character sketches revealing brutal, domineering traits, as well as the qualities of loyalty, honesty, human kindness.
“Thanks to his newspaper training he is able to tell his stories exceedingly well; they come straight from the plains, full of vigor and intensely graphic.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 674. N. 14, ’08. 250w.
Bronson, Walter Cochrane, ed. English poems. 4v. library ed. ea. *$1.50. Univ. of Chicago press.
7–29843. Additions.
v. 3. Restoration and the eighteenth century, 1660–1800.
Uniform with the other volumes of the series, the method followed is (1) to choose poems representing the different phases of the work of poets and schools of poetry, (2) to print entire poems or entire parts of poems, whenever possible, (3) to follow the latest accessible text approved by the author, (4) to modernize spelling and punctuation as a rule, but to retain the original form when change could affect rhythm or rime, (5) in the notes to explain difficulties of expression and allusion, give the poet’s view of poetry, furnish material illustrating his mode of work and throw light upon the literary standards of different periods.
“Professor Bronson’s long experience in teaching literature has familiarized him with the needs of the average student in the matter of elucidations.”
+
Nation. 87: 53. Jl. 16, ’08. 450w.
Brooke, C. F. Tucker, ed. Shakespeare apocrypha; being a collection of fourteen plays which have been ascribed to Shakespeare; ed., with introd., notes and bibliography. *$1.75. Oxford.
8–34728.
The following plays reprinted in the original text and spelling with an introduction and notes and a bibliography, constitute the doubtful Shakespearian class: Arden of Feversham, Locrine, Edward III, Mucedorus, Sir John Oldcastle, Thomas Lord Cromwell, The London prodigal, The puritan, A Yorkshire tragedy, The merry devil of Edmonton, Fair Em, Two noble kinsmen, The birth of Merlin and Sir Thomas More.
“Though on the whole we must give praise to Mr. Brooke for some excellent work, his book cannot, without considerable revision, take its place as a final recension of the text of the plays included.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 446. O. 10. 1000w.
“Mr. Brooke’s collection meets a definite need. It is unfortunate that the notes are so scanty: herein the volume fails of being definitive.”
+ −
Dial. 45: 118. S. 1, ’08. 370w.
“The true Shakespeare will be the more relished after a study of Mr. Brooke’s introduction and the reading of these apocryphal plays.”
+
Sat. R. 105: 762. Je. 13, ’08. 240w.
“There is, indeed, only one fault to be found with an otherwise admirable volume,—its exceedingly unattractive form.”
+ −
Spec. 101: 298. Ag. 29, ’08. 1800w.
Brooke, Stopford A. Four Victorian poets: a study of Clough, Arnold, Rossetti and Morris; with an introd. on the course of poetry from 1822 to 1852. (English title, A study of four poets.) **$1.75. Putnam.
8–14374.
The introductory chapter follows the steady course of English poetry from the Byron and Shelley influence to the whirlpool of thoughts and hopes and passions, political, social, ideal, democratic, but chiefly religious and theological into which Clough and Arnold were cast. The aim of the study is to show to what extent Clough, Arnold, Rossetti and Morris influenced the poetic movement of the latter half of the nineteenth century and to give an estimate of the quality and importance of their work.
“Is rather tedious because it talks round and round its subject, never saying anything essential.”
−
Ath. 1908, 1: 691. Je. 6. 1100w.
“This is not only a delightful but an encouraging book.” Montgomery Schuyler.
+
Bookm. 27: 599. Ag. ’08. 1550w.
+
Dial. 45: 92. Ag. 16, ’08. 380w.
“The best part of the volume is the introductory chapter.”
+
Nation. 86: 465. My. 21, ’08. 200w.
“May be placed among the important minor studies of the Victorian period.”
+
Outlook. 89: 812. Ag. 8, ’08. 250w.
“Whoever enjoys literary criticism welcomes a new book by Mr. Stopford Brooke, and no one who reads ‘A study of four poets’ will be disappointed.”
+
Spec. 100: 697. My. 2, ’08. 1600w.
47Brooke, Rev. Stopford Augustus. Sea charm of Venice. *$1. Dutton.
W 7–160.
Here the author “blends impressions and emotions, history and art. He is not the hasty tourist, who peers, and nods, and hurries on, but the lover of Venice, who has returned to her again and again, seen her under many aspects, thought upon her glories, and felt her fascination.” (Nation.)
“He has [a] smooth, flowing style.”
+
Ind. 64: 524. Mr. 5, ’08. 110w.
“He writes with genuine enthusiasm, but without gush, and displays also an unusual skill in description.”
+ +
Nation. 86: 38. Ja. 9, ’08. 80w.
“An essay in which its sea-charm is analyzed as well as described is justified by its radical deviation from familiar lines, if for nothing else. A clear vision and appreciation of each aspect of Venetian life, art, and poetry are combined with facility of expression.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 54. F. 1, ’08. 110w.
“This book will help. This fine bit of word-painting cannot fail to be a delight.”
+
Spec. 99: 298. Ag. 31, ’07. 90w.
Brooke, Rev. Stopford Augustus. Studies in poetry. *$1.75. Putnam.
8–5211.
An introductory essay on “Poetry as an art” is followed by six papers three of which are devoted to Shelley, one to Blake, one to Walter Scott and the last to Keats.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 170. Je. ’08.
“Mr. Stopford Brooke has achieved the skill of the craftsman, without losing his individual traits as a critic with a keen perception of literary art.”
+
Dial. 45: 65. Ag. 1, ’08. 580w.
“The book itself is not large enough for the subjects broached in it; and its limits must be remembered, lest in speaking of its imperfections we forget to be grateful to the writer for all that he has given us.”
+ −
Lond. Times. 6: 356. N. 22, ’07. 2020w.
“A pretty thin gleaning.”
+
Nation. 86: 35. Ja. 9, ’08. 170w.
N. Y. Times. 12: 666. O. 19, ’07. 20w.
“American readers are familiar with Mr. Brooke’s critical work, always sympathetic, based on sound knowledge, and not lacking in the finer insight; but of late years somewhat too fluent, lacking exact definition and sharp precision of statement, and inclining occasionally to didacticism.”
+ −
Outlook. 88: 98. Ja. 11, ’08. 80w.
“The only flaw that strikes us—a faintly sermonic touch here and there, a hint of the pious platform cadence, coupled inevitably with the note of conventional reticence or apology in dealing with big people that comes of addressing the wierd sort of audience which likes to feel assured of complete private respectability in its poets. His style generally is purged of conventionality. As a whole he is admirably sane and free from prejudice.”
+ −
Sat. R. 105: 696. My. 30, ’08. 800w.
“Perhaps the Scott lecture is the best. The Shelley lectures we like the least of all.”
+ −
Spec. 99: 994. D. 14, ’07. 200w.
Brooks, John Graham. As others see us: a study of progress in the United States. **$1.75. Macmillan.
8–31147.
Here are woven into most readable and entertaining form the opinions by way of approval, of censure, or of warning, which visiting foreign critics have expressed concerning America since the beginning of national life. In the light of these objective estimates the author discusses topics and problems which bear upon present-day progress.
“The light and gossipy character of Mr. Brooks’s work will make it a pleasant companion for snatches of reading in dull and idle days. We cannot dismiss this review of it without acknowledging the thoroughness with which the author has ranged through a wide field of reading and furnished the completed book with a bibliography and an index.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 850. D. 5, ’08. 260w.
Brown, Abbie Farwell. Friends and cousins. il. †$1. Houghton.
7–30835.
The sequel to “Brothers and sisters.” The fun of Kenneth and Rose is continued, new friends are made with whom they play pirate, dig for treasure, and experience other thrilling mock adventures as well as a few of the real sort.
“But it is a relief to find ‘Friends and cousins’ less weak than ‘Brothers and sisters,’ tho the same tendency is evident in each to be ethical in the midst of playing ‘treasure trove.’ We speak thus plainly because Miss Brown has gained a library foothold thru her verses and her myth tales. Her new vein lacks spontaneity and imagination of a high character.” M. J. Moses.
+ −
Ind. 63: 1483. D. 19, ’07. 110w.
“The story is superior in style and plot to its predecessor, and will probably amuse young readers.”
+
Nation. 85: 520. D. 5, ’07. 30w.
Brown, Alice. Rose MacLeod. †$1.50. Houghton.
8–12225.
Here are brought together two grandmothers, one sprightly with a literary bent and the other saintly; Electra, a Puritan in conscience and a Spartan in control of feelings; Markham McLeod, a brotherhood-of-man agitator who worshipped Mammon and basked in its material warmth; MacLeod’s daughter, the heroine, who had been a victim of her father’s unrighteous theories and who alone understood his whited-sepulchre practices; and two brothers, one an artist who temporarily comes under the hypnotic spell of MacLeod, and the other a gardener who through the purification of honest hard work has a right perspective of life and straightens out the tangle of doubts and misgivings.
“A tale of quite unusual workmanship, full of variety and charm.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 155. My. ’08. ✠
“The book is a most skillful counterfeit of the real thing, and if it fails of the highest excellence, that is all the more reason for crediting it with all the lesser excellence that it indubitably possesses.” Ward Clark.
+ −
Bookm. 27: 494. Jl. ’08. 750w.
“Miss Brown has contributed another distinct personality to the portrait gallery of American women.” M. K. Ford.
+
Forum. 40: 132. Ag. ’08. 950w.
“Is better than merely entertaining.”
+
Ind. 65: 378. Ag. 13, ’08. 300w.
“Miss Brown’s vein of whimsical romance still holds; it may be that the whimsy gains upon her a trifle. In this story, indeed, it runs pretty frankly into extravagance.”
−
Nation. 86: 492. My. 28, ’08. 550w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 210. Ap. 11, ’08. 50w.
“It is a notable book and well worth reading, but it ought to have been better.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 291. My. 23, ’08. 300w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 240w.
“The romantic interest of the book is thruout rather cool and thin, and of far less rich and satisfying quality than its comedy.” O. H. Dunbar.
+ −
No. Am. 188: 137. Jl. ’08. 1200w.
“The men in the story are highly vizualized, imaginary male persons. They live in a rarefied atmosphere and they never by any accident come to life.”
+ −
Outlook. 89: 324. Je. 13, ’08. 230w.
“The book has an individuality of its own—a personal freshness in the point of view that helps to compensate for the lack of personality in its characters.” E. L. Cary.
+ −
Putnam’s. 4: 618. Ag. ’08. 260w.
+
Spec. 101: 135. Jl. 25, ’08. 200w.
48Brown, C. Campbell. China in legend and story. **$1.25. Revell.
W8–68.
Abounding in broad fellowship, this narrative presents China,—“not the willow-pattern country of our conventional ideas, but the living, palpitating, human China.” The author’s “standpoint is neither that of a missionary soliciting pity for an ‘afflicted people,’ nor of a traveller describing the picturesque peculiarities of an alien and, by implication, inferior race. It is that of a man who, in the course of ten years’ residence among the people of whom he writes, has had occasion to say of many of them, ‘You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.’” (Spec.)
“A well-written volume of stories.”
+
Ind. 64: 1451. Je. 25, ’08. 20w.
“An interesting volume.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 132. Mr. 7, ’08. 120w.
“The influence of Christianity on character has seldom been more impressively exemplified than in the tales which compose the latter half of the volume.”
+
Spec. 100: 540. Ap. 4, ’08. 350w.
Brown, Charles Rufus. Book of the Prophet Jeremiah: an American commentary on the Old Testament. *$2. Am. Bapt.
7–18189.
“A concise commentary upon the Book of Jeremiah” which fills “in part the place of the German kurzgefasste commentare, a form of biblical literature which, strangely enough, is still sadly lacking in our language.... The book gives in the left-hand column of the page the text of the authorized version; on the right, the author’s own translation, the metric passages being presented typographically in poetical form, but without any attempt to produce the exact rhythm of the original. The commentary appears below the text.”
“Scholarly in character and structure, and withal adapted to the needs of the intelligent reader, whether or not he be acquainted with the Hebrew. The book is to be welcomed as capitally meeting its purpose and filling a long-felt want.” J. A. Montgomery.
+ +
Am. J. Theol. 12: 455. Jl. ’08. 730w.
“The exegesis is sound and judicious. We know on the whole of no better explanation in English of the prophecies of Jeremiah, and yet at the same time we feel constrained to point out blemishes in this work. The commentary seems padded. It is an anachronism also to reproduce the authorized version—the American revision should take its place if the author’s new one was not sufficient. The commentary is also marred by occasional little homilies and common-place observations which detract from its scholarly dignity. The work also fails in a good English style.” E: L. Curtis.
+ −
Bib. World. 31: 396. My. ’08. 520w.
Brown, Demetra, and Brown, Kenneth. First secretary: a novel. $1.50. Dodge, B. W.
7–36248.
Constantinople is the scene of the romance in which Stephen Weir, an attaché of the American legation, woos surreptitiously the daughter of a pasha who is the promised wife of a young Turk. America’s red-handed methods in matters of matrimony are strongly contrasted with traditional oriental restraint.
Ind. 64: 756. Ap. 2, ’08. 130w.
“It is a book to pass the time and it has the distinct merit of not pretending to be anything else.”
− +
Nation. 86: 174. F. 20, ’08. 180w.
Brown, Gerard Baldwin. Rembrandt. (Library of art.) *$2. Scribner.
7–37526.
“Gives a great deal of information about the paintings, etchings, and drawings, the technical methods, and the qualities of the art of the great Dutchman, and what is really known or reasonably surmised as to his life in a shape hardly to be so conveniently found elsewhere.” (Nation.) “Professor Brown is particularly keen in pointing out the painter’s arbitrary use of shadow.” (Outlook.) There are over forty plates, representing every phase of the painter’s work.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 128. My. ’08.
“Prof. Brown has erred, perhaps, in including too many subjects for discussion. The selection of illustrations is unconventional and good, and the book is provided with such critical apparatus in the way of analysis, notes, and indexes, as is suitable to its scope. It may be commended as the best book on Rembrandt’s life and art for the general reader that has been produced in England.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 200. F. 15. 600w.
“Seldom in a popular monograph does one meet with such scholarly treatment, combined with breadth of vision and catholicity of judgment.”
+ +
Dial. 45: 91. Ag. 16, ’08. 420w.
“That clearness about things which reigns in the author’s own mind is communicated to the reader.”
+
Int. Studio. 34: 169. Ap. ’08. 100w.
“Especially for purposes of reference or for systematizing one’s acquaintance with the known and inferred facts of the painter’s career, this book is to be highly commended.”
+
Int. Studio. 36: sup. 58. D. ’08. 80w.
“Without being a specially illuminating piece of criticism it is a capable bit of work, and a pretty complete one.”
+
Nation. 86: 44. Ja. 9, ’08. 130w.
Outlook. 87: 615. N. 23, ’07. 110w.
+
Spec. 100: sup. 644. Ap. 25, ’08. 150w.
Brown, Horatio F. Studies in the history of Venice. 2v. *$6. Dutton.
8–15744.
From the study of a bewildering mass of archives the author has produced a work on the diplomacy, the constitution, and the finance of Venice in relation to the republic’s formation, growth, and decline. “The studies fall under two types,—the investigation of the constitutional and economic policy of the State, and the retelling of some of her famous tales.” (Spec.)
“Mr. Brown’s book is to be commended for its various light on our own living problems.”
+
Ind. 64: 1095. My. 14, ’08. 550w.
“We think it is a mistake that he introduces into his text untranslated passages in Venetian or Latin; but this is a slight blemish on so valuable a work.”
+ + −
Nation. 87: 76. Jl. 23, ’08. 900w.
“These admirable volumes might well take the place of a more formal history of Venice.” Joseph Jacobs.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 279. My. 16, ’08. 900w.
Outlook. 88: 611. Mr. 14, ’08. 300w.
“Mr. Brown’s essays are on wisely chosen subjects, and illustrate almost continuously the development and growth of the city.”
+
Sat. R. 105: 81. Ja. 18, ’08. 1400w.
“Mr. Brown’s scholarship is profound, but he wears his learning lightly, and these essays are as remarkable for their grace of style and vivid portraiture as for their sound historical judgment. The book will be prized by all lovers of the enchanted city as an illuminating guide to the essentials of her past.”
+ +
Spec. 100: 337. F. 29, ’08. 1700w.
Brown, Rev. J. Wood. Builders of Florence. il. *$6. Dutton.
8–35375.
“A scholarly study and interpretation of Florentine architecture as an expression of the character of the Florentine people, illustrated more in detail and specifically by the examination of twelve important and monumental buildings possessing both architectural and historic interest, ‘and such as lend themselves readily as illustrations of the city’s life, whether 49commercial, ideal or political.’ An introductory part, before taking up the characteristics of Florentine architecture, provides an exposition of the ‘Substance of Florence.’”—Ind.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 128. My. ’08.
“An art treasure as well as a delightful account of some aspects of Florentine life and thought as expressed most vitally and most permanently in the city’s buildings.”
+ +
Dial. 43: 423. D. 16, ’07. 160w.
“Among architectural treatises this work must take rank at once as noteworthy for breadth of vision, insight and erudition. It is packed with a wealth of historical material and that material is skilfully used.”
+ +
Ind. 64: 103. Ja. 9, ’08. 620w.
“The whole book is indeed instinct with the very spirit of Florence. As compared with the scholarly text with its impression of reserved power the drawings of Mr. Railton cannot fail to appear sketchy and inadequate.”
+ + −
Int. Studio. 34: 344. Je. ’08. 300w.
“Not less valuable than his more elaborate studies are the stimulating thoughts he sprinkles over his pages.”
+ +
Nation. 86: 336. Ap. 9, ’08. 650w.
Brown, John. Letters of Dr. John Brown; with letters from Ruskin, Thackeray, and others; ed. by his son and D. W. Forrest; with biographical introductions by Elizabeth T. M’Laren. *$4. Macmillan.
8–2410.
The letters of a hard-working doctor, a practitioner of no little fame, “with a great capacity for friendship and delight in simple things.” His “Rab and his friends” immortalized him. His letters are supplemented by nearly a hundred written to him by Ruskin, Thackeray, Gladstone and others.
“Gaiety and gravity are alike characters of this good physician’s mind, and neither is the gravity gloomy nor the cheerfulness tedious or strained.”
+
Ath. 1907, 2: 720. D. 7. 1870w.
“In the near view thus afforded of a tender and beautiful, rather than a brilliant and powerful, character the book is all that could have been expected, and nearly all that could be desired.” P. F. Bicknell.
+ −
Dial. 44: 171. Mr. 16, ’08. 1950w.
“In spite of the three collaborators in the work of editing, very little has been done either in the text or footnotes to connect the letters, or to make the allusions to people and events intelligible.”
+ −
Ind. 65: 493. Ag. 27, ’08. 410w.
+
Nation. 86: 310. Ap. 2, ’08. 1000w.
“A general human and healthy interest in the things of the mind Dr. Brown’s letters abundantly evince. A ‘rounded intelligence,’ the correspondent of one of his correspondents called him.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 103. F. 22, ’08. 2850w.
“Dr. Brown’s comments upon literary men, women, and their works are keen and most engaging.”
+
Outlook. 88: 793. Ap. 4, ’08. 1450w.
“Brown’s letters are just what one would expect—direct, terse, humorous and tender. The collection has been well arranged and edited.”
+
Sat. R. 104: 769. D. 21, ’07. 150w.
“It is very good fare which his son and Dr. Forrest have provided for us. These three hundred and twenty-seven letters are like a continuation of the ‘Horae.’ The style is precisely the same,—the same use of italics (dating from his twentieth year), the same rusty rhetoric, the same careless phrases, as exquisite in their simplicity as any you will find in Lamb.”
+
Spec. 99: 928. D. 7, ’07. 1420w.
Brown, Sir Robert Hanbury. Irrigation: its principles and practice as a branch of engineering. *$5. Van Nostrand.
8–4027.
Descriptive note in Dec. 1907.
“The book reflects wide reading on the part of the author and is written in exceptionally good English for an engineering work. The subject matter, on the whole, is logically and pleasingly presented. The irrigation engineer will find pleasure and value in reading the book but not in studying it. The engineer in other branches of engineering will be able to obtain a comprehensive view of the subject of irrigation from this book, and it is in this field that the usefulness of the work mainly lies.”
+ + −
Engin. N. 59: 539. My. 14, ’08. 800w.
“Standard books, indeed, have been previously issued dealing with irrigation works on their grandest scale, in ‘The irrigation works of India,’ by Mr. Buckley, and ‘Egyptian irrigation,’ by Sir William Willcocks; but the book under review will be very valuable for all persons interested in irrigation, by dealing in a single volume with and contrasting the principal works and systems of irrigation in these two great countries, and thus presenting a very comprehensive view of that most important subject of irrigation for the development of arid regions.”
+ +
Nature. 76: 513. S. 19, ’07. 1500w.
Brown, Stewardson. Alpine flora of the Canadian Rocky mountains. **$3. Putnam.
8–310.
A student’s manual of plants to be found in the region of the Canadian Pacific railway between Banff and Glacier. “Mr. Stewardson Brown, curator of the herbarium at the Philadelphia academy of natural sciences, furnishes the text. Species are arranged in accordance with their scientific relationships, and there are keys to the genera, a general key to the families, a glossary, and an index to both common and scientific names. Seventy-nine full-page plates, about half of them in color, ... are the work of Mrs. Charles Schäffer, who proves herself a botanical draughtsman of much ability.” (Dial.)
“Mrs. Schäffer has shown exceptional skill in drawing and in reproduction of color.”
+
Ann. Am. Acad. 31: 497. Mr. ’08. 90w.
“A complete and beautiful guide to the flora.”
+
Dial. 44: 355. Je. 1, ’08. 130w.
“It will prove a vade mecum for the botanically inclined visitor to the resorts along the Canadian Pacific railway, between Banff and Glacier.”
+
Ind. 65: 317. Ag. 6, ’08. 120w.
“Mr. Brown’s descriptions appear to be clear and helpful, but it is to be regretted that he has made use of a provincial nomenclature, which is not in accord with the conclusions reached at the International congress of botanists.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 217. S. 3, ’08. 240w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 264. My. 9, ’08. 40w.
Browne, Abdullah, Haji. Bonaparte in Egypt and the Egyptians of to-day. *$3. Scribner.
7–42482.
A volume which aims “to familiarize Englishmen with the Egypt of to-day, to outline its history, and to present its problems. Intimate acquaintance with the oriental nature and mode of thought has begotten in the author a keen sympathy with the people he is describing, though he retains the broad outlook and enlightenment of the European.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The story of Bonaparte in Egypt is excellently told, and gives one to understand, better perhaps than any other of the many books on the subject, the trend of his policy, especially as it was altered and modified to suit the exigencies of the situation. The account is naturally 50from the Egyptian point of view, but the conclusions are not unfair, neither are the deductions unwarranted.”
+ +
Acad. 73: 865. S. 7, ’07. 570w.
−
Am. Hist. R. 13: 642. Ap. ’08. 550w.
“This is indeed a book that can hardly be taken seriously by anyone but its author; as a whole, the work is worthless to the scholar, and, for the most part, wearying to the general reader.”
−
Ann. Am. Acad. 31: 498. Mr. ’08. 300w.
+ + −
Ath. 1907, 2: 357. S. 28. 1900w.
“In spite of its numerous faults, the book has distinct value.”
+ −
Dial. 45: 18. Jl. 1, ’08. 350w.
“We can recommend this book for the perusal of all who are interested in the British occupation of Egypt.”
+
Lond. Times. 6: 284. S. 20, ’07. 1200w.
“Haji Browne’s point of view is too personal to find a large audience, too heterogeneous to convince, and too discursive to please. His hold on fact is slight. There is further ground of complaint against the Haji; his style is tedious, his egotism insistent.”
−
Nation. 86: 39. Ja. 9, ’08. 500w.
“A remarkable work on modern Egypt.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 61. F. 1, ’08. 300w.
“We fancy that Haji Browne could have written a fascinating personal record, and we would willingly have forfeited for it all the not very important stuff he has written about Bonaparte.”
+ −
Spec. 99: 362. S. 14, ’07. 1750w.
Browne, Edith A. W. S. Gilbert. il. (Stars of the stage.) *$1. Lane. 7–32813.
“Interesting in the details which it gives of the brilliant humorist’s youth and up-bringing, his early literary and theatrical tendencies, his career at school and the London university, and his various disappointments in seeking distinction in the army, the law, and civil service. In these diverse pursuits he acquired the varied experience of life which he was to put to such admirable satirical purpose later on.”—Nation.
“Of the man she paints so truthful and kindly a picture that we seem to know Gilbert as we have never known him before; to be in touch with him, to be holding a warm, generous hand that it is most pleasant to grasp, but with the delineation of the author we have some quarrel.”
+ −
Acad. 73: 724. Jl. 27, ’07. 850w.
“Is not altogether destitute of sound critical appreciation, but is written too much in the style of the feminine newspaper interviewer to be quite worthy of its subject.”
+ −
Nation. 85: 451. N. 14, ’07. 370w.
Bruce, Edwin Morris. Detection of the common food adulterants. *$1.25. Van Nostrand. 7–38618.
To aid in the pure food cause this little book brings together the best and simplest qualitative tests for all the common food adulterants. It contains a brief statement of the adulterants likely to be found and the reason for their use.
“As a collection of recipes the work is good; in other respects it commands but qualified admiration. As a compendium of some of the best qualitative tests for ordinary food-adulterants the book will be useful, especially to the man who already knows how to apply the processes.”
+ −
Nature. 78: 28. My. 14, ’08. 400w.
Bruce, Henry Addington B. Historic ghosts and ghost hunters. **$1.25. Moffat.
8–24447.
“A collection of fascinating and strange stories relating to famous mysteries. Thus we have the tale of the ‘Devil of Loudun,’ of ‘Lord Brougham’s ghost,’ of the ‘Drummer of Tedworth,’ of the ‘Cock Lane ghost,’ in which Dr. Johnson was interested, and the less known story of the relations to ghostland of the Wesleys; while coming down to our day, the marvels alleged to have been done by Mr. Home (Browning’s ‘Mr. Sludge, the medium’) are related, and a chapter is devoted to ‘Ghost hunters of yesterday and to-day,’ including a rather slight sketch of what has been told more fully elsewhere by Mr. Bruce.”—Outlook.
“The ghost stories he has told us are interesting and not easily attainable.”
+
Ind. 65: 1004. O. 29, ’08. 200w.
“Many of the conversations and descriptions with which he enlivens these tales, while increasing what may be called the interest of the narratives, are so obviously imaginary as to detract somewhat from their value. With this much of adverse criticism out of the way, it is pleasant to admit that the author has done his work extremely well, and certainly he is not to be blamed for attaining his intended object instead of another.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 552. O. 3, ’08. 1000w.
“Such a volume could hardly fail to be readable, and the author has been successful in putting his narratives into a semi-fictional form which has spirit and entertainment.”
+
Outlook. 90: 363. O. 17, ’08. 220w.
Bruce, Henry Addington B. Riddle of personality. **$1.50. Moffat.
8–6655.
See Cumulative book index for contents. “Mr. Bruce sketches the progress of the problem from the magician Mesmer and his ‘doings’ down to the latest American explorers of the sub-conscious world. His account of the work of the Society for psychical research is particularly interesting. His own conviction of departed spirits under the theories of ‘spiritism’ (a more exact term than spiritualism) can be equally well explained by the theory of telepathy.”
“The book may be ranked between the ultra-scientific and the ‘crank’ theories, and is of special interest as summing up what the scientific study of personality has contributed to therapeutics and as an estimate of the work of the Society for psychical research.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 255. N. ’08.
“Obviously, a safe elementary guide is needed for the study of a subject so full of pitfalls for the uninstructed; and the need has been admirably supplied by Mr. Bruce. He will be criticised by the specialist, of whatever school, for a somewhat dogmatic method of statement, for occasional simplification by the expedient of ignoring troublesome factors.” E: C. Marsh.
+ −
Bookm. 27: 278. My. ’08. 900w.
“The man of science ... takes what comfort he can in the fact that the presentation is temperate and not extravagant, and he finds further comfort in the guidance offered by the author to prospective students, who, if they follow it, may find the path toward an understanding of personality, not as a mystery but as a profound natural development.”
+ −
Dial. 44: 279. My. 1, ’08. 350w.
“No other volume of its size gives such a complete survey of this debatable ground or tells in such an interesting way of what is being done to explore it.”
+ −
Ind. 65: 489. Ag. 27, ’08. 120w.
+
Lit. D. 37: 25. Jl. 4, ’08. 400w.
“The worth of Mr. Bruce’s book is much increased by a critical bibliography of his subject, admirably written and covering the whole field fairly well.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 140. Mr. 14, ’08. 900w.
“The book is one of great value, and written in a style that will bring enlightenment to many readers.”
+
Outlook. 88: 796. Ap. 4, ’08. 300w.
51Bruce, Philip Alexander. Social life of Virginia in the seventeenth century; an inquiry into the origin of the higher planting class, together with an account of the habits, customs, and diversions of the people. *$1.50. Bell bk.
7–21275.
A supplement to the author’s “Economic history of Virginia in the seventeenth century.” It is an “attempt to reconstruct the social life of Virginia during the seventeenth century. To the origin of the higher planting class, and the causes of social distinctions, he devotes more than half of his small volume; the amusements and pastimes of his people occupy the remainder.” (Ind.)
“The reader will gain from the work a more vivid and adequate understanding of the beginnings of the upper classes of Virginia society in the period of lowland ascendancy.” F. J. T.
+
Am. Hist. R. 13: 609. Ap. ’08. 1100w.
“A careful piece of minute research, based throughout on original authorities.” C. H. Firth.
+
Eng. Hist. R. 23: 155. Ja. ’08. 760w.
“His picture of colonial life is clearly drawn, and his thesis of the essential similarity between English and Virginia conditions well maintained. At times Mr. Bruce’s local pride gets the better of his logic, as when he follows up a statement of the superiority of Virginia sobriety over that of England, with a series of quotations and incidents which seem to us to point to the reverse of his conclusion. In more serious matters his judgment is excellent.”
+ −
Ind. 63: 1000. O. 24, ’07. 350w.
“Mr. Bruce’s scholarship is well known, and this volume, like his work in general, shows wide reading, an appreciation of historical values, and a faculty for presentation.”
+
Nation. 85: 352. O. 17, ’07. 410w.
Brudno, Ezra S. The tether. †$1.50. Lippincott.
8–20348.
A subjective study of a Jewish boy’s struggle for education, freedom, and the love of a Gentile maiden, while the inexorable prejudices and decrees of his race withhold them from him. He goes the length of the tether which the grim leniency of his race allows, and then is brought to a standstill which is symbolized by a mortal sickness.
“The most dramatic and forceful parts of the book are those which deal with the Hebrew relatives and friends of the hero, among whom the author describes many varieties of the Jewish immigrant.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 680. N. 14, ’08. 200w.
“Mr. Brudno writes with an ardent spirit, curbed by intelligence, and effective to the end he seeks.”
+
Outlook. 90: 504. O. 31, ’08. 270w.
Bruner, James Dowden. Studies in Victor Hugo’s dramatic characters; with an introd. by R: G. Moulton. *$1. Ginn.
8–8836.
Following the method of sympathetic induction in his investigation, the author has collected, arranged, weighed and harmonized into a unity all the details of each character studied. He includes Hernani, Don Ruy Gomez, Don Carlos, Doña Sol, Ruy Blas, the villain in “Ruy Blas,” and Lucrezia Borgia.
“A volume of deeply interesting literary criticism.”
+
Dial. 45: 171. S. 16, ’08. 70w.
“A volume to which the word charming may properly be applied. The author has very genuine insight into the creations of Hugo’s genius, and his own style is attractive and readable.”
+
Educ. R. 36: 523. D. ’08. 50w.
“It must be scientific literary criticism, for it betrays no sign of literary taste, no insight, no humor, and no charm.”
−
Ind. 65: 1310. D. 3, ’08. 400w.
−
Nation. 87: 241. S. 10, ’08. 370w.
“The Introduction contributed by Professor Moulton illuminates the entire field.”
+
Outlook. 90: 458. O. 24, ’08. 180w.
Bryant, Lorinda Munson. Pictures and their painters; the history of painting. *$3.50. Lane.
7–21729.
A book which appeals to the student, to the professional, or to the lay reader. “The volume begins with the work of the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Italian painting from Cimabue to Giotto down to Vasari and Baroccio is then considered, followed by several separate chapters on Venetian painters from Giorgione and Titian down to Salvator Rosa. In the second part of the book we are given the story of Irish painting and of the work of Dutch, Flemish, German, Spanish, French, English and American artists.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Throughout the book will be found bits of anecdote, history, and legend giving additional interest to an artist, his painting, or the times he worked in.”
+
N. Y. Times. 12: 446. Jl. 13, ’07. 230w.
“Is a compact series of notes on the art of the world with the stamp of personal familiarity with the pictures discussed and with an unusually keen sympathy with early schools.” E. L. Cary.
+
Putnam’s. 3: 361. D. ’07. 90w.
Bryant, Walter William. History of astronomy. *$3. Dutton.
8–9045.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“It covers a wider range of time than Miss Clerke’s ‘Popular history of astronomy,’ and though a good piece of work, hardly equals that book in intrinsic merit.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 171. Je. ’08.
“Terseness and sanity of scientific statement characterizes the work. It is amply worth buying, reading and keeping.”
+
Engin. N. 59: 295. Mr. 12, ’08. 350w.
“The work is descriptive, and is characterized thruout by clearness and directness of statement.”
+
Ind. 64: 1402. Je. 18, ’08. 300w.
“The book contains a few inaccuracies. Occasionally, too, there is lack of lucidity of style, and a use of cryptic expressions or unexplained technical terms. But in general the author’s opinions are clearly expressed and are also sound.”
+ −
Nation. 85: 593. D. 26, ’07. 500w.
“To the more advanced reader it is likely to appear superficial, as only touching with notelike brevity a few of the many chapters of the science; to the reader merely interested in astronomical development, however, it should appeal as a popular and very attractive account of many interesting sections of nature-study.”
+ −
Nature. 78: 193. Jl. 2, ’08. 1450w.
“The subject is treated by one well able to deal with a wealth of material almost overwhelming.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 17. Ja. 11, ’08. 460w.
“We have every reason to think Mr. Bryant an accomplished practical astronomer, but he has not the gift of lucidity, and above all he is no historian.”
−
Sat. R. 105: 632. My. 16, ’08. 900w.
“He writes lucidly enough, and his book may be recommended to the beginner.”
+
Spec. 100: sup. 124. Ja. 25, ’08. 170w.
Bryson, Charles Lee. Tan and Teckle. **$1.25. Revell.
8–23922.
Tan and Teckle are field mice, and these stories of their adventures with neighbors, both friendly and hostile, will prove fascinating as well as instructive to young readers.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 494. S. 12, ’08. 100w.
52Buchanan, Alfred. Real Australia. *$1.50. Jacobs.
7–38524.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 76. Mr. ’08. ✠
“The chief impression left by Mr. Buchanan’s ‘Real Australia’ is the cleverness of the author. The book is undeniably interesting. It is a book that, once begun, will be read to the last page; but when the reader has finished, while he will certainly know a great deal more about Mr. Buchanan, his views of life, and his powers and ability, it is doubtful whether he will have a much better or fuller knowledge than he had before of the real Australia.”
+ −
Ind. 64: 319. F. 6, ’08. 350w.
“A welcome offset to the books which have dealt with the subject in detached phases, more particularly with the political history of the country and the socialistic experiments made there.”
+
Nation. 86: 156. F. 13, ’08. 500w.
Buckman, David Lear. Old steamboat days on the Hudson river. (Grafton historical ser.) il. **$1.25. Grafton press.
7–36976.
Tales and reminiscences of the stirring times that followed the introduction of steam navigation. It records “not merely a picturesque episode in local experience, but the very beginnings of steam navigation.” (Bookm.)
“On account of the lack of references the work can hardly be classed among scholarly books. Furnishes pleasant reading and will prove a useful book of reference for particular phases of the local life of which it treats.” E. K. Alden.
+ −
Am. Hist. R. 13: 656. Ap. ’08. 350w.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 171. Je. ’08. ✠
“Is a book which one only wishes were longer, more lavish both of fact and of legends.” H. W. Boynton.
+
Bookm. 26: 514. Ja. ’08. 90w.
“An interesting account.”
+
N. Y. Times. 12: 665. O. 19, ’07. 20w.
“This volume is full of entertaining reminiscences and anecdotes relating to the development of steam navigation, with full descriptions of the various mechanical improvements that have been introduced in recent years.”
+
R. of Rs. 37: 253. F. ’08. 170w.
Bullen, Frank Thomas. Call of the deep; being some further adventures of Frank Brown. †$1.50. Dutton.
8–30939.
“The writer professes to record incidents of actual sea life aboard British sailing vessels twenty-five years ago. The rise of the hero from common sailor to the rank of captain is the unifying element. The narrative contains the usual wicked commanders, outrageous mutinies, storms, and hair-breadth ’scapes, wherein our sense of security is rarely joggled, because the idea that fair play ultimately succeeds is early premised.”—Nation.
“The spirit of manliness, the healthy contempt for ‘girls and tea-parties,’ and the equally healthy love affair which crowns Frank’s good fortune, will compensate, in the youthful minds, for a decided lack of literary finish, and novelty of plot. The masters are challenged, but they may rest easy.”
+
Nation. 86: 355. Ap. 16, ’08. 250w.
“Written in Mr. Bullen’s unaffected, breezy way, with capital descriptive passages and an abundance of exciting incidents.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 182. Ap. 4, ’08. 400w.
“This will entrance all the youngsters, and as many of their elders as love the smell of salt water.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 346. Je. 13, ’08. 220w.
+
R. of Rs. 37: 764. Je. ’08. 30w.
“Mr. Bullen’s new book is written avowedly for boys, and the more of them who read it the better—it will do them nothing but good—but it will please their elders too.”
+ +
Sat. R. 104: sup. 8. N. 16, ’07. 200w.
“The story is full of real life from beginning to end. Long ago John Newton remarked that he did not know of any books ‘suitable for mariners.’ Well, here they are; wholesome to the core; the work of an expert, but with nothing which would ‘warn off’ the most absolute landsman.”
+ +
Spec. 99: 574. O. 19, ’07. 250w.
Bullock, Charles Jesse. Selected readings in economics. *$2.25. Ginn.
7–31981.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“Admirable judgment has been shown in choice of subject and of authorities.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 101. Ap. ’08. ✠
“One feels in reading each of the various chapters that he has before him the last thing that has been said on the particular subject under discussion. Such a book cannot fail to fill an important place in the thorough presentation of a course in economics.”
+
Ann. Am. Acad. 31: 498. Mr. ’08. 200w.
“The selections might have been made to better advantage and might more thoroly represent the best modern reading on economics in England and America, but just as it is, the book is useful.”
+ −
Educ. R. 34: 537. D. ’07. 70w.
“The most serious omission appears to be the virtual neglect of the more recent developments in economic theory commonly associated with the Austrian school. It is doubtful whether any other equal group of selected readings would prove more generally acceptable or serviceable.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 215. Mr. 5, ’08. 230w.
Pol. Sci. Q. 23: 191. Mr. ’08. 50w.
“Every teacher will find in the book some material that he will be very glad to have available for the use of his students.”
+
Yale R. 16: 443. F. ’08. 200w.
Bumpus, Thomas Francis. Cathedrals and churches of northern Italy, their history and their architecture; together with much of interest concerning the bishops, rulers and other personages identified with them. (Cathedral series.) $2.50. Page.
8–21818.
An introductory chapter gives some insight into the principles which guided the progress of North Italian church art, and describes some of the distinguishing marks of the various schools. The body of the volume is concerned with the cathedrals themselves, their architecture, history and associations; while a concluding chapter gives a list of the most remarkable pictures and wall paintings found in the churches described. The book is fully illustrated.
+
Cath. World. 88: 410. D. ’08. 160w.
“Might be described as an ornate hand-book, so closely does it combine the useful and the ornamental.”
+
Dial. 45: 408. D. 1, ’08. 260w.
“To the reader interested in architecture, especially if he be able to follow the author’s commentaries ‘in situ,’ this volume will prove a valuable aid to intelligent comprehension.”
+
Nation. 87: 502. N. 19, ’08. 580w.
“An interesting as well as a handsome book.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 755. D. 5, ’08. 80w.
Burba, George Francis. Our bird friends: containing many things young folks ought to know—and likewise grownups. *$1. Outing pub.
8–14714.
Aside from four chapters devoted to facts about birds, how birds fly and sing, and bird migration, each of nineteen short chapters deals in a popular descriptive manner with a familiar 53bird neighbor. Facts concerning appearance, habits, nest placing and building are supplemented by full-page colored illustrations of ten birds.
“As a condensed account of interesting facts the book is well worth one dollar and the time required to read it.”
+
Ind. 65: 317. Ag. 6, ’08. 50w.
“The poorest and most colorless nature book that could well be imagined. The illustrations so offend the artistic sense, the diction is so flippant and uninteresting and the facts are thrown together in such a purposeless, haphazard way as to repel the reader of any age.”
− −
Nation. 87: 78. Jl. 23, ’08. 170w.
“Breezy and enthusiastic, with no sentimental twaddle, the volume is a delight.” Hildegarde Hawthorne.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 449. Ag. 15, ’08. 50w.
Burgess, Isaac Bronson. Life of Christ; adapted from the life of Christ by Ernest D. Burton and Shailer Mathews. $1. Univ. of Chicago press.
8–29368.
An aid to constructive and historical Bible study for classes in secondary schools and in the secondary division of the Sunday school.
Burnham, Clara Louise. Leaven of love: a novel. †$1.50. Houghton.
8–23559.
A story full of spiritual enlightenment whose situation grows out of the separation of a jealous wife from her husband. The scene shifts from Boston to Regina Beach, at which latter place the leavening work progresses, presided over by a young girl whose activities are marshalled into heavenly order by demonstrable principles of life. How she shows the misery-burdened wife a sure way back to happiness, how she stimulates and encourages the husband to hope and work for the reconciliation, how the evil woman in the way vanishes, and how life may be a living example of limitless freedom—are all shown with reasonableness and skill.
Nation. 87: 443. N. 5, ’08. 120w.
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 655. N. 7, ’08. 200w.
“Rather amusing story.”
+ −
Outlook. 90: 750. N. 28, ’08. 160w.
Burns, James. Christ face in art. *$2. Dutton.
8–14762.
A survey extending from St. Luke to Ottilie Roederstein which traces the growth and historical development of sacred art as expressed in the face of Christ as conceived by the greatest painters of each age and country.
“The criticism is superficial, and of little value to serious students of art, but Mr. Burns has one indispensable qualification for the task he has chosen: he writes always in a spirit of seriousness and devotion.”
+ −
Ath. 1907, 2: 661. N. 23. 260w.
“A valuable book.”
+
Ind. 64: 638. Mr. 19, ’08. 160w.
N. Y. Times. 12: 834. D. 14, ’07. 240w.
Spec. 100: 1003. Je. 27, ’08. 180w.
Burns, Rev. James Aloysius. Catholic school system in the United States; its principles, origin and establishment. *$1.25. Benziger.
8–18343.
A coherent view of the Catholic parish school movement in the United States from the earliest times down to the great immigration period, which began in about the year 1840. The author dwells upon the steady effort to build and equip schools, to provide teachers and overcome fundamental difficulties both from within and from without.
“A very attractive and instructive historical study.”
+
Cath. World. 87: 548. Jl. ’08. 840w.
Burpee, Lawrence Johnstone. Search for the western sea. *$5. Appleton.
8–23910.
The story of the exploration of Northwestern Canada during a period of about three centuries. Mr. Burpee’s examination of manuscripts in the Canadian archives has been painstaking and exhaustive. “The story begins with the Northmen who a thousand years ago pushed across the Atlantic to Iceland, Greenland and America, ‘where they stood the first of the white men on the shores of a new world,’ and appropriately it ends with the Northmen who, still by Greenland, Baffin bay and King William Land, succeeded where so many gallant spirits had failed. Mr. Burpee does not confine himself to men like La Verendrye, Jonathan Carver, Alexander Henry, Mackenzie, Fraser, Thompson, and the rest whose work was mainly overland; he tells also of the men who ‘with characteristic obstinacy’ clung to the idea that the Western sea might be approached through Hudson strait.” (Sat. R.)
“Contains much of permanent interest.”
+
Ath. 1908, 1: 758. Je. 20. 430w.
“He writes with very full knowledge of his subject and presents his facts in a very pleasing fashion.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 560. O. 10, ’08. 400w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 623. O. 24. ’08. 20w.
“Mr. Burpee puts before us vividly the personality and the achievements of the pathfinders of the Canadian west.” James White.
+
Ottawa Evening J. 4. Je. 27, ’08. 1000w.
“Valuable contribution to geographical knowledge.”
+ +
Sat. R. 105: 823. Je. 27, ’08. 660w.
Burr, Anna Robeson. Jessop bequest. †$1.50. Houghton. 7–34309.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“The book is an example of that best type of realism, the type that one instinctively accepts as plain, unvarnished reality.” F. T. Cooper.
+ −
Bookm. 26: 672. F. ’08. 780w.
“It is a well-written story in point of style, but exhibits a low degree of vitality, and is burdened with much inconsequential detail.” W: M. Payne.
+ −
Dial. 44: 44. Ja. 16, ’08. 230w.
“She has invented an ingenious plot, with a daring point of departure, and peopled it with rather interesting, if not strikingly original, characters, but her atmosphere is provincial, like her setting.”
+ −
Ind. 64: 156. Ja. 16, ’08. 220w.
“A novel may be without especial originality or significance in itself, and yet possess interest as permitting the reader, as he fancies, a peep into the psychic processes of the writer.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 62. Ja. 16, ’08. 140w.
Burrell, Rev. David James. Lure of the city: a book for young men. **$1. Funk.
8–28413.
Twenty-three talks to young men, including the following chapters: The call of the city; Going into business; The poor boy’s chance; The ten o’clock man; The choosing of one’s friends; Amusements; Books and reading; Dreams; Voices; How to spend Sunday; Temptation; The code of honor; The doubter; The Christian; The quitter; The honest man; and Opportunity. They aim to help the city youth to “tighten a buckle of his harness.”
“Is not only full of good Christian sense, but is readable and lively, just such talk as would appeal to those to whom it is addrest.”
+
Ind. 65: 1312. D. 3, ’08. 70w.
“Admirable series of essays, which make up a readable, wise, and helpful volume, half homiletic, half of a guide-book character.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 850. D. 5, ’08. 270w.
“He writes here with his well-known vigor.”
+
R. of Rs. 38: 635. N. ’08. 60w.
54Burroughs, John. Leaf and tendril. **$1.10. Houghton.
8–11501.
A book of essays a part of which are nature sketches symbolized by the “leaf,” and a part nature sermons in which Mr. Burroughs teaches the trimming and high-culture gospel of the vine-dresser. The opening essay on The art of seeing things imparts to the reader some of the secrets of observation inherent in the “eye and ear, yea, in the mind and soul” and presided over by a great love of nature.
“Written in the author’s usual pleasant style and characterized by careful observation and sympathetic treatment.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 172. Je. ’08.
“His philosophy is of the wholesome and kindly sort which we like to think belongs to those who live much out-of-doors.” M. E. Cook.
+
Dial. 44: 343. Je. 1, ’08. 370w.
+
Ind. 64: 1297. Je. 4, ’08. 320w.
“As a country summer companion, it will set one to study nature with sharper and kindlier eyes. We may add that Mr. Burroughs’s observations on natural history are of distinctly more value than his utterances on philosophy and religion.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 450. My. 14, ’08. 350w.
“And those men and women who grow doubtful or bitter, scornful or hopeless as the result of too much contemplation of man and his works, can not find better medicine for their souls than these calm and trustful pages, filled with the maturest thought of a venerable man who loves and believes in life, his fellow-man, and the universe.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 262. My. 9, ’08. 300w.
Burt, Mary Elizabeth, ed. Prose that every child should know; a selection of the best prose of all times for young people; decorated with photographs by Eve Watson Schütze. (Every child should know ser.) **90c. Doubleday.
8–11736.
This volume goes to increase the responsibility already rather arbitrarily imposed upon children by the foregoing volumes in the “Every child should know series.” None the less here are prose gems for a child’s thought worth reckoning with. The selections range from Homer and Esop to Lincoln, Ruskin, Cable, Stockton, Markham and others. Articles are furnished on the absorbing questions of the day—money, labor, reforms, etc.—so providing material for oratorical and debating societies.
“An excellent collection of quotations.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 158. My. ’08.
N. Y. Times. 13: 238. Ap. 25, ’08. 160w.
Burton, Frederick Russell. Strongheart: a novel; founded on William C. De Mille’s play. †$1.50. Dillingham.
8–24461.
A story based upon the drama which adheres to the scheme of De Mille’s play, while extending and broadening the treatment. The Strongheart of the novel is identified with the Ojibways, about whom and whose tribal characteristics the author has sound, first-hand knowledge. The extending of the drama story consists of a prologue showing Strongheart’s Ojibway surroundings and an epilogue in which Dorothy wins the hearts of the Indians thru missionary work and gains their consent to marry Strongheart.
“The chances against a novelised drama being anything more than a piece of clumsy carpentry, makes it distinctly worth while to say a few words in praise of ‘Strongheart.’” F: T. Cooper.
+
Bookm. 28: 382. D. ’08. 600w.
“Mr. Burton has written an entertaining novel, and he has also given forcible dramatic and truthful presentation of the surroundings, conditions, and sentiments of the Ojibway people, and of the complicated matter of their relations with the whites.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 509. S. 19, ’08. 500w.
“The story is an entertaining one and gives the reader some idea of the true Indian of to-day and his relations with the white man.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 741. D. 5, ’08. 200w.
Burton, Richard. Three of a kind. †$1.50. Little.
8–26676.
A German violinist, a newsboy and a cocker spaniel constitute the “top-floor trinity” of this story that tugs away at the heart strings. In the foreground are the three comrades, unprosperous, struggling for daily bread. Uniting the elements of the tale is a romance, unfulfilled, hallowed thru years of the musician’s unworldly striving. When the waif was revealed to be the child of the woman of the violinist’s life of dreams, “he was gathered into an embrace that reclaimed him forever from his homeless state and set him safe in the harborage of a good man’s long-starved love.”
“It is good for man or boy; it will insure a happy hour; and it will appeal especially to every one who loves, or has ever loved a dog.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 544. O. 3, ’08. 240w.
Bury, Lady Charlotte. Diary of a lady-in-waiting; being the diary illustrative of the times of George the fourth; interspersed with original letters from the late Queen Caroline and from various other distinguished persons; new ed.; with an introd., by A. Francis Steuart. 2v. *$7.50. Lane.
8–29183.
A reprint of “a plain record of the follies of a princess.” The chronicler was lady-in-waiting to Caroline, Princess of Wales, and traitorously divulged court secrets. “It was history of a sort, the intrigues of the back stair and the evil or insipid gossip of snobs and flunkies of all ranks of society. And Thackeray himself, as the editor, Mr. A. Francis Steuart points out, quoted ‘some of its most pregnant passages when he desired to use them as brilliant illustrations of his immortal “Four Georges”.’” (Sat. R.)
“We cannot help thinking that while Mr. Steuart was about it, he might have accomplished his editing more thoroughly.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 182. Ag. 15. 360w.
“Of course the work as it stands is not continuously interesting to readers who have no intimate knowledge of the history of the time. But there is no livelier, or perhaps truer, picture of the wretched consort of George IV in existence.” E: Fuller.
+ −
Bookm. 28: 270. N. ’08. 1400w.
Nation. 87: 159. Ag. 20, ’08. 470w.
“There is probably no better picture to be found of the social life of the early years of the last century.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 485. S. 5, ’08. 400w.
“In many ways this edition is improved and made more readable.”
+
Sat. R. 106: 150. Ag. 1, ’08. 350w.
“It should never have been written, and, having been written, it cannot be read by the most callous without an absorbing and pitiful interest.”
− +
Spec. 101: 197. Ag. 8, ’08. 1550w.
Bussell, Rev. Frederick William. Christian theology and social progress: the Bampton lectures for 1905. *$3.50. Dutton.
7–12985.
The author, rector of Sisland, Norfolk, prepared eight lectures for delivery in St. Mary’s church, Oxford. These occupy about two-fifths of the volume; the remaining lectures are eight “Supplementary lectures.” “Mr. Bussell defends 55Christian doctrine on the ground of its utility, seeking to show its value and necessity for the present age.... He contends that Christian ethics cannot outlast Christian dogma, and that the general welfare is bound up with the faiths and hopes of Christian belief.” (Ind.)
“He conducts his argument on a high plane, meeting philosophical objections with no small penetration and skill.”
+
Ind. 64: 210. Ja. 23, ’08. 90w.
“The discussions are stimulating and suggestive throughout; but owing to the extent of the ground covered, and the manner of exposition chosen by the author, it is very difficult to state shortly the exact drift of the book.” S. H. M.
+ −
Int. J. Ethics. 18: 524. Jl. ’08. 470w.
Butler, Ellis Parker. Cheerful smugglers. †$1. Century.
8–11086.
The young parents of a year old baby evolve a scheme to provide a fund for the child’s college education. A ten per cent tariff is imposed upon everything that comes into the house, groceries, cigars, candy, clothes, and even upon the belongings of their guests. The comedy of the situation reaches its climax when everybody takes to smuggling,—cook, guests and the parents themselves.
“The little book is very good fun.”
+
Nation. 86: 537. Je. 11, ’08. 100w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 210. Ap. 11, ’08. 30w.
“It is all very cheerful.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 297. My. 23, ’08. 150w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 150w.
“Sheer nonsense, but amusing nonsense at least.” Charlotte Harwood.
+
Putnam’s. 4: 622. Ag. ’08. 20w.
Butler, Ellis Parker. Kilo; being the love story of Eliph’ Hewlett, book agent. †$1. McClure.
7–36094.
Eliph’ Hewlett, the irrepressible, ne’er-to-be-downed book agent, cannot detach himself from his “Jarby’s encyclopedia” even when he goes a-wooing. “Peer Gynt did not divert his dying mother’s mind by their imaginary ride more utterly than did this Iowa book agent with his enthusiastic recital of the merits of ‘Jarby’s encyclopedia’; her last words were: ‘Eliph’, you may put me down for a copy.’” (Ind.)
“Certainly it is lively reading; but the persistent effort to be funny thru 279 pages exhausts author and reader alike, and we may fail to see some passages of genuine sincerity and a few veritable folks.”
+ −
Ind. 64: 159. Ja. 16, ’08. 220w.
+ −
Outlook. 87: 745. N. 30, ’07. 40w.
* Butler, Nicholas Murray. American as he is. *$1. Macmillan. 8–34126.
Three lectures delivered before the University of Copenhagen which aim to set out some of the aspects of American life and to draw a picture of that part of present-day civilization which the world knows as American. The chapters are The American as a political type, The American apart from his government, and The American and intellectual life.
Butterfield, Kenyon Leech. Chapters in rural progress. *$1. Univ. of Chicago press.
8–4449.
A book which emphasizes the social aspects of rural communities and describes some of the newer movements resulting in the expansion of country life. It “does not offer a complete analysis of the rural problem; but attempts, in general, to present some of the more significant phases of that problem, and, in particular, to describe some of the agencies at work in solving it.”
“The book is a splendid introductory study to rural sociology and should do much to call attention to the subject and to mark out the lines for its study.” T: J. Riley.
+
Am. J. Soc. 14: 127. Jl. 11, ’08. 200w.
“The book is written in an admirable spirit. The chief defect of it is repetition of non-essentials due to being boiled down from several separate compositions.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 172. Je. ’08. ✠
“It should be in the hands of all who are in any way interested in rural progress, from the farmer to the school trustee.”
+ −
Dial. 44: 313. My. 16, ’08. 500w.
Ind. 65: 663. S. 17, ’08. 340w.
“[These chapters] have already been presented to the public either in the more serious magazines or from the platform. But they have all been rewritten and combined so skillfully as to give a succinct view of what the farm needs in order that it may have the highest efficiency in the production of men and women as well as wheat and corn.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 101. F. 22, ’08. 230w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 335. Je. 13, ’08. 250w.
Buttles, Janet R. Queens of Egypt. *$3. Appleton.
Miss Buttles “has gathered together from all available sources all that Egyptology has known concerning the names, personalities, and deeds of the women who shared the thrones of the Pharaohs, and has put all this together into a readable, connected account of the feminine side of the royal line.”—N. Y. Times.
“On the whole, the book is carefully written.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 363. S. 26. 400w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 640. O. 31, ’08. 200w.
“Her book is singularly free from inaccuracies or antiquated theories.”
+
Sat. R. 106: 207. Ag. 15, ’08. 960w.
“The portraits, the personal descriptions, the mass of detail to be found in Miss Buttles’s attractive book are little short of amazing: the extent to which this almost prehistoric history has been disinterred can hardly be believed by any one who has not followed modern study very closely. Queens of six thousand years ago are here made to live again.”
+ +
Spec. 101: 371. S. 12, ’08. 480w.
Buxton, E. M. Wilmot-. Stories of Persian heroes. $1.50. Crowell.
8–24871.
From Persia’s book of kings, Shah-Nameh, have been drawn these tales of Rustum, the Persian King Arthur, and his warriors and foes. “Mingled with the crash of fierce battles we find other strange accounts of enchanted gardens, snorting dragons, beleaguered forests, imprisoned maidens, and knightly guests as fine as any ever inspired by that other Eastern hero, Haroun-al-Raschid. In most of them Rustum himself appears, mounted upon his wonderful horse, Rakush, whom every boy will wish to have for his own.”
Reviewed by K. L. M.
Bookm. 28: 385. D. ’08. 30w.
Nation. 87: 550. D. 3, ’08. 50w.
“Altogether delightful, a prize in a miscellaneous collection of books for young people.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 580. O. 17, ’08. 320w.
Byers, Morton Lewis. Economics of railway operation. *$5. Eng. news.
8–982.
The economics of railway operation are treated under seven heads: (1) Organization; (2) Employment, education and discipline of forces; (3) Accounts and accounting; (4) Reports; (5) Economic operation; (6) Analysis of operations and control of expenses; and (7) Betterments. “The book outlines briefly these main features of different aspects of operating topics, shows their inter-relation, and goes into considerable detail in explaining how the work done under each of these features is controlled by instructions and reports submitted to the higher railway officers.” (Engin. Rec.)
56“We must express our highest commendation of the work Mr. Byers has done in the interest of railroad engineering as a whole and we feel sure that there is hardly a man in the railway service who cannot derive much benefit from a study of this book.”
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Engin. D. 3: 302. Mr. ’08. 900w.
“A good book for the student of railway affairs, but too detailed for those who have but little time for reading.”
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Engin. Rec. 57: 110. Ja. 25, ’08. 400w.
“The level of the book is a high one; and fullest recognition should be given to the wide knowledge of railroad operation which it reveals, and to the thoroughness and care with which its material is given to the public.” Stuart Daggett.
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J. Pol. Econ. 16: 241. Ap. ’08. 850w.
Byron, Henry. Day-dreamer’s harvest. $1.25. Shepard, Morgan.
7–20965.
“A modern key to the best that is in Marcus Aurelius and La Rochefoucauld, which adds much besides as a result of the author’s own observations and researches in human phenomena.”—N. Y. Times.
“Mr. Byron has filled his pages with wisdom nuggets that makes the book one into which to dip at odd moments.”
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Ind. 63: 947. O. 17, ’07. 80w.
“Open the book where you may, you will always find something that arrests the attention and invites thought.”
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N. Y. Times. 12: 848. D. 21, ’07. 280w.
“A collection of thought-provoking ‘meditations.’”
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R. of Rs. 36: 383. S. ’07. 60w.