W (continued 2)
Reading edition
+ + −
Pol. Sci. Q. 23: 518. S. ’08. 1750w.
Westrum, Adriaan Schade van. The devil. †$1.50. Dillingham.
8–27363.
A story based on the translations and adaptation made from the Hungarian by Alex Konta and William Trowbridge Larned. “It is a picture of erring human nature, but the sophistries of Satan are set forth with wit and humor and are made the vehicle of satirical flings at the modern social order.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 814. N. 28, ’08. 130w.
“The task of one who runs dramatic materials into the novel mould—much simpler than the opposite process—is to avoid adding too much. In this case the adapter has acquitted himself well.”
+
Nation. 87: 442. N. 5, ’08. 280w.
Westrup, Margaret. Greater mischief. †$1.50. Harper.
8–5583.
A sensitive child at the mercy of a jealous, undemonstrative, puritanic mother struggles into bloom in the little garden of her wonderful imagination. A prince charming offers to her when a child of ten the first real sympathy her hungry little soul has known. She lives upon the memory of their companionship until in after years he returns and offers her his love. Their love is changed to grief thru an ancient grudge which the wooer’s father bears the dead father of Audrey, and only a heroic sacrifice on the part of the hitherto uncompromising mother is able to restore happiness.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 224. Je. ’08.
“Speaking generally, the personages of the story (including Euphemia, a truly comical dog) are realized far more vividly than in the run of contemporary novels. It is a pity that their effectiveness should be so often endangered by the coil of a futile and over-ingenious plot.”
+ + −
Nation. 86: 237. Mr. 12, ’08. 150w.
“An excellent specimen of English skill in the writing of fiction and of those points in which it is superior to the American novel.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 266. My. 9, ’08. 200w.
“The problem presented in [this story] is a serious one, and has tragic possibilities; but the story holds it with firm but skillful grasp, and surrounds it with so much pleasant humor and charming suggestion that the reader is never overwhelmed.”
+
Outlook. 88: 652. Mr. 21, ’08. 150w.
* Wharton, Anne Hollingsworth. An English honeymoon. †$1.50. Lippincott.
8–32322.
Honeymoon happiness casts its effulgence across every page of this bright narrative of scenes and sights thru England. In a series of letters the bride reveals how they convert everything from a king’s highway to an obscure lane into a byway of lovers; comfortable, unconventionable “honeymooners” they are who describe scenes, haunts and structures as they perceive them, and assemble bits of historical, literary and art information for the reader’s enlightenment.
“It is an attractive volume and written in Miss Wharton’s best style.”
+
Dial. 45; 462. D. 16, ’08. 170w.
“It is all charmingly told, and as a bit of travel literature the little volume is strengthened by the excellent illustrations.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 911. D. 12, ’08. 140w.
“The travel narrative is an entertaining mixture of description, quotation, and anecdote.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 740. D. 5, ’08. 220w.
“The happy traveler writes enthusiastically.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 749. D. 5, ’08. 160w.
Wharton, Edith. Hermit and the wild woman. †$1.50. Scribner.
8–27101.
A group of stories dealing “with subtle problems, delicate situations, the nuances, so to speak, of conduct and temperament.” (Outlook.) “The title story, ‘The hermit and the wild woman,’ is in the form of an Italian legend and bears the mark of the author’s familiarity with the history and literature, the art and faith of Italy. The other stories are of modern life.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Have all the subtlety and artistry in style and conception that we associate with Mrs. Wharton.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 305. D. ’08.
+
Ath. 1908, 2: 644. N. 21. 160w.
“The stories are, of course, admirably told; we must hope that their uniformity of key is a coincidence, and that the story-teller’s buoyancy has not taken itself off altogether.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 525. N. 26, ’08. 400w.
“The stories are unequal in interest, although uniformly delightful in the felicity of their detail and the trained taste of their composition.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 541. O. 3, ’08. 600w.
“They are not, however, either so novel in situation or so interesting as some of their predecessors. They are a little inclined to a certain form of preciosity from which Mrs. Wharton will do well to deliver herself.”
+ −
Outlook. 90: 362. O. 17, ’08. 150w.
“Is best read by firelight, when the room is still, when the delicate perfection of the work makes its just appeal to an alert and impartial reader.” Agnes Repplier.
+
Outlook. 90: 702. N. 28, ’08. 330w.
“To begin with, we cannot think that she was altogether well advised in including in a set of ultra-modern stories the mediaeval quasi-allegory which gives its name to the book. Apart from that, the almost invariable recurrence of failure, disappointment, and disillusionment as the leading motives of each episode makes for depression as well as monotony.”
− +
Spec. 101: 886. N. 28, ’08. 750w.
Wharton, Edith. Motor-flight through France. **$2. Scribner.
8–30288.
A book for readers familiar with France. Mrs. Wharton’s glances here and there serve as suggestions to start a description that grows out of the fulness of her historical understanding of the places visited, and her shrewd, analytical reflections.
“Readers who enjoy style, readers who are fond of automobile riding, readers who are interested in rural France, whether for its art, its architecture, or its landscape, will enjoy Mrs. Wharton’s book.”
+
Dial. 45: 409. D. 1, ’08. 250w.
386“Is rich with the delicate observation of a keen, well-stored mind, eager for new impressions.”
+
Ind. 65: 1180. N. 19, ’08. 260w.
“For anyone contemplating a motor trip thru France it should serve, moreover, as an excellent guide.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 911. D. 12, ’08. 200w.
“One may say that this is a book to give keen pleasure to all who have themselves visited the scenes which Mrs. Wharton recalls so surely and charmingly, but that it is too wide in scope, too crowded with detail, too hasty in movement, to be very satisfactory to the untravelled.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 469. N. 12, ’08. 830w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 622. O. 24, ’08. 40w.
“Those who have been charmed with Mrs. Wharton’s novels will not be disappointed by her venture into the unfamiliar role of a travel writer.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 637. O. 31, ’08. 230w.
“Her keenness of observation and delicate descriptive style never fail her.”
+
R. of Rs. 38: 760. D. ’08. 30w.
“A glance at the contents of the book does not suggest anything like the treasures of novelty to be found within.”
+
Spec. 101: 947. D. 5, ’08. 620w.
Wheeler, H. F. B., and Broadley, A. M. Napoleon and the invasion of England. 2v. *$10. Lane.
8–6630.
Newspapers, letters, diaries and broad-sides of the period from 1793 to 1805 have provided a wealth of material upon which this narrative is based. It describes the various plans which the French considered during this period for the invasion of the British Isles with Napoleon as leader. “The authors bring out clearly the importance of Napoleon’s ignorance of matters nautical, an ignorance which assumes great importance when we remember that one of the most potent factors in the overthrow of Napoleon was the sea power of England.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Whether we consider the number of new materials, the wealth of illustrations, both pictorial and literary (most of them drawn from Mr. Broadley’s fine collection), the skill with which materials and illustrative extracts are woven into the narrative or the correctness of the text, the completeness of the index, and the excellence of the form, the result must be considered highly satisfactory.”
+ +
Ath. 1907, 2: 396. O. 5. 1920w.
“These caricatures, strange to say, though they are of course valuable for the side-light they throw on public feeling at the time of their production, are singularly deficient in real humour, and fail altogether to appeal to modern taste—an incidental proof of the increase in refinement that has taken place in that taste of late years. These are all of stirring interest, and bring out more forcibly than could any description by a later pen the actual feelings aroused by the gloomy situation.”
+ −
Int. Studio. 33: 250. Ja. ’08. 400w.
“We cannot pretend to think that it altogether sustains the authoritative character implied in its rather ambitious title. It is, in our judgment, palpably lacking in a true sense of historical perspective and is little qualified to sustain the comparison it suggests with the works of such men as Colomb, Mahan, and Desbriere, but it is nevertheless full of entertainment and not devoid of instruction.”
+ −
Lond. Times. 6: 321. O. 25, ’07. 1580w.
“The great value of Messrs. Wheeler and Broadley’s handsome volumes is that they bring together a great deal of miscellaneous material ... that paint, as nothing else does, the national psychology of England at this moment of pressing danger. They fill a gap in English historical literature and may be heartily recommended. At the same time it must be said that the authors are more collectors than historians, enthusiasts than stylists; their own share of the book is occasionally slipshod and is not marked by the historical sense.”
+ −
Nation., 86: 125. F. 6, ’08. 260w.
“Every critic must unhesitatingly commend the wealth of pictorial material in these two volumes. It has very high historical value.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 16. Ja. 11, ’08. 260w.
“There can be little doubt that the authors of this book are right in their contention that Bonaparte seriously intended the invasion of England after the breach of Treaty of Amiens, and we do not know where we can find so living a picture of the preparations which were made to meet it.”
+
Sat. R. 104: sup. 3. S. 28. ’07. 1600w.
“The present work succeeds in giving us in the compass of a single book a more convincing picture of a period of panic than we can recall in any library.”
+ +
Spec. 99. sup. 899. D. 7, ’07. 2120w.
Wheeler, Henry. History and exposition of the twenty-five articles of religion of the Methodist Episcopal church. *$2. Meth. bk.
8–2747.
“A traditional, ‘confessional,’ treatment of the twenty-five articles as an exhaustive creedal statement of Methodist doctrine.... The book contains a brief introduction by Bishop Warren, a preliminary account of the articles, a parallel presentation of the thirty-nine articles with Wesley’s abridgment, and as the body of the work, a discussion of each article verbatim, giving origin, aim, and exposition.”—Am. J. Theol.
Am. J. Theol. 12: 678. O. ’08. 140w.
Ind. 65: 46. Jl. 2, ’08. 70w.
Wheelock, Elizabeth M. Stories of Wagner operas told for children. †$1.28. Bobbs.
8–6994.
Stories of seven of the best Wagner operas are here retold for children: The master singers of Nuremberg, The flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, The Rhinegold The Walkyries, Siegfried, and The dusk of the gods.
“Assuredly a contribution to the every-child-should-know literature.”
+
Dial. 44. 251. Ap. 16, ’08. 70w.
“The style of the author is too slavishly dependent upon the incidents to be distinctive.” M. J. Moses.
−
Ind. 65: 1474. D. 17, ’08. 40w.
“Mrs. Wheelock has been remarkably successful in infusing the real narrative spirit into these tales, and her book may be placed by the side of the Grimm and the Andersen fairy tales.”
+
Nation. 86: 291. Mr. 26, ’08. 350w.
“Contains very little spontaneous narrative, although the events are faithfully followed.”
− +
Nation. 87: 550. D. 3, ’08. 30w.
“They are told here as they were told, not written, and retain a flavor of the human voice, a certain pleasant intimacy.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 221. Ap. 11, ’08. 80w.
Whetham, Catherine Durning, and Whetham, William C. D. History of the life of Colonel Nathaniel Whetham, a forgotten soldier of the civil wars. *$2.80. Longmans.
The career of a typical soldier of the Commonwealth, including early life, apprenticeship to a baker, marriage with the baker’s widow, service for parliament at the outbreak of the civil war in 1642, governorships, and opposition to the establishment of an hereditary protectorate. “With the exception of the opening chapter of the book deals exclusively with Whetham’s public and military life, and a great part of the work is occupied with explanatory summaries 387of the state of parties in England and Scotland and with the causes and course of the civil war.” (Eng. Hist. R.)
“It is only by such work that we may ultimately come to comprehend such periods as that of the Puritan revolution.” W. C. Abbott.
+
Am. Hist. R. 14: 121. O. ’08. 440w.
“Rich in illustration, drawn in great measure from original sources, this book is refreshingly free from superfluous matter; and its style presents the directness, and restraint regarding the intrusion of personal sentiments, which belong to true scholarship.”
+
Ath. 1908, 1: 348. Mr. 21, 2450w.
“The chief interest of the work lies in the account given of the minor details of the war round Oxford, of Whetham’s defence of Northampton, and of his later work and difficulties as governor of Portsmouth.” Eva Scott.
+
Eng. Hist. R. 23: 364. Ap. ’08. 550w.
“A valuable contribution to the history of the seventeenth century. Generally the book is most interesting. Perhaps its pleasantest pages are those which describe the rural life of the seventeenth century.”
+
Sat. R. 105: 536. Ap. 25, ’08. 700w.
Whidden, John D. Ocean life in the old sailing ship days, from forecastle to quarter-deck. **$1.50. Little.
8–15164.
Old-time sailing ships, the incidents connected with them, the captains who commanded them and the departed glamour and romance of the sea are the items for this autobiographic narrative. It is written out of the experience of an old sea captain who, an orphan at five, on shipboard at twelve, exposed to temptation in every port, subjected to hard usage and strict discipline, rose from service in the forecastle to the command and part ownership of a sailing craft.
“It is to be noted that in the account of his Eastern voyages Captain Whidden has repeated the old and all but baseless tradition of Juggernaut sacrifices. The Captain spins a rattling good yarn, and we commend it to all lovers of sea stories.”
+ −
Dial. 45: 215. O. 1, ’08. 400w.
“One is constantly led to wish that better use had been made of the abundant material at the disposal of its author; for occasionally he essays a literary flight outside his usual record in log-book style, and those excursions seldom fail to interest, instruct, or amuse. Our legislators should read these pages written in unconscious support of the present movement to strike the tariff shackles from American industries.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 547. D. 3, ’08. 300w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 676. N. 14, ’08. 380w.
“His book not only relates his experiences as a voyager, but gives remarkable insight into the ships and seafaring methods of a past generation.”
+
R. of Rs. 38: 637. N. ’08. 80w.
Whipple, George Chandler. Typhoid fever; its causation, transmission and prevention; introd. by W: T. Sedgwick. *$3. Wiley.
8–13622.
Aims to furnish to doctors and engineers “a condensed summary of the most important facts that have been learned regarding typhoid fever, so far as they relate to the prevention and spread of the disease; to furnish to the student of sanitary science a group of illustrations of some of the leading principles of epidemiology; and to give the general reader a simple and, it is hoped, a clear and correct account of the causation, transmission and prevention of the disease, and his own responsibility in helping to bring about such conditions of cleanliness that typhoid fever shall soon cease to be a national disgrace.”—Preface.
“It is doubtful if any work in any language presents the side of the subject of which he treats so concisely and yet so thoroughly as he has done.”
+ +
Engin. D. 4: 181. Ag. ’08. 730w.
“Rarely is a book written with such capabilities for good as has this one. It is to be hoped that the book will have a wide circulation and careful reading and heeding among engineers, physicians and lay-members of boards of health, as well as many others who are interested in the public wealth and health.”
+ +
Engin. N. 59: 648. Je. 11, ’08. 660w.
“This is the most important work on the subject, in English, since Curschmann’s monograph was translated and edited by Dr. William Osler seven years ago.”
+ +
Nation. 87: 417. O. 29, ’08. 940w.
“In the main the work is an admirable one, and worthy of the highest commendation.” George Blumer.
+ +
Science, n.s. 28: 733. N. 20, ’08. 470w.
Whitaker, Walter Claiborne. Richard Hooker Wilmer, second bishop of Alabama: a biography. **$2. Jacobs.
7–39218.
A sketch of Bishop Wilmer’s life which renders “simple justice” to his undaunted courage, self-forgetfulness, and the consecration with which he discharged his pioneer diocese responsibilities.
“This life of the Alabama clergyman well repays a careful perusal both from the viewpoint of church history and from that of a lively human interest.” W: E. Dodd.
+
Am. Hist. R. 13: 917. Jl. ’08. 500w.
+
Dial. 44: 215. Ap. 1, ’08. 550w.
Reviewed by Gaillard Hunt.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 52. Ja. 25, ’08. 1330w.
Spec. 100: sup. 649. Ap. 25, ’08. 320w.
White, Albert Beebe. Making of the English constitution, 449–1485. *$2. Putnam.
8–29201.
A brief, up-to-date college text which places the emphasis thruout upon evolution rather than upon description; whose purpose has been to furnish a logically satisfying account of the genesis of each institution as far as present knowledge permits. In arrangement, it is governed by the requirements of the subject-matter, and does not attempt to conform to either the chronological or topical order. It aims to make the student understand the origin and growth of the English constitution as a many-sided but single evolution.
“The book is admirably arranged and written; it is notable for its simplicity, lucidity, and directness. Something may be said, too, in its favor on account of its brevity.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 576. O. 17, ’08. 160w.
White, Fred Merrick. Five knots. †$1.50. Little.
8–12766.
A tale of crime and mystery in which a vendetta is executed by two little yellow men from Borneo. An English ship owner’s road to fortune led from a heinous crime which he committed among some Malays, two of whom escape, and later arrive in London to execute their vengeance. The story is full of thrills.
“Mr. White has done better work along these same lines, and it is to be hoped that he will do so again.” F: T. Cooper.
−
Bookm. 28: 67. S. ’08. 200w.
“A more absurd story is seldom written.”
−
Nation. 86: 536. Je. 11, ’08. 250w.
White, Fred Merrick. Yellow face. *$1. Fenno.
8–4908.
A mystery story with an arch conspirator who has upon his track the usual Scotland Yard sleuths and the more resourceful amateur detectives. “The story hinges upon a surgical mutilation borrowed from the Aztecs, involves the 388aid of numerous scientific discoveries and inventions; in the end the entire cast is arrayed in all its strength against the villain.” (N. Y. Times.)
“The plot is well conceived and is executed in forcibly interesting style. There are a number of minor discrepancies and many earmarks of overhasty composition, but the story never flags in its rapid, thrilling movement, the very evident work of an old hand at the art.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 100. F. 22, ’08. 200w.
White, Stewart Edward. Arizona nights, il. †$1.50. McClure.
7–36101.
A book of scenes and portrayals that flash by the reader as tho “caught in the films” of a panorama camera. “Mr. White gives a view of the life on Arizona cattle ranches which is instinct with virility and love of that out-of-door existence which he knows so well. The stories run the gamut from ‘The honk honk breed.’ whose humor will delight every unrepentant nature-fakir, to the last tale ‘The raw-hide,’ a grim sketch in a vein which will surprise a good many of Mr. White’s admirers.” (N. Y. Times.)
“That ... Mr. White’s pages as they stand do not give the impression of being overcrowded is due to the unusual clearness of his mental vision and to a terse vigorous style which, without abruptness, often compacts into a sentence the pith of a paragraph. Of this sort of writing the present book is an admira example.” Churchill Williams.
+
Bookm. 26: 524. Ja. ’08. 980w.
“This volume is largely a catena of campfire stories of cowboys, rustlers, Indians, remittance men and greasers, including some details too gross to make pleasant reading.” W. G. Bowdoin.
+ −
Ind. 63: 1473. D. 19, ’07. 80w.
“Shows a hitherto unsuspected ability in character drawing and in the sensing of dramatic values, which makes of it the most interesting thing he has written.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 12: 856. D. 21, ’07. 230w.
+
R. of Rs. 37: 123 Ja. ’08. 150w.
“Here are some most readable, and at times exciting, yarns of the Arizona desert.”
+
Spec. 99: 993. D. 14, ’07. 280w.
White, Stewart Edward. Riverman. †$1.50. McClure.
8–23537.
A story of Michigan rivermen which deals with the fortunes of a log-driving firm. The hero is a river-boss who is induced by a New York lawyer, roughing it for his health, to join him in organizing a company to handle expeditiously all of the logs of the section. The treachery of the partner is outlined in detail against the sterling strength of the rugged hero. Local color and atmosphere abound.
“The love story is inferior and detracts somewhat from the merit of the book.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 246. O. ’08. ✠
“It is to be heartily recommended to any and every one who likes a tale of action that is American through and through, that has no tinge of melodrama, an occasional incident excepted, but that has thrills in plenty, and is pervaded with a buoyant spirit of optimism and rugged health which is good for mind and body.” Churchill Williams.
+
Bookm. 28: 150. O. ’03. 1050w.
“It is a good story if you free Mr. White from observing the usual canons of literary construction.”
+ −
Ind. 65: 1065. N. 5, ’03. 500w.
“The story is good, and we think would be better for a little abridging of the mass of technicalities relating to logging and to the financing of lumber companies.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 340. O. 8, ’08. 270w.
“It is certain that a great many people will find it quite possible, and even exciting, to read Mr. White’s frightfully inartistic but in parts very stirring narrative.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 482. S. 5, ’08. 660w.
“A powerful companion novel to ‘The blazed trail.’”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 615. O. 24, ’08. 70w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 749. D. 5, ’08. 260w.
“In and out of this good story-material Mr. White has woven a sub-plot of villainy which is not at all convincing and is essentially uninteresting.”
+ −
Outlook. 90: 278. O. 3, ’08. 120w.
White, William Frank. Scrap-book of elementary mathematics; notes, recreations, essays. *$1. Open ct.
8–3914.
A book of mathematical curiosities. “It deals with more than D’Israeli’s ‘six follies of science,’ not confining itself to follies or to impossibilities of the circle-squaring type, but including in its medley of seventy topics many other points of interest and even critical importance in modern mathematics, as, for example, linkages and straight-line motion, and the instruments allowed by Plato in simple construction.” (Nation.)
“His book is decidedly worth having and studying.”
+
Educ. R. 35: 423. Ap. ’08. 60w.
“Though it is inferior in some respects to Schubert’s ‘Mathematical essays and recreations,’ is yet a miscellany well worth having both on account of the mathematical curiosities it has brought together out of a space of more than two thousand years, and on account of its enlightened comment upon them.”
+
Nation. 87: 212. S. 3, ’08. 130w.
Whitford, Caleb Bailey. Training the bird dog. *$1.25. Outing pub.
8–21503.
A clear, scientific treatise for dog owners and sportsmen on the development of the hunting dog, written by an expert dog breaker, one whose methods have produced a long line of prize winners. In leading up to the ‘first lessons,’ the author discusses the genius of breaking, the breaker’s ideal, breaking the breaker, rewards and punishments, and the best age for breaking.
N. Y. Times. 13: 454. Ag. 15, ’08. 220w.
Whitin, Ernest Stagg. Factory legislation in Maine. (Columbia univ. studies in history, economics and public law.) *$1. Longmans.
8–18392.
The first part of this study is historical. “It traces the conditions of the industrial and the legislative acts from 1821 to 1907. The second part is equally instructive and deals with administration and the factory law of 1908. The critique of the child labor law, pp. 130 ff., is especially apt. A complete index of the labor laws of Maine in force in 1908 is appended to this very valuable little book.” (Am. J. Soc.)
“Important technological essay.” H. P. J. Sellinger.
+
Am. J. Soc. 14: 270. S. ’08. 80w.
“Excellent monograph.”
+
Ann. Am. Acad. 32: 631. N. ’08. 160w.
“Mr. Whitin’s treatise is of chiefly local interest, but it is a part of the times in which we live, and which are similar in all states.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 439. Ag. 8, ’08. 360w.
Whiting, Lilian. Italy, the magic land. *$2.50. Little.
7–37741.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“The book as a whole is sufficiently attractive, aside from its occasional overload of polysyllabic adjectives.” F: T. Cooper.
+ −
Bookm. 26: 510. Ja. ’08. 390w.
Dial. 43: 427. D. 16, ’07. 90w.
389“A queer hodge-podge.”
+ −
Ind. 64: 523. Mr. 5, ’08. 100w.
“Certain phrases might merit the criticism ‘gushing.’ Notwithstanding such an occasional limitation, the book contains much genuine Italian atmosphere.”
+ −
Outlook. 87: 876. D. 21. ’07. 150w.
+
Putnam’s. 3: 625. F. ’08. 320w.
* Whiting, Lilian. Paris the beautiful. **$2. Little.
8–32991.
“A little record of the crystalized enchantment of many springtimes and early summers” spent in Paris. “Most unique and satisfactory of all, it pictures Paris in its activity to-day. The work that is being done by scientists is reported as if from the laboratory, and that of artists from the Salons of last spring. Men like Rodin, Richet, the scientist Landor, and many others, are described in connection with labors now in hand. Miss Whiting’s spirit is that of enthusiastic admiration of the Parisians, whose chief characteristic she considers is ‘imaginative intensity:’ and admiration also of the city, whose atmosphere she finds not one of frivolity and wickedness, but of ‘light and color, of the keenest and most sympathetic human response in joy or sorrow,—an atmosphere too, that is peopled with lofty visions and with ideals of loveliness.’”(Dial.)
“It is, in truth, just such a record as actual and would-be lovers of Paris will welcome, because it shows the city not only in its outward fairness but in its beauty of intellectual and artistic achievement.”
+
Dial. 45: 461. D. 16, ’08. 270w.
“There is no doubt that with this book a pleasant hour may be spent in a literary companionship, which will be a delight to many.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 699. N. 28, ’08. 130w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 749. D. 5, ’08. 80w.
Whiting, Robert Rudd. Ball of yarn: its unwinding. **75c. Elder.
7–31419.
“The ‘Yarns’ are told by several men sitting around the stove in a hotel office and vary from that of the breath-bound village in which, on a cold winter’s day, the people all got lost in the frozen fog of their own breaths to that of the man who had a scheme for beating the races by telegraphing the list of a day’s winners around the world and getting it back to New York the day before it started.”—N. Y. Times.
Reviewed by W. G. Bowdoin.
+ −
Ind. 63: 1469. D. 19, ’07. 70w.
“A collection of grotesque perversions of possibility somewhat after the manner of Munchausen tales.”
+
N. Y. Times. 12: 631. O. 19, ’07. 130w.
Whitney, Helen Hay. Gypsy verses. $1.25. Duffield.
7–31381.
Underneath the flaunting of gypsy colors, and the hoaxes of Romany spells, this verse reveals regret, weariness and longing for the “Silver and azure of the open day.”
“There is imaginative distinction in these verses.” W: M. Payne.
+
Dial. 45: 64. Ag. 1, ’08. 150w.
Nation. 85: 589. D. 26, ’07. 200w.
“There are ... individual lines and epithets that have freshness and lustre, and once in a while an unhackneyed point of view that gives a glimpse and promise of something deeper.”
+ −
N. Y. Times. 13: 199. Ap. 11, ’08. 300w.
Whitty, Edward Michael. St. Stephen’s in the fifties, the session 1852–3, a parliamentary retrospect; with an introd. by Justin McCarthy, and notes by H. M. Williams. *$3. Wessels.
7–12661.
The gallery letters written by a young Irish journalist to the Leader, a London paper, reveal two things: viz., that newspaper writing was an art in those days and that parliament had many an interesting character to portray. There are Disraeli, Gladstone, John Bright, Henry Drummond and many another. “It is the story of rises and falls in great reputations, of disappointments soothed, of foiled intrigues, of dogged endurance and loyalty repaid.” (Spec.)
“Much of [the English journalism of the ‘fifties and ’sixties] has passed into the ranks of permanent literature, and in this portion a high place must be given to the book before us.”
+
Acad. 71: 369. O. 13, ’06. 820w.
“Some of Whitty’s portraits are of singular interest and power, and well deserve the honour of frequent republication.”
+
Ath. 1906, 2: 405. O. 6. 450w.
+
Nation. 86: 153. F. 13, ’08. 850w.
“Mr. McCarthy’s preface is a work of supererogation from beginning to end, for it attempts to elucidate nothing but the already obvious, and cumbers the ground with a deal of personal opinion. The oldest ‘Parliamentary hand’ and the last successful candidate at a by-election can learn much to his edification and amusement by studying the conditions at ‘St. Stephen’s in the fifties.’”
+ −
Spec. 97: 623. O. 27, ’06. 2620w.
Who’s who on the stage, 1908; ed. by Walter Browne and E. DeRoy Koch. il. *$3.50. Dodge, B. W.
The dramatic reference book and biographical dictionary of the theater, for 1908. It contains careers of actors, actresses, managers and playwrights of the American stage. A number of illustrations are included.
Wide, Anders. Horne gymnastics on Ling’s system. **50c. Funk.
A little handbook of some seventy pages which outlines the principals of the Swedish gymnastic system as introduced and developed by Pehr Henrik Ling. Not only are the physical benefits of the system pointed out but the ethical and moral as well.
“Is valuable to the man of sedentary occupation, who is anxious to keep himself in good physical condition.”
+
Ind. 64: 1044. My. 7. ’08. 70w.
Wiedersheim, Robert. Comparative anatomy of vertebrates; adapted from the German of Dr. Robert Wiedersheim by W. N. Parker. *$3.75. Macmillan.
8–16426.
The third English edition founded upon the sixth German edition. It has been prepared chiefly for students whereas former editions have been used largely by investigators and teachers. The bibliography of the previous editions has been extended to include six hundred additional titles of the last German edition.
“The work is without a rival in any language, and is unsurpassed as a complete and comprehensive compendium of the more significant facts of comparative anatomy, an indispensable text for college and university use, and a valuable work of reference in the general library.”
+ +
Dial. 44: 249. Ap. 16, ’08. 300w.
Nation. 86: 156. F. 13, ’08. 500w.
“Notwithstanding deficiencies, the present is the best English treatise upon vertebrate anatomy, as the original is the best German. The reviewer sincerely hopes to greet a later faultless edition.” B. G. Wilder.
+ −
Science, n.s. 27: 737. My. 8, ’08. 5000w.
* Wiggin, Kate Douglas, and Smith, Nora Archibald, eds. Tales of laughter. †$1.50. McClure.
A hundred and forty tales of the character that from time immemorial have entertained the 390group of listeners about a mother’s knee. They will prove a mine to little people who like the “huff and puff” of the story of the three little pigs, and the jigs of the dancing Japanese kettle.
“All having the humorous quality that the title of the collection suggests. Uniform in binding with ‘The fairy ring’ and ‘Magic casements,’ to which excellent volumes it is a worthy successor.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 313. D. ’08.
Reviewed by M. J. Moses.
Ind. 65: 1483. D. 17, ’08. 50w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 756. D. 5, ’08. 80w.
“No better editors could be chosen, and they lay tribute upon many lands and languages.”
+
Outlook. 90: 751. N. 28, ’08. 120w.
Wilder, Marshall Pinckney. Smiling ’round the world. †$1.50. Funk.
8–15165.
A jaunt “of many moons and many miles” of “many jests and many smiles.” There are no hardships of travel indulged in here; with an abundance of good cheer and ready wit the author carries his reader across the continent, over sea to Hawaii, and from there over the regulation course to Gibraltar and on to New York.
“Full of interesting facts and information that all intelligent people should possess, so sugar-coated with humor that the dullest mind cannot fail to heartily enjoy the contents.”
+
Arena. 40: 127. Jl. ’08. 140w.
“An amusing chronicle of his trip.”
+
Lit. D. 37: 163. Ag. 1, ’08. 70w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 140w.
Wilder, Victor. Mozart: the story of his life as man and artist according to authentic documents and other sources; tr. by L. Liebich. 2v. *$3.50. Scribner.
8–22792.
Trustworthy, save for a few slips, and interestingly told, this life is written for general readers. It contains a bibliography of Mozart literature, both English and foreign, a list of his compositions, published and unpublished, and twenty-three portraits and facsimiles.
“There is more of biography than artistic comment or criticism in his book.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 487. Ap. 18. 300w.
“It has certainly deserved the honor of a translation, even after this long interval, because of its lucid style and charm of narrative. There are reasons to think that the author of this book had not read Jahn. A few ludicrous blunders appear. The translator has done her work well.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 451. My. 14, ’08. 380w.
Willcocks, Mary Patricia. Man of genius: a story of the judgment of Paris. †$1.50. Lane.
8–17245.
“Miss Willcock’s new story tells of an ambitious young architect who is loved by two women, one of whom sacrifices herself by concealing from him that she is to become the mother of his child, lest she should block his advancement, yet has no understanding of his imaginative and esthetic nature; while the other, who is in sympathy with him on these points, keeps herself in the background, urges him to marry the other girl, and helps them to success and to as happy a married life as is possible for them—ill mated as they are temperamentally.”—Outlook.
“The book as a whole is thoughtful, if somewhat dull.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 784. Je. 27. 140w.
“It is good, conscientious work, but it fails to convince, chiefly, but not only, because the man of genius does not convince one of his possession of the divine quality.”
− +
Ind. 65: 551. S. 3, ’08. 100w.
“The sentiment cloys, while the characters move forward with no volition of their own and evident effort on the part of the author.”
−
Nation. 87: 56. Jl. 16, ’08. 470w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 200w.
“In both characters and story it strikes root in the deeper meanings of life.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 637. O. 31, ’08. 600w.
“Far above the average level of the fiction of the day as to intellectual ability. It is equally true that it conspicuously lacks those elements of lively entertainment and plot-excitement so dear to many novel-readers’ hearts.”
+ −
Outlook. 89: 531. Jl. 4, ’08. 240w.
“Had ‘Adam Bede’ never been written, this story would have greater claim to originality. Miss Willcocks, it is true, constructs her own plot, but her treatment of character suggests George Eliot, and we share Hazlitt’s preference for an old book over a new.”
+ −
Sat. R. 106: 369. S. 19, ’08. 230w.
Williams, Eliot Crawshay. Across Persia. *$3.50. Longmans.
8–9064.
“Mr. Williams made his return to Europe from India via Persia, landing at Bushire and stopping at Shiraz, Persepolis, Isfahan, and Teheran. He tells us in leisurely fashion what he thinks of the scenery, the inhabitants, the remains of Persian grandeur and Greek enterprise. And he often amuses himself and us by details of Persian manners and methods. A traveller devoid of the sense of humour is unthinkable, and the author must have found its possession an invaluable quality at times.”—Spec.
“He has nothing very new to say, but his observations of men and manners are fair and just, and the account of his wanderings makes interesting reading. The value of his book is enhanced by a good map, some excellent photographic reproductions, and an index.”
+
Acad. 73: 296. D. 28, ’07. 170w.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 153. My. ’08.
“A conscientious, but unsatisfying piece of work, and his frequent reflections are apt to be trivial.”
−
Ath. 1908, 2: 206. Ag. 22. 120w.
“His traveller’s tale has charm and serenity. Picture and text are mutually helpful and interesting to the reader.” H. E. Coblentz.
+
Dial. 44: 106. F. 16, ’08. 320w.
“Mr. Williams gives us a most interesting description of the ancient monuments of the Persian kings ... and his many photographs add greatly to the charm of the book.”
+
Sat. R. 104: 767. D. 21, ’07. 570w.
“Our author belongs to the class of born travellers to whom travel is an existence in itself. He is a kindly humourist, and a very patient one. He travelled with his eyes wide open, and can give us not a little valuable information.”
+
Spec. 99: 781. N. 16, ’07. 250w.
* Williams, Hershel. Fairy tales from folk lore. **$1. Moffat.
8–22796.
Twelve folk-lore tales taken from as many countries.
“The interest is relative, and the nationalistic value is beyond the ken of boys and girls. We do not discount the fancy, but undoubtedly the student emphasis is too strong.” M. J. Moses.
+ −
Ind. 65: 1473. D. 17, ’08. 50w.
“A pleasing little collection. The stories are all told very simply, with now and then a touch of homely humor that smells of the soil out of which they were born.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 483. S. 5, ’08. 130w.
391Williams, Hugh Noel. Princess of intrigue, Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, duchesse de Longueville, and her times. 2v. *$6.50. Putnam.
8–12137.
“Born of a race of royal intriguers, thrust from a convent into the artificial atmosphere of the Hôtel de Rambouillet and the gaiety of a corrupt court, where her wit and beauty carried everything before them, married to a man twice her age, who cared nothing for her but was wax in her hands for any madcap political adventure, Anne, duchesse de Longueville, found herself, at twenty-five, an object of universal homage and a power to be reckoned with in the state of France.” (Dial.) It is of this woman’s career and influence that Mr. Williams writes having studied exhaustively both contemporary and modern sources.
“The author generally passes lightly over points of controversy, though, when he does enter the lists, little fault is to be found with his arguments or conclusions. The book is undoubtedly interesting and well written as a whole.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 1: 250. F. 29. 1900w.
“Compared with some of his previous studies of great Frenchwomen this one lacks vivacity.”
+ −
Dial. 44: 180. Mr. 16, ’08. 300w.
“As a history of French society this carefully prepared and richly illustrated work will be valuable to readers who have no access to the French material which the author has used freely.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 553. Je. 18, ’08. 340w.
“The research, the information, and the discriminative judgment which have gone to the compiling [of this book] must claim instant recognition and respect. Mr. Williams has succeeded ... not only in writing an admirable historical work on the times, but has achieved the more trying and delicate task of rendering this work as absorbing as a novel.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 100. F. 22, ’08. 1000w.
“Should make a strong appeal to all who delight in contemplating the events of history from the court point of view.”
+ −
Outlook. 89: 534. Jl. 4, ’08. 230w.
R. of Rs. 37: 637. My. ’08. 50w.
“An interesting chronicle of a most romantic period.”
+
Spec. 100: 979. Je. 20, ’08. 500w.
* Williams, Hugh Noel. Women Bonapartes. 2v. *$6. Scribner.
A biographical sketch of Madame Mère and her three daughters Elisa, Pauline and Caroline. “The treatment of the theme is chronological, and necessarily introduces many important characters, both male and female, besides the Bonaparte ladies.” (Dial.)
“Messrs. Methuen may be congratulated upon the readableness of the book. It is not possible to combine the light handling suitable to such volumes with serious study of the historical facts. The extent of Mr. Williams’s indebtedness to French authorities will be judged by the reader’s impatience at the use of French idiom in the book.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 541. O. 31. 740w.
“The work is really an account of the life and times of Napoleon from a fresh point of view.”
+
Dial. 45: 463. D. 16, ’08. 200w.
Ind. 65: 1178. N. 19, ’08. 40w.
Williams, Jesse Lynch. Girl and the game, and other college stories. †$1.50. Scribner.
8–17249.
A group of college stories as follows: The girl and the game, The college and the circus, At the corner of Lover’s lane, Leg pull, Reddy Armstrong’s reformation, The advantage of a college education, The man in the window, What the old graduate learned, and Talks with a kid brother.
“Vary in quality, on the whole inferior to the author’s earlier work. The moral tone is good, if somewhat forced at times.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 247. O. ’08.
“They are without wit or humor, they are crudely constructed, they are even trivial and silly.”
−
Nation. 87: 56. Jl. 16, ’08. 200w.
“About most of Mr. Williams’ stories, it may safely be said that they are more blameless than exhilarating.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 442. Ag. 8, ’08. 240w.
Williams, Jessie Lynch. My lost duchess: an idyl of the town. †$1.50. Century.
8–11087.
With only the window-pane, the half-hidden privet hedge, and the granite balustrade between them a man woos in his heart an unknown maiden. He fancies she is the duchess or the goddess of his dreams when in reality she is a dainty little governess whom he does not win without trials and discouragement. The characteristic idyl-atmosphere of leisure pervades the story.
“The situations suggest Van Bibber and the conversations Anthony Hope.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 224. Je. ’08.
“If Mr. Williams is a trifle too lively of fancy and broad of touch to produce a town eclogue of classical grace, he is by that same token more fit for the moment, more, as it is called, up-to-date.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 12. Jl. 2, ’08. 240w.
“Mr. Williams has shown himself to be just enough of an idealist to refine the events of daily life without becoming unconvincing.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 278. My. 16, ’08. 200w.
“Nick, the hero, is as worthy and entertaining a protagonist of the Fifth avenue phase of New York life as Van Bibber was at his best.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 230w.
“It is as light as froth, but it has in its delicate fabric some of the irridescent gleams of the soap-bubble.”
+
Outlook. 89: 313. Je. 6, ’08. 30w.
Williams, Leonard. Arts and crafts of older Spain. (World of art ser.) 3v. *$4.50. McClurg.
8–15871.
A comprehensive, copiously illustrated three-volume work based upon a wealth of material. The first volume includes gold, silver, and jewel work, iron work, bronzes and arms; the second, furniture, ivories, pottery and glass; the third, textile fabrics—silk, clothes and woolens, embroidery, tapestry and lace. Appendices, a bibliography and an index complete the volume.
Reviewed by W. G. Bowdoin.
+
Ind. 65: 1459. D. 17, ’08. 100w.
“If such a work as this is to be of scientific value, its author should take care to employ technical terms where such exist.”
−
Int. Studio. 35: 166. Ag. ’08. 470w.
+
Lit. D. 37: 912. D. 12, ’08. 120w.
“These volumes serve as a suggestive and stimulating introduction to all these treasures of the peninsula.”
+
Nation. 87: 559. D. 3, ’08. 400w.
“It is sufficient to express appreciation for the author’s practical treatment of his subject which makes the book a valuable guide for the modern craftsman, and to close with an added expression of admiration for the literary charm of Mr. Williams’s style.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 755. D. 5, ’08. 780w.
Spec. 100: 1003. Je. 27, ’08. 180w.
392Williams, R. H. With the border ruffians: memories of the far West, 1852–1868; ed. by E. W. Williams. *$4. Dutton.
8–12130.
A famous adventure book. “Of English birth, the author came here at the age of 20 in the year 1852, and for the better part of the following sixteen years he was in the cyclone belt, and it was blowing all the time. He fought with the Kansas Rangers and with their Texan namesakes. He fought to maintain slavery when he wasn’t fighting Indians or ruffians of one sort or another. Barroom fights and summary hangings—in one of which the narrator came very near playing the principal part—alternate with prospecting tours and ranching. Out of the great welter of struggle and bloodshed one sees the country emerging, settling, coming to maturity.” (N. Y. Times.)
“As a narrative of personal adventure and experience it is remarkably interesting; as a contribution to local history it presents a vivid picture of frontier life during an important period.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 153. My. ’08.
“A fascinating romance, the interest of which reminds one more than a little of the qualities which have made ‘Robinson Crusoe’ beloved.”
+ +
Ath. 1907, 2: 825. D. 28. 760w.
“An interesting book, whether regarded as a mere story, as autobiography, or as a description of bygone social conditions.”
+
Dial. 45: 45. Jl. 16, ’08. 330w.
“Interesting reading and good material for history. The author ... nothing extenuates nor sets down aught in malice.”
+
Ind. 64: 472. F. 27, ’08. 250w.
“The straightforward tale of a man who from boyhood lived in the thick of alarums and excursions. He has [told the story of Capt. Williams] excellently in this roomy, well-made volume.” Hildegarde Hawthorne.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 86. F. 15, ’08. 780w.
“As recorded in the present volume the story is well told and has its place as a contribution to the stirring history of that period.”
+
R. of Rs. 37: 381. Mr. ’08. 230w.
“Mr. Williams’s memoirs are written with no art, but, if we are entitled to judge, they are absolutely truthful. One must get inside the atmosphere of this book really to appreciate how fine a tribute these words are to the Federal army.”
+ −
Spec. 99: 1054. D. 21, ’07. 1550w.
Williamson, Charles N., and Williamson, Mrs. Alice M. Chauffeur and the chaperon. (English title, The botor chaperon.) il. †$1.50. McClure.
8–16473.
Another guide book glorified by the most whimsical and interesting of romances. An American girl and her English step-sister inherit a motor boat and decide to explore the waterways of Holland. Accident procures for them lovers, relatives and a chaperon. The lively experiences of the party only make more palatable the real instruction which is imparted in generous measure.
“When, fired with enthusiasm, one closes the novel and rushes to pack a hasty portmanteau, he will start for the land of canals with a pretty clear notion as to what will be his route and where he will linger on his way.”
+
Acad. 73: 849. Ag. 31, ’07. 220w.
“It is lively reading but is rather too long drawn out.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 225. Je. ’08.
“Their writing, though it does not pretend to literary quality, has both gaiety and naturalness, so that their glorified tours, duly spiced with a love interest, are agreeable residing.”
+
Ath. 1907, 2: 92. Jl. 27. 80w.
“It contains rather a larger proportion than usual of guide-book, and a smaller proportion of plot.” F: T. Cooper.
+ −
Bookm. 27: 502. Jl. ’08. 370w.
“To all who like amphibious excursions and farcical story combined the book will be welcome, for the journey is charming and the company merry.”
+
Nation. 87: 56. Jl. 16, ’08. 220w.
“Has all the qualities that have made their previous stories so popular and at the same time has more complexity of plot and more incident, both exciting and amusing, than is to be found in some of their stories.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 280w.
“The plot is as impossible as usual, but the characters are attractive, some of their complications amusing, and the guide-book directions interesting and not too obtrusive.”
+
Outlook. 89: 532. Jl. 4, ’08. 100w.
“There is, in fact, so much useful and detailed information in the volume that it is a thousand pities, in the first place, that there is no index, and, in the second, that the information is buried under so thick a covering of romance.”
+ −
Spec. 99: 333. S. 7, ’07. 230w.
Williamson, M. G. Edinburgh: a historical and topographical account of the city. *$1.75. Dutton.
7–28491.
A book whose purpose is to connect the history of the city with the chief objects of interest. “The city’s consecutive history begins in the fifth century A. D., and from that date the author carries down his narrative to the nineteenth century. He includes a good account of the golden age of Edinburgh society in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and of the literary men of old Edinburgh.” (Nation.)
“Will give the interested reader plenty to ‘think about,’ especially if he does not already know his Edinburgh.”
+
Ath. 1906, 2: 341. S. 22. 300w.
“The volume is a good, historical guide book.”
+
Nation. 87: 71. Jl. 23, ’08. 150w.
“If we may judge from these initial volumes, the text and pictures of the new series are in the hands of competent authorities.”
+
Outlook. 89: 534. Jl. 4, ’08. 100w.
“Mr. Williamson has had a great subject to deal with, and has treated it worthily.”
+
Spec. 97: 65. Jl. 14, ’06. 250w.
* Willis, Bailey, and others. Research in China. 3v. and atlas, v. 1, $8; atlas, $7; v. 2, $2. Carnegie inst.
In three volumes are recorded the results of seven months of research in China conducted by a topographer and two geologists. “The first part of the volume ... forms a bulky quarto of more than 350 pages, with upwards of fifty plates, consisting of photographic views of landscapes, maps, and geological sections. The second part includes systematic petrography, zoological notes, and a syllabary of Chinese sounds. The second volume is intended ‘to summarize the detailed presentation of our results, and to combine them with the work of others in a systematic discussion of the geology of southeastern Asia.’ The third volume is to be devoted to palaeontology. The atlas contains some forty sheets of maps, sections, and photographic views, most of the maps being on the scale of 1/125,000, or two miles to the inch, engraved and coloured in the excellent style to which the United States geological survey has now accustomed us.” (Nature.)
“These sumptuous volumes constitute a monumental contribution to Asiatic geology. They are signal productions not only in their substance and form, but in the fact that they are a gift of productive industry to progressive science, and a tribute of one of the newest phases 393of civilization to one of the oldest.” T. C. C.
+ +
J. Geol. 16: 387. My. ’08. 740w. (Review of v. 1, pts. 1 and 2, and v. 2.)
“We venture to think that all that was new and important among the results of the expedition might easily have been comprised within the limits of this first single volume. The physiographical discussions in the volume are most unsatisfactory.”
− +
Nature. 76: 345. Ag. 8, ’07. 1700w. (Review of v. 1, pt. 1.)
“There is some internal evidence of hasty writing, such as inaccuracies in translation conveying a rather different sense from that of the original. The pith of this volume might have been summed up in a single chapter without losing any important contribution to science, and the space so saved might have been devoted to a much-needed bibliography of the subject. The artistic excellence of the numerous maps by which the volume is illustrated deserves unqualified praise.”
− +
Nature. 79: 61. N. 19, ’08. 1100w. (Review of v. 2.)
Willson, Rev. Thomas B. Norway at home. *$1.75. Scribner.
8–22498.
Tells of Norway’s “constitution and government, its national defense, its religion, literature, music, education, its capital, its social life, agriculture, rural customs, forests, local government, poor laws, industrial life, transportation, and, finally, about ‘Norway as a playground.’” (Outlook.) “A lucid account is given of the circumstances which led to the separation of Norway from Sweden.” (Ath.)
“It shows a full knowledge of the subject.”
+
Ath. 1908, 1: 759. Je. 20. 520w.
“His sincerity and sympathy quite win the reader’s heart and shine through the trite figures of the tame and old-fashioned style.”
+ −
Nation. 87: 161. Ag. 20, ’08. 460w.
“Mr. Willson tells us authoritatively about many departments of life and occupation in Norway.”
+
Outlook. 89: 815. Ag. 8, ’08. 200w.
Wilson, Andrew. How to keep well. (Handy information series.) 50c. Crowell.
7–20716.
A little book of instruction on points of cleanliness, ventilation, care of body, eating and drinking, and what to do in case of accidents and illness.
Wilson, Ernest, and Lydall, Francis. Electrical traction. 2v. ea. *$4. Longmans.
8–14350.
“Volume 1 is devoted to direct-current traction and the first part is given up to tramways, the latter part to heavier traction. In neither case is the subject carried further back in the system of distribution than the switchboard.... Volume 2 is devoted entirely to alternating-current traction, an indication of the extent to which this system is considered favorably in Europe.”—St. Ry. J.
“Valuable addition to works on subject.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 153. My. ’08.
“The treatment is mostly descriptive, but not always complete.” Gisbert Kapp.
+ + −
Nature. 77: 169. D. 26, ’07. 1840w.
“There is a demand for a book of this kind, and the authors have been very successful in their treatment of the subject.”
+ +
St. Ry. J. 30: 1076. N. 30, ’07. 550w.
* Wilson, William R. A. Journeys of the Kit-Kat club: England. **$2. Appleton.
8–27783.
Meant to serve the present generation as Butterworth’s “Zigzag journeys” did the last, this volume records the experiences of four American school boys and their tutor in England. Information concerning history and literature is served up in story form greatly enhanced for the youthful reader by the wealth of good illustrations.
* Wilson, Winter Lincoln. Elements of railroad track and construction. $2. Wiley.
8–27791.
“In this volume no attempt has been made to treat the subjects of railroad track and construction with any considerable amount of detail, but rather to present a few of the fundamental principles in such manner that the inexperienced engineering student can form a general idea of the subjects.”
“Professor Wilson has treated this matter in a very attractive and common sense manner. He has certainly shown the qualities of a highclass instructor by presenting his subject in plain and simple language, unincumbered by complicated or unnecessary mathematical formulas. and it is written in such a way as not only to interest young engineering students in this subject, but to impress upon their minds the essential principles underlying maintenance-of-way work.” J: F. Wallace.
+
Engin. N. 60: 537. N. 12, ’08. 180w.
“The author has fulfilled his purpose excellently. While the book is primarily for engineering students, it can be recommended for general readers who wish to know something more about railroad track than they can see from the car window.”
+
Engin. Rec. 58: 706. D. 19, ’08. 160w.
Wilson, (Thomas) Woodrow. Constitutional government in the United States. *$1.50. Macmillan.
8–17752.
The author states that these lectures do not undertake to discuss systematically the character of the American government and its methods, but that they are intended to set forth certain salient features from a fresh point of view, and in the light of a fresh analysis of the nature and operations of constitutional government. “Eight lectures are included in the series; they define constitutional government and present the author’s views of the application of the constitutional principle in this country.” (N. Y. Times.)
“Suggestive, valuable, popular rather than profound.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 300. D. ’08.
“Dr. Wilson’s lectures are clearly intended for the thoughtful citizen not necessarily learned in the law—a popular treatise.”
+
Ind. 65: 1001. O. 29. ’08. 550w.
“A suggestive, but not very profound, examination of certain aspects of the American system. It is certainly matter of regret that, with such keen insight and so much literary skill, the distinguished author should here have held his plough with so light a hand.”
+
Nation. 87: 94. Jl. 30, ’08. 220w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 329. Je. 13, ’08. 150w.
“Though less detailed, less legal, less scholastic, and possibly less scholarly than Professor Stimson’s, is broader, more philosophical, more vital, animated by a clearer perception of actual conditions, less constricted by reference to the letter of the law.”
+
Outlook. 90: 313. O. 10, ’08. 740w.
“No American publicist is better fitted than President Wilson to make such a presentation.”
+
R. of Rs. 38: 256. Ag. ’08. 120w.
Wilson, Thomas Woodrow. Free life. **75c. Crowell.
8–22491.
In substance, a baccalaureate address which makes a serious appeal to young people to live a life free from the fetlocks of tradition; to be transformed by the scriptural renewing of the mind—a renewal which results in a “return to a sort of youth and naturalness of thought drawn out of those only fountains of perpetual youth, the fountains of just thought and true feeling.”
Dial. 45: 466. D. 16, ’08. 40w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 593. O. 24, ’08. 180w.
394* Wilstach, Paul. Richard Mansfield: the man and the actor. **$3.50. Scribner.
The authorized biography of Mansfield written by a personal friend with the actor’s papers and correspondence at his disposal. “The book is full of amusing anecdotes and appreciative dramatic criticism. It narrates the life of Mansfield from boyhood to the end of his career, and treats exhaustively of the genius and development of each of the great parts with which he became identified in his art.” (Lit. D.)
Ind. 65: 1176. N. 19, ’08. 70w.
“As a whole the book gives an interesting picture of the stage during the last thirty years.”
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Lit. D. 37: 913. D. 12, ’08. 140w.
“This is the sort of book that might have been written by a theatrical press agent, so packed is it with trivial and irrelevant detail, so devoid of sober judgment, so disorderly in arrangement, so oblivious of uncomfortable facts.”
−
Nation. 87: 500. N. 19, ’08. 640w.
“Serious inaccuracies are few in any chapter. Is best from the twenty-second chapter forward to the end, for that part of the book relates to Mansfield’s golden prime.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 667. N. 14, ’08. 820w.
“While interesting in itself, an attractive feature of the biography is the large number of illustrations.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 749. D. 5, ’08. 200w.
“He discloses to the public gaze many passages of personal history that tend to throw new light on this unique personality.”
+
R. of Rs. 38: 761. D. ’08. 120w.
Winckler, Hugo. History of Babylonia and Assyria; tr. and ed. by James A. Craig; rev. by the author. **$1.50. Scribner.
7–29420.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“The book has indeed its uses, but I cannot but feel that Professor Craig, an able and accurate scholar, would have served better the aim that he had in view, if he had written an entirely new book over his own name.” R. W. Rogers.
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Am. Hist. R. 13: 557. Ap. ’08. 650w.
“In religious matters Dr. Winckler tells us much which is new, and which, if not always strongly supported by fact, at any rate stimulates the spirit of inquiry. We have noticed some curious mistakes or mistranslations.”
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Ath. 1908, 1: 724. Je. 13. 1650w.
“The style in general is clear, although the author’s fulness of knowledge and the brevity of treatment make some passages obscure at first reading. The separate consideration of the history of each of the nations, Babylonia and Assyria, here found is probably better than the combined treatment ordinarily employed. But the resulting gaps in the Assyrian history, with references to the previous treatment, seriously interrupt the continuity; some repetition would have been preferable.” G: R. Berry.
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Bib. World. 32: 435. D. ’08. 440w.
“Professor Craig, as translator, has done his work well. The translation reads easily, and Professor Winckler knows how to write in an interesting and frequently picturesque manner.”
+ −
Nation. 86: 174. F. 20, ’08. 1100w.
Wingate, Charles Frederick. Sanitary question-box. 50c. Funk.
A practical guide to the essentials of sanitation and ventilation in the home, the bedroom, the kitchen, the cellar, the laundry and the stable.
“Should be widely useful in promoting the spread of knowledge on these subjects.”
+
Lit. D. 36: 768. My. 23, ’08. 50w.
Winslow, Helen Maria. Spinster farm. $2. Page.
8–15883.
Tells of the experiences of “the Spinster, Janet Fleming by name, who purchases a farm and engages in chicken-raising; her lively niece Peggy; the Professor, who pays persistent court to the Spinster; young Robert Graves, who does the same to Peggy; and the humbler characters playing their useful parts in kitchen and barn. Homely reality is interspersed with romance.” (Dial.)
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A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 306. D. ’08.
“Miss Winslow has a penchant for old run-to-seed farms, a humorous way of describing country scenes and events, and a fresh unconventional manner of looking at life’s problems and perplexities.” P. F. Bicknell.
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Dial. 44: 336. Je. 1, ’08. 550w.
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Ind. 65: 1247. N. 26, ’08. 500w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 230w.
Winslow, Kenelm. Production and handling of clean milk. *$2.50. Jenkins.
7–41833.
A complete, plain, practical, authoritative guide to the production and distribution of clean milk for farmers, health officers, milk inspectors, students of agriculture and dairying, physicians and others interested in matters pertaining to dairying and hygiene.
“On the farm side Professor Winslow’s book is better than Professor Jensen’s, which in other respects is more authoritative and comprehensive.”
+ −
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 217. Je. ’08.
“Dr. Winslow has written an eminently practical treatise.”
+
R. of Rs. 37: 384. Mr. ’08. 200w.
Winter, Nevin Otto. Mexico and her people of to-day. $3. Page.
7–34163.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“Though an attractive and on the whole very satisfactory treatise on Mexico, is poorest in its historical sections.”
+ −
Am. Hist. R. 13: 663. Ap. ’08. 100w.
“Well arranged, up-to-date, interesting information ... written in a pleasant, easy style.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 86. Mr. ’08. ✠
“An entertaining account, unfortunately full of repetitions and inaccuracies.”
+ −
Ann. Am. Acad. 31: 512. Mr. ’08. 150w.
“When treating of religion Mr. Winter, we regret to say, shows at times a gross ignorance of the teachings of the Catholic church—an ignorance which vastly decreases the value of his work.”
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Cath. World. 87: 682. Ag. ’08. 680w.
“The book is weakest in its historical portions.”
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Ind. 64: 754. Ap. 2, ’08. 300w.
“Mr. Winter writes with the sympathy and insight of one who knows his subject thoroughly.”
+
Nation. 86: 221. Mr. 5, ’08. 430w.
“Mr. Winter presents his observations and study in a scientific manner, which is most informing, convincing, and impressive, and cannot fail to attract readers of all classes.” T: B. Connery.
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 155. Mr. 21, ’08. 1500w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 345. Je. 13, ’08. 200w.
“His book is especially to be recommended for its account of scenery and for its delineation of Mexican customs and character.”
+
Outlook. 88: 277. F. 1, ’08. 100w.
“A thoroughly up-to-date description of Mexico.”
+
R. of Rs. 37: 116. Ja. ’08. 80w.
395Winter, William. Other days: being chronicles and memoirs of the stage. **$3. Moffat.
8–28838.
Against a background made by outline sketches of Hodgkinson, Fennell, Cooper, Edwin Forrest, Junius Brutus Booth, Jefferson, Edwin Booth and Irving, the author sketches in detail the careers of Jefferson, Brougham, Boucicault, Charlotte Cushman, Edward A. Sothern, John McCullough, Barrett, Mary Anderson and Adelaide Nielson; omitting Mansfield, as the author is engaged now upon a complete “life.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 300. D. ’08.
“All lovers of the drama, and one may add of good writing, ought to be grateful to him for what he has done in the present volume.” Montgomery Schuyler.
+
Bookm. 28: 340. D. ’08. 1300w.
“Mr. Winter speaks with the authority of an expert, with the judgment acquired by long experience, with the knowledge and sympathy which spring from personal acquaintance and association, and with the critical acumen and graceful style of the scholar.” G: P. Upton.
+ +
Dial. 45: 246. O. 16, ’08. 3000w.
“It is mainly because of its human quality that ‘Other days’ is an important book; it calls the great dead back to life again. He shares with so great a critic of the arts as Ruskin the merit of being always right when he is lauding beauty, and the defect of being almost always wrong when he shifts to the less lofty mood of deprecation.” Walter Clayton.
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Forum. 40: 504. N. ’08. 1200w.
“There is no one living who has better perspective of the American stage than Mr. William Winter. His book is indicative of his rich experience and has a certain permanent worth as an addition to the literature of the American stage. Its narrative quality is balanced by a critical and literary side that is as agreeable, even if it is not quite as classic, as Elia’s opinions concerning the actors and the dramas of his day.”
+ +
Ind. 65: 1124. N. 12, ’08. 320w.
+
Lit. D. 37: 913. D. 12, ’08. 170w.
“His volume will be a welcome addition to every dramatic library. It is full of fresh and illuminative detail, of analytical character studies, of sound theatrical philosophy, of witty comment, eloquent appreciation, and wholesome scorn.”
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Nation. 87: 392. O. 22, ’08. 1300w.
“His new book is full of his own uncommon charm. That is its principal merit. But Mr. Winter is invariably accurate in his statements, dates, names, and titles of plays. This is a rare merit with theatrical historians.”
+ +
N. Y. Times. 13: 651. N. 7, ’08. 500w.
* Wishard, John G. Twenty years in Persia. **$1.50. Revell.
8–31141.
Persia as seen thru the eyes of a medical missionary. “But it would be a mistake to suppose this volume exclusively devoted to the history of missionary labor. On the contrary, while not pretending to the encyclopedic character of Curzon’s work, it supplements the latter by a vast amount of detail descriptive of the intimate life of the Persian of every class, and in this respect, for accuracy and just observation, far surpasses in interest the records of the casual traveler.” (Ind.)
“It is, above all, refreshing to find a book on Persia free from the flippant criticism so often chargeable to western authors, whose eyes are out of focus in the East and who have no serious interest in the struggle for reform which has just been inaugurated.”
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Ind. 65: 1308. D. 3, ’08. 470w.
“Dr. Wishard writes easily and fascinatingly about the Shah’s country.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 754. D. 5, ’08. 170w.
Wister, Owen. Seven ages of Washington: a biography **$2. Macmillan.
7–38230.
Descriptive note and excerpts in Dec. 1907.
“The book’s worst faults are crude historical knowledge and statements which are not consistent with themselves.” J: S. Bassett.
−
Am. Hist. R. 13: 911. Jl. ’08. 620w.
“A truly delightful biography giving a finished portrait, broad and vigorous in treatment, not overlaid with common-place or labored detail.”
+ +
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 51. F. ’08. ✠
“Forms a pretty volume, possessing obvious merits, but open to criticism if considered, to use the author’s words, as ‘a full-length portrait of Washington, with enough of his times to see him clearly against.’”
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Ath. 1908, 1: 73. Ja. 18. 300w.
“At some points extravagant in expression, and at others exhibiting perhaps not the best of taste, this book presents a picture of the great man that is clearcut and on the whole true. Unpretentious, the volume is of just about the value that the author meant it should possess.”
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Nation. 86: 102. Ja. 30, ’08. 140w.
“A pleasant and wholesome and patriotic little book.”
+
Putnam’s. 4: 491. Jl. ’08. 260w.
“A biography of a new and attractive type.”
+ +
R. of Rs. 37: 113. Ja. ’08. 140w.
Wolff, Sir Henry Drummond. Rambling recollections. 2v. *$7.50. Macmillan.
8–11479.
“The most valuable parts of the book are those chapters devoted to the British administration of the Ionian islands; the account of Wolff’s interviews with a number of the prominent European statesmen just prior to the Congress of Berlin of 1878; the description of the organization of East Rumelia, pursuant to the treaty formulated by that Congress, and the story of the instigation of the treaty with Turkey, upon which is based the legality of England’s present anomalous position in Egypt. Of great interest also are the personal impressions of the Franco-Prussian war, and the detailed account of Lytton’s strange interest in occult phenomena, to which he gave expression in ‘Zanoni,’ and in some of his other novels.”—N. Y. Times.
“His stories are of curiously uneven merit. All are kind, but fewer than half are pointed. Gossiping and agreeable book.”
− +
Ath. 1908, 1: 123. F. 1. 1150w.
“Whatever criticism the author may have subjected himself to ... he will not be censured as having taxed his readers’ attention in a manner unbefitting this season of rest and recreation.” P. F. Bicknell.
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Dial. 45: 14. Jl. 1, ’08. 1400w.
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Ind. 65: 152. Jl. 16, ’08. 400w.
“His main interest is personal, and he ambles gently on from man to man that he has known. He aims to be exact, and this accounts for a deal of useless genealogical lumber in his volumes.”
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Nation. 86: 428. My. 7, ’08. 500w.
“Interspersed throughout the two volumes are a legion of anecdotes, some of them timeworn, but others fresh and amusing. These serve to enliven what would otherwise be a most tedious book, and one which in its entirety must fail to fulfill legitimate expectations.”
− +
N. Y. Times. 13: 114. F. 29, ’08. 520w.
“His record of witty sayings and amusing incidents is extensive, but the stories are thrown into the narrative in a curiously abrupt and desultory way.”
+ −
Outlook. 88: 612. Mr. 14, ’08. 200w.
Reviewed by Montgomery Schuyler.
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Putnam’s. 4: 492. Jl. ’08. 400w.
396“The author manages, without giving away diplomatic secrets, to convey to us a great deal of the ‘atmosphere’ surrounding the legations of the great powers in the European capitals.”
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R. of Rs. 37: 637. My. ’08. 100w.
“Not half as good as his conversation. The recollections of a writer who has been everywhere and known everybody, and done a great many things in politics and diplomacy, ought to be a great deal more interesting than these two volumes are. Few men could have written a better book of recollections; and few have written a worse.”
− +
Sat. R. 105: 142. F. 1, ’08. 1280w.
“The grammar is often faulty, and there is much repetition. Though he has much to say of value on politics, he discourses at unnecessary length of matters which had only a momentary interest. But with all its faults, his book is good reading.”
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Spec. 100: 222. F. 8, ’08. 1550w.
* Wollaston, A. F. R. From Ruwenzori to the Congo: a naturalist’s journey across Africa. *$5. Dutton.
The record of an expedition conducted in the interests of the British museum. “The great merit about the whole narrative is that it insists upon the romance of Central Africa. Travellers nowadays are apt to be so very scientific and impassive, and when they expand it is generally in the direction of politics. But Mr. Wollaston is full of the delight and romance of strange sights.” (Spec.) “The Duke of the Abruzzi’s book is largely the record of the ascent of Ruwenzori—a feat which had never before been achieved by a European—the Wollaston volume is more exclusively devoted to the natural history, not only of Ruwenzori itself, but of the whole region which it dominates. The book is profusely illustrated.” (N. Y. Times.)
N. Y. Times. 13: 698. N. 28, ’08. 140w.
“Mr. Wollaston’s book is an excellent specimen of how works of travel should be written. He never bores the reader because he is never bored himself. Let it be added that the book is admirably written, and that the author, being a trained naturalist, has a great deal to say about the flora and fauna which one does not get from the ordinary traveller.”
+ +
Spec. 101: 676. O. 31, ’08. 1600w.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. Love letters of Mary Wollstonecraft; with an introd. by Roger Ingpen. *$1. Lippincott.
Mr. Ingpen in his preface calls these letters written to George Imlay “the most passionate love letters in our literature.” “The passion of the letters, which rises on occasion to Sappho’s height, is less striking than the dignity and independence of the writer. She is saved reluctantly from suicide, but she does not sentimentalize over her broken heart. She only asks questions where she is entitled to denounce; and the final letters, with their studied moderation and sense of personal agony, are an indictment which can never, one thinks, have been forgotten, even by a shallow and paltry lover.” (Ath.)
+
Ath. 1908, 1: 227. F. 22. 160w.
Nation. 87: 386. O. 22, ’08. 200w.
“A prefatory memoir by Roger Ingpen is sympathetic in its tone but just and discriminating in its estimate.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 564. O. 10, ’08. 150w.
N. Y. Times. 13: 621. O. 24, ’08. 30w.
Wood, Eugene. Folks back home. †$1.50. McClure.
8–8099.
Thirteen stories of central Ohio in which the homely incidents of simple life are realistically sketched. The “h-yur,” “whur” and “w’y” stamp the dialect, unmistakably, as the “Ahia” variety.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 158. My. ’08. ✠
“Some of the stories are authoritative social studies of village habit and custom; they are always whimsically correct to the utmost detail, often tender, sometimes pathetic, and once or twice the laughing voice of the narrator deepens to tragedy, but the prevailing note is that of lighthearted humor.”
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Ind. 64: 1350. Je. 11, ’08. 300w
“The book is a pleasant, inoffensive example of the applepie school; chiefly remarkable for the absence from its pages of the time-honored ‘b’gosh’ and the substitution of a new expletive, ‘I jox.’”
+
Nation. 86: 287. Mr. 26, ’08. 120w.
“A collection of short stories, vivacious and veracious.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 304. My. 30, ’08. 50w.
“The author wields the magic wand that is the possession of all writers who can reach the hidden springs of common humanity; of those who write simply concerning things they have known always, and in which the kinship of us all is discerned.”
+ +
Outlook. 88: 797. Ap. 4, ’08. 150w.
Wood, Henry. New old healing. **$1.20. Lothrop.
8–18719.
A book of fragments, related by the unitary principles of psychical healing. The teachings, says the author “are in accord with a liberal interpretation of the Biblical and Christian point of view.”
“Contains a number of theses for meditation ‘in the silence room,’ and brief discussions of old and new forms of faith cure and mental treatment in a tolerant and comprehensive spirit.”
+ −
Ind. 65: 433. Ag. 20. ’08. 170w.
“Instead of being a study of a very interesting development it is practically nothing more than a collection of fragments.”
−
N. Y. Times. 13: 434. Ag. 8, ’08. 200w.
“One who cannot agree with him in defining matter as ‘vibration’ or health and strength as real ‘entities,’ can admit that his main contention has a sound psychological basis.”
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Outlook. 89: 766. Ag. 1, ’08. 200w.
“Almost every page contains some thought that is not only mentally stimulating but spiritually uplifting, some suggestion of real usefulness in the conduct of life.” H. A. Bruce.
+
Outlook. 90: 705. N. 28, ’08. 700w.
Wood, Henry A. W. Money-hunger: a brief study of commercial immorality in the United States. **$1. Putnam.
8–1479.
“After pointing out that at present there is no established basis for business ethics, and that the home, the church, the schools and the newspapers fail to supply any standard, the author devotes three chapters to a discussion of the responsibility of the press for present conditions of commercial immorality.” (Ann. Am. Acad.) “It is a very timely and vigorous moral protest against the worship of Mammon and the failure to inculcate higher ideals which have resulted in such a debased moral tone as is found in the business world of to-day.” (J. Pol. Econ.)
“While it lacks the periods of Ruskin and the thunderings of Carlyle it is nevertheless well done. The view point of the book is distinctly ethical, set off by touches of innocent ignorance concerning the operation of economic forces.”
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Ann. Am. Acad. 32: 453. S. ’08. 140w.
“The book contains practically nothing that is new, emphasizes perhaps too strongly the influence of certain factors in our social life, but rightly recognizes that any social change for the better must come by a slow process which shall work through public opinion rather than by any legislative or administrative change.” J. W. Jenks.
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Econ. Bull. 1: 349. D. ’08. 650w.
Ind. 65: 842. O. 8, ’08. 200w.
J. Pol. Econ. 16: 174. Mr. ’08. 50w.
397Wood, Joseph. The Bible: what it is and is not. *$1. Am. Unitar.
8–35658.
A discussion which will be of help to people who are troubled because they have wakened to the fact that the Bible is not infallible; that it is not verbally inspired. “Once let it be known,” says the author, “that Christians study the Bible as they do any other great book; that they believe in its human origin; that they know it to contain mistakes; that they value it not for its myths and miracles but for its moral and spiritual records and teaching.” This attitude disarms the skeptic.
“A reverent treatment of some of the problems of the Bible.”
+
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 243. O. ’08.
Wood, Robert Williams. Animal analogues: Denatured series, no. 24. **75c. Elder.
Related in idea to “How to tell the birds from the flowers.” “As in the earlier contribution to comparative biology, the humor is almost all in the parallelistic nomenclature, and in the pictures which, like attractive suburban homes at reasonable prices, must be seen to be appreciated. The puss and the octopus take on a really startling resemblence under the author’s clever pencil. Happy also is the hitherto unsuspected similarity between the pipe-fish and the sea-gar, the doe and the dodo, the cross-bill and the sweet-william, the pitcher-plant and the fly-catcher, the P-cock and the Q-cumber, the pansy and the chim-pansy.” (Nation.)
“Deftly set forth in Mr. Wood’s characteristically buoyant and convincing style.”
+
Dial. 45: 466. D. 16, 08. 70w.
Ind. 65: 952. O. 22, ’08. 40w.
Nation. 87: 386. O. 22, ’08. 130w.
Wood, Robert Williams. How to tell the birds from the flowers: a manual of flornithology for beginners; verses and il. by R. W. Wood. (Nature ser., no. 23.) **75c; pa. **50c. Elder.
7–24147.
“In a series of clever nonsense verses, each one accompanied and made clearer by a very earnest illustration, the author gives directions by which any one can distinguish the bird from the flower that sounds like it.” (N. Y. Times.) “Obviously a satire directed against the sentimental nature-study literature which sometimes masquerades as scientific teaching, particularly in the United States.” (Nature.)
“Clever little skit.”
+
Lit. D. 36: 238. F. 15, ’08. 100w.
Nature. 77: 7. N. 7, ’07. 60w.
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N. Y. Times. 12: 546. S. 14, ’07. 150w.
Woodberry, George Edward. Appreciation of literature. **$1.50. Baker.
7–33230.
The fourth volume in the “Appreciation series,” and one which is intended as a popular introduction to the art of reading. “In discussing the first principles in the appreciation of literature, Prof. Woodberry says that literature is an art of expression, or the expression of life. The reader’s own experience, therefore, is the key to literature.” (N. Y. Times.) “The opening chapter on ‘First principles,’ is one in which the writer attempts a definition of literature, art, criticism, and such like elementary matters. Then follows a discussion of the various prominent genres, Lyric poetry, Narrative poetry, Dramatic poetry and Fiction.” (Nation.)
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 217. Je. ’08.
“From the critical point of view Mr. Woodberry’s new volume is not particularly significant. Such a volume may be of assistance to persons of a certain stage of culture who are not indisposed to be coaxed still farther by a little discreet encouragement.”
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Ind. 64: 872. Ap. 16, ’08. 170w.
“Critically the book is slight. And yet by readers at a certain stage of culture it might be found suggestive and even stimulating. At the same time it is for just such readers that a good many of Mr. Woodberry’s statements seem misleading, if not actually dangerous.”
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Nation. 85: 469. N. 21, ’07. 330w.
“What is particularly attractive is the charming simplicity of style, never suggestive of the savant who feels that he is commissioned to guide his fellow-creatures from some lofty pedestal, but recalling vividly the easy, dreamy, conversational manner of the popular professor in his Madison avenue lecture room.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 117. F. 29, ’08. 2320w.
Woodbridge, Jahleel Ligon. Story of the covenant and the mystery of the Jew. $1. Broadway pub.
7–33914.
Written for the lay reader in order to arouse interest in the subject and to bring into brief compass the arguments and the scriptural quotations bearing upon the Abrahamic covenant, and seeks to substantiate the practice of infant baptism by tracing its historical connection with the covenant of Abraham.
“It is unfortunately characterized by more zeal than discretion. Its point of view is wholly unscientific and dogmatic.”
−
Am. J. Theol. 12: 341. Ap. ’08. 100w.
“The exegesis is rabbinical and the whole point of view inaccessible to the average man.”
−
Bib. World. 31: 319. Ap. ’08. 50w.
N. Y. Times. 12: 731. N. 16, ’07. 100w.
Woodrow, Nancy Mann Waddell (Mrs. Wilson Woodrow). Silver butterfly. †$1.50. Bobbs.
8–30252.
In quest of the owners of a fabulously rich South American mine, Robert Hayden returns to New York after years of travel to the uttermost parts of the earth. He feels intuitively that his day of destiny and a fairy princess await him. The princess proves an elusive Cinderella who leaves an ornate butterfly in lieu of a slipper. Immediately he is precipitated in the very “haunt and home of tantalizing mystery.” Tracing a similarity in names—a coincidence in which a wondrous fortune-teller plays part—he not only finds Eldorado,—but wins Cinderella too.
“The story itself has little to recommend it. It has no special literary merit and though it professes to be a tale of mystery, it is not sufficiently exciting to keep the reader’s interest from flagging.” A. C. Rich.
−
Arena. 40: 484. N. ’08. 200w.
“The action moves rapidly and the story is told with much dash and spirit.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 676. N. 14, ’08. 260w.
Woodward, Ida. In and around the Isle of Purbeck. **$5. Lane.
8–29188.
The author has gone into the details of the history of this neck of land—for it is a peninsula rather than an island—with an area of less than a hundred square miles. “Its most famous show place is Corfe castle. This came into historical prominence when it was the scene of the murder of King Edward. William the Conqueror seems to have added the great tower, and John shut up here for a while his niece, the sister of Arthur, and ‘Damsel of Brittany.’ From time to time it reappears, commonly as a prison. In 1643 it was courageously held by Lady Bankes for the king. Two years afterwards it was taken by treachery, and destroyed by order of Parliament. It now remains ... one of the most picturesque ruins in England.” (Spec.)
“The omissions, where information was much to be desired, are numerous; whilst we have come across many statements which are doubtful or wholly inaccurate. It is only fair, however, to state that there are various passages which yield sound historic information, as well 398as some which are of an entertaining character.”
+ −
Ath. 1908, 2: 509. O. 24. 1000w.
“A series of thirty-six plates in color forms a most attractive feature of the volume.” H. E. Coblentz.
+
Dial. 44: 348. Je. 1, ’08. 200w.
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 114. F. 29, ’08. 100w.
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Sat. R. 105: 113. Ja. 25, ’08. 140w.
Spec. 100: 104. Ja. 18, ’08. 250w.
Worcester, Elwood; McComb, Samuel; and Coriat, Isador H. Religion and medicine; the moral control of nervous disorders. **$1.50. Moffatt.
8–17567.
An authoritative account, furnished by the ministers of Emanuel church and their medical associates, of the psychological, medical and religious facts and principles upon which their practice of psychic healing is based.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 266. N. ’08.
“The several contributors do not really agree, nor can the exposition be said to be particularly helpful to those acquainted with the current views as to psychic treatment. Dr. Worcester’s insistence upon an independent and mystic subconscious mind is unfortunate, and does not strengthen the practical side of the volume. But it will serve a timely and useful purpose, and for that it should be welcomed.”
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Dial. 45: 17. Jl. 1, ’08. 450w.
Ind. 65: 431. Ag. 20, ’08. 500w.
“The book is marked throughout with an admirable modesty and moderation.”
+
N. Y. Times. 13: 376. Jl. 4, ’08. 1000w.
“No more needed book on the general subject of psychotherapy has lately come forth, and none more likely to exert beneficent influence wherever read.”
+
Outlook. 89: 625. Jl. 18, ’08. 280w.
Reviewed by H. A. Bruce.
Outlook. 90: 702. N. 28, ’08. 1250w.
Wordsworth, William. Letters of Wordsworth’s family from 1787 to 1855; collected and ed. by W: Knight. 3v. $7.50. Ginn.
7–38248.
“Three volumes of Wordsworth letters now collected together for the first time.... The merit of the collection lies rather in the completeness of the view which it gives us of Wordsworth’s history than in the novelty of its contents, though these include some interesting unpublished matter,—notably the newly discovered series of letters addressed to Coleridge. In bringing together and arranging chronologically a great correspondence which hitherto has lain strewn up and down among a multitude of memoirs, remains, and miscellaneous publications, Professor Knight has done a lasting service to literature.”—Spec.
A. L. A. Bkl. 4: 140. My. ’08.
“Ill arranged, scantily annotated, and poorly indexed. With all its faults, this edition of the ‘Letters’ is indispensable to the student of Wordsworth.”
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Ath. 1908, 1: 630. My. 23. 570w.
“There is not a great deal that is new in Mr. Knight’s ‘Letters of the Wordsworth family,’ and the editing can only be described as chaotic yet we may be thankful to have the correspondence of the poet and his household brought together in any form.”
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Nation. 87: 49. Jl. 16, ’08. 4800w.
“In their store of fresh material, illuminating, by both data and comment, the characters of most of Wordsworth’s great contemporaries; in the light flashed upon his own nature from many facts, and in the complete expression of his opinions upon subjects of permanent interest,—these letters will henceforth be indispensable to the student of Wordsworth, and they supply much that will be invaluable to future biographies, not only of Wordsworth, but of his fellow poets.” J. B. Rittenhouse.
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No. Am. 188: 292. Ag. ’08. 1450w.
“It is only to be regretted that he has not stated clearly the source of each letter, and thus afforded the reader at once a useful clue thru the labyrinth of already published Wordsworthiana, and the means of arriving, without the effort of a somewhat elaborate collation, at what is new in the present book.”
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Spec. 100: 460. Mr. 21, ’08. 1450w.
Workman, Fanny Bullock, and Workman, William Hunter. Ice-bound heights of the Mustagh: an account of two seasons of pioneer exploration and high climbing in the Baltistan Himalaya. il. *$5. Scribner.
8–18698.
“The authors show in detail what a serious sport mountain-climbing may become. The story of their climbs in the ice-world of the Himalaya is a record of scientific observations and discoveries comprehensible only to those who are masters of the science of geography, and of interest only to those who have some knowledge of mountain-climbing, or those who wish to enlarge their information regarding the physiography of the world. Here and there in the book the general reader will find some ordinary statement of fact that will interest him.”—Dial.
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Ath. 1908, 1: 633. My. 23. 1200w.
“As mountain climbers bent on increasing the world’s knowledge of scientific geographical data, they have succeeded to an unusual degree.” H. E. Coblentz.
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Dial. 44: 346. Je. 1, ’08. 350w.
“The volume contains a large amount of interesting matter: running comment on botany and geology, and even the record of animalculæ at a height of 17,000 feet; sketches of people and notes on the nature of the country.”
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Nation. 86: 538. Je. 11, ’08. 700w.
“A book of rare interest to mountain climbers and to all lovers of travel and of adventure.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 112. F. 29, ’08. 150w.
“The book is not only a scientific record in narrative form, but also an invaluable guide for others who may wish to attempt the same ascents. It has the special interest of dealing with positive explorations on mighty peaks heretofore never scaled.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 274. My. 16, ’08. 250w.
“The writing is correct enough, but wholly without any sort of charm, and this chronicle of continual success leaves an impression of self-satisfaction which is probably due only to the method employed. It is not a book to read for any literary quality, but only for the interest of the facts.”
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Spec. 100: 621. Ap. 18, ’08. 1450w.
Workman, Rev. George Coulson. Servant of Jehovah; or, The passion prophecy of Scripture analyzed and elucidated. *$1.60. Longmans.
“The work is a careful historical exegesis of all the ‘Servant passages’ in the Deutero-Isaiah. Professor Workman’s view is that ‘the servant is always the Israelitish nation, or the Jewish church, contemplated by the prophet either from the point of view of its actual condition or from the point of view of its divine vocation.’ This has come to be the opinion of modern students generally.”—Ind.
“Some of the arguments advanced in Prof. Workman’s book may be open to serious question; but the treatise can nevertheless be recommended as an able and even eloquent exposition of the prophecy as viewed by a very influential school of critics.”
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Ath. 1907, 1: 438. Ap. 13. 170w.
“It is sane and spiritual. The treatment is scholarly, but not technical; thus the book will 399be found interesting and instructive by all who are concerned for such things.”
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Bib. World. 30: 239. S. ’07. 40w.
“Deserving of attention.”
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Ind. 64: 160. Ja. 16, ’08. 90w.
Worthington, Arthur Mason. Study of splashes. *$2. Longmans.
An untechnical treatment based upon the author’s photographic study of splashes. “The numerous photographs of splashes—197 in all—are chosen for their beauty as well as for their appropriateness in illustrating different phases of the phenomena, and are well reproduced. The apparatus used in obtaining the photographs is described, and the fundamental principles involved in the formation of splashes are also briefly but clearly explained.” (Phys. R.)
“Should find a place in every scientific library.” C. V. Boys.
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Nature. 78: 666. O. 29, ’08. 1700w.
“A particularly fascinating volume.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 470. Ag. 29, ’08. 1400w.
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Phys. R. 27: 223. S. ’08. 300w.
“Is a brilliant monograph, and deserves to pass at once into the rank of classic works of the kind.”
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Spec. 101: 200. Ag. 8, ’08. 110w.
Wright, Henry Burt. Life with a purpose: memorial of John Lawrence Thurston, first missionary of the Yale mission. **$1.50. Revell.
8–10897.
“A memorial to John Lawrence Thurston, who, at the very beginning of his career as a missionary in China, was ordered home on account of ill health and soon died of consumption. The volume has been prepared by many hands of relatives, friends and associates. All who knew him intimately contributed of their knowledge. Beginning with his childhood, his life is portrayed and the development of his character is traced with the utmost detail by means of his own letters and diaries and the reminiscences of his friends.”—N. Y. Times.
Nation. 87:463. N. 12, ’08. 160w.
“As a human document the volume is of interest to all who value such intimate studies of mind and spirit as well as for those who care for the work in which he was engaged.”
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N. Y. Times. 13: 239. Ap. 25, ’08. 170w.
Wright, Mabel Osgood. Gray Lady and the birds: stories of the bird year for home and school. il. **$1.75. Macmillan.