Book Review Digest Devoted to the Valuation of Current Literature Reviews of 1917 Books (continued 4)
Reading edition
+ Bellman 22:160 F 10 ‘17 600w
“The book is full of charm and as a whole rings true.” H. W. Boynton
+ Bookm 45:95 Mr ‘17 550w
“If his first novel is any index of those to come, he is an author who bids fair to make his mark in American fiction.”
+ Boston Transcript p8 Ja 24 ‘17 300w
“You will rarely find in the writers of this country such poise, and justifiable assurance, and true sense of proportion. ... The finest thing about this exceptional novel is the masterly way in which the author has evolved his characters through the actions and incidents rendered inevitable by those characters themselves. It is this conviction of truth that remains to exhilarate, long after the story has been finished.” Ruth McIntire
+ Dial 62:102 F 8 ‘17 1150w
“The story is logical and true to life.”
+ Ind 90:256 My 5 ‘17 190w
+ Nation 104:270 Mr 8 ‘17 350w
“Mr Bellamy has, indeed, a decided gift for character drawing, and most of his people are clearly sketched, definitely individualized. ... ‘The balance’ is a first novel, and the plot is not always well handled.”
+ — N Y Times 22:24 Ja 21 ‘17 500w
“Mr Bellamy has something serious to say, and at the same time he writes a story which will probably attract a large market.” Joseph Mosher
+ Pub W 91:207 Ja 20 ‘17 450w
+ Springf’d Republican p15 F 18 ‘17 500w
BEMAN, LAMAR TANEY, comp. Selected articles on prohibition of the liquor traffic. (Debaters’ handbook ser.) 2d and rev ed *$1.25 (1c) Wilson, H. W. 178 17-12265
A second edition of the debaters’ handbook on Prohibition containing new material. The first edition was published in 1915, since which time prohibition has made great gains. Among the new reprints are articles for the affirmative by Arthur Capper and William J. Bryan and articles for the negative by John Koren and Rev. J. A. Homan.
A L A Bkl 13:456 Jl ‘17
BENAVENTE Y MARTINEZ, JACINTO. Plays; tr. from the Spanish, with an introd., by J: Garrett Underhill; authorized ed. *$1.50 Scribner 862 17-14040
“The plays chosen are not the best known. But they are well selected to show the author’s wide range. They are all recent and illustrative of Benavente’s latest manner. The first, ‘His widow’s husband,’ is a farcical depiction of social and political life in a provincial town. ‘The bonds of interest’ is an ingenious, modern adaptation of the old Italian comedy of masks. Crispin, Harlequin, Columbine, and Pantaloon discourse airily on important themes. ... ‘The evil doers of good’ flagellates the busybodies of a small village, who, under the guise of philanthropy, work harm with their meddlesome interference in the affairs of others. ... ‘La malquerida’ is not a thesis-drama like the rest, but a peasant play after the manner of Guimerá.”—Nation
“Well selected to represent the author’s wide range and latest manner.”
+ A L A Bkl 14:119 Ja ‘18
41“Mr Underhill does yeoman’s service in the cause of the Spanish stage, showing us how very much we have to learn in America from dramatists already popular in Spain and South America.” T: Walsh
+ Bookm 46:607 Ja ‘18 100w
“Mr Underhill’s translation is fluent and generally satisfactory. Occasionally he uses ‘misery’ where ‘poverty’ seems to be the word—a common mistake in translating French and Spanish words. There are a few passages where the sense seems to be somewhat misinterpreted. ... But for the most part one forgets that one is reading a translation.” N. H. D.
+ Boston Transcript p6 Jl 25 ‘17 750w
“Had Mr Underhill presented us with only two of the four plays that are in this volume—with ‘The bonds of interest’ and ‘La malquerida’—we should have been inclined to accept his high estimate of the dramatic power of Jacinto Benavente.” Padraic Colum
— Dial 63:393 O 25 ‘17 750w
“His psychology is more brilliant than profound, and the great passions are beyond his power to portray. He is preëminently a satirist. ... But tho his satire is cynically keen, it is never bitter, and never constructive. ... The volume commends itself to a frequent reader of printed plays for one rare virtue. These are absolutely free from the ponderous mass of descriptions, suggestions, interpretations and stage directions which encumber the text of so many modern dramas. Neither characters nor settings are described at all, and no directions are given. One is not even told the heroine’s age. ... His peasants are not real peasants, but members of le grande monde masquerading in poor clothes. The roughnesses and brutalities of life are as foreign to his genius as are the great emotions.”
+ + — Ind 91:183 Ag 4 ‘17 460w
“Jacinto Benavente is the central figure among contemporary Spanish dramatists, the continuator of Galdós and Echegaray. Like Galdós, he is interested in social reform, but presents his message with a delicate irony of which that ponderous declaimer is incapable. And if he is less of a stage technician, in the narrow sense, than Echegaray, he interests by his very departure from theatrical convention. In his lightness of touch he is akin rather to Bretón de los Herreros than to either of his more immediate predecessors. His range is surprisingly great. He has attempted nearly every kind of play with scarcely a failure to mark his course. ... He is chiefly known as the satirist of modern social conditions in Spain. ... It is exceptionally difficult to render into English an author so subtle as Benavente, one whose effects depend so much upon lightness. Imagine Shaw in German! But Mr Underhill has been more than successful. One detects no trace of foreign idiom in his English. His biography of Benavente and critical estimate of that writer’s work is the best yet attempted in English.”
* + + Nation 105:264 S 6 ‘17 600w
N Y Br Lib News 4:108 Jl ‘17
+ N Y Times 22:325 S 2 ‘17 260w
“Benavente is a prolific and versatile writer and it would be impossible fully to represent his accomplishment with four plays, but those selected for this volume are sufficiently varied in theme and treatment to suggest the inclusiveness of his talent.”
+ Springf’d Republican p6 D 3 ‘17 380w
BENECKE, ELSE C. M., and BUSCH, MARIE, trs. More tales by Polish authors. *$1.50 Longmans A17-369
The first volume of “Tales by Polish authors” appeared last year. “Two of the names that appeared in the first volume are to be found in the second also—Adam Szymanski and Waclaw Sieroszewski; and Szymanski’s two newly translated tales and Sieroszewski’s one take us again to Siberia. In Szymanski’s ‘Maciej the Mazur’ and ‘Two prayers,’ the engrossing topic is the home-sickness of the Poles in Siberia. Perhaps the ache of home-sickness has never been so ruthlessly forced home as it is in ‘Two prayers.’ ... The other stories are taken from authors not included in the first volume. The longest and the most striking is ‘The returning wave,’ by Boleslaw Prus, whose real name seems to be Alexsander Glowacki.” (The Times [London] Lit Sup)
Cath World 105:553 Jl ‘17 130w
“The short stories in ‘More tales by Polish authors’ grip from the first to the last page by their earnestness and the power of their different authors to portray characters quite out of the ordinary. The style is exceptionally free from the abruptness so common in Slavic translations.”
+ Ind 90:298 My 12 ‘17 60w
“Unfortunately, half of the first volume is taken up by a tale of Sienkiewicz, ‘Bartek the Conqueror,’ which was already accessible. Chief in merit among the pieces here rendered for the first time are, perhaps, the three Siberian sketches by Szymanski. The English of the translators is excellent, with only the very smallest traces of foreign idiom.”
+ Nation 105:93 Jl 26 ‘17 650w
The Times [London] Lit Sup p560 N 23 ‘16 1100w
BENÉT, WILLIAM ROSE. Great white wall. il *$1 Yale univ. press 811 16-24833
“Timur, the Tartar, has long been a favorite subject for literary treatment. Marlowe wrote one of his best plays about this great, barbaric nomad, and later Rowe made him a dramatic hero. In ‘The great white wall’ William Rose Benét seizes upon this ancient and cruel autocrat for the central figure of a singularly thoughtful narrative poem. It is the story of Timur’s attack on the great wall of China, and the story is mostly a series of pageants.”—Springf’d Republican
“In Mr Benét’s inimitable rhythmic flare.” W: S. Braithwaite
+ Bookm 45:435 Je ‘17 30w
“Elements of fantasy are happily combined with the epic story.”
+ Ind 89:235 F 5 ‘17 50w
“Benét, equally with Vachel Lindsay, is restoring the chant to its proper place in modern poetry; his work is always interesting and frequently completely successful.” Clement Wood
+ N Y Call p14 Ap 29 ‘17 170w
+ St Louis 15:183 Je ‘17 20w
“There is a wealth of descriptive verse here, as well as insight into moral truths.”
+ Springf’d Republican p6 Ap 24 ‘17 250w
“The poet’s metrical gifts have the fullest play here, and the verse must be heard to be fully appreciated. Mr Benét’s powers of description were never better used than in this tale of far-off things and battles long ago. The book is original in its workmanship, full of vivid description, and interesting in the life and animation that pervades it. It is Mr Benét at his best.” E: B. Reed
+ Yale R n s 6:862 Jl ‘17 120w
BENNETT, ARNOLD. Books and persons; being comments on a past epoch, 1908-1911. *$2 (4c) Doran 824 17-21768
“The contents of this book have been chosen [by Hugh Walpole] from a series of weekly articles which enlivened the New Age during the years 1908-1911, under the pseudonym ‘Jacob Tonson.’ ... Mr Frank Swinnerton approved the selection and added to it slightly. In my turn I suggested a few more additions. The total amounts to one-third of the original matter. ... I have left the critical judgments alone, for the good reason that I stand by nearly all of them, though perhaps with a less challenging vivacity, to this day.” (Prefatory note) Some of the authors included are: Wordsworth, Joseph Conrad, W. W. Jacobs, Anatole France, Swinburne, Tchehkoff, Trollope, Brieux, Henry James, and Mrs Elinor Glyn. There are also essays on such topics as “French publishers,” “The book-buyer,” “Middleclass,” “Censorship by the libraries,” etc.
42“Librarians will be interested in the papers on censorship by the libraries.”
+ A L A Bkl 14:85 D ‘17
“The strife about the six-shilling and the sevenpenny novel, the attempts to censor certain novelists, and the stupid animosities of the middle class, are considered from the point of view of a wholehearted disciple of the great French realists.”
+ Ath p467 S ‘17 220w
“With entertainment as his special aim, and sportiveness as his deliberate manner, Mr Bennett rambles hither and thither among the books and writers of the three-year period during which he posed as Jacob Tonson.” E. F. E.
— Boston Transcript p7 O 10 ‘17 600w
“I think the book is chiefly interesting as a record of the casual judgements—casual in form only—of a tremendous expert on his fellow-craftsmen.” G: B. Donlin
+ Dial 63:523 N 22 ‘17 1500w
“The volume is always readable, it is often ‘intime,’ and it is nearly always baffling. ... His judgments seem often to issue from a mind that is constitutionally fussy rather than judicial.”
+ — Nation 105:671 D 13 ‘17 300w
“Mr Bennett knows what he is talking about in respect of Dostoievsky, as in respect of Conrad, Henri Becque, François de Curel, Tchekoff, Wilfred Whitten. But here as elsewhere he is dealing in stimulant, not criticism. He is imposing his will. ... Only when he is writing of H. G. Wells is he sufficiently moved by his subject to lose the coolness of a shrewd and judicious informant and become a passionate critic. ... In regard to W. W. Jacobs and Rudyard Kipling and Conrad and Henry James and Meredith there are exceedingly pertinent discriminations, but absorbed or inspired interpretation in no case outside Mr Wells.” F. H.
+ — New Repub 12:332 O 20 ‘17 1150w
N Y Br Lib News 4:181 D ‘17 190w
“In the main neither sufficiently important in theme nor sufficiently careful in treatment to be worthy of permanent publication in book form.”
– + Outlook 117:575 D 5 ‘17 30w
“When Mr Arnold Bennett appears as a critic of men and books many of his judgments strike us as irrational, or partial, sometimes to the point of absurdity. His infatuation about Mr H. G. Wells may be the fruit of friendship, but it is not justifiable on literary grounds, not even on the grounds advanced by Mr Bennett. ... Surely Mr Bennett is paradoxical when he praises Mr Henry James for clarity.”
— — + Sat R 124:49 Jl 21 ‘17 1350w
“Of mid-Victorian novelists he has a poor opinion. ‘There is not one of them that would not be tremendously improved by being cut down to about one-half’; moreover, ‘they are incurably ugly and sentimental.’ Some of us will wonder to find the author of ‘The old wives’ tale’ casting this reproach in particular at Thackeray and Dickens, Charlotte Brontë and Mrs Gaskell; but it is only Mr Bennett’s humor.”
Spec 119:301 S 22 ‘17 130w
“This book of literary causeries is a collection of articles published in 1908-1911 in a socialist journal of somewhat exasperating and provocative type called the New Age. They are mostly skits. They are not literary criticisms, though they often reflect literary opinions—rather opinionated opinions, it may be said. ... They have no importance and for American readers no interest at all. ... The one thing that gives flavor outlasting the ephemerality of the subject is Mr Bennett’s pointed journalistic style and pungent choice of epithet. Those who are engaged in the author’s trade and are familiar with the journalists and critics of London may, therefore, read these records of a ‘past age’ with some interest. But of sound instruction or authentic inspiration they have little. To a limited extent they are diverting.”
– + Springf’d Republican p19 O 14 ‘17 1300w
“Mr Arnold Bennett is one of the few who can catch their sayings before they are cold and enclose them all alive in very readable prose. That is why these aged reviews (some are nearly ten years old) are as vivacious and as much to the point as they were on the day of their birth. They have another claim upon our interest. They deal for the most part with writers who are still living. We do not think this is a book of first rate criticism; but it is the book of an artist.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p319 Jl 5 ‘17 1150w
BENNETT, HELEN MARIE. Women and work; the economic value of college training. *$1.50 (2c) Appleton 174 17-11904
A study of the place of the college-trained woman in the modern world. In the past half century the type of girl entering college has changed; rather, many types now enter where once there was but one. The standards demanded of women have also changed, and, to some extent, college curricula have been modified to meet the new demands. All these matters are taken into account by the author, who, as manager of the Chicago Collegiate bureau of occupations, writes from the vocational expert’s point of view. She writes of: The inflorescence of the new education; College training and working efficiency; The problem of the college girl; The problem of the vocational adviser; The psychology of the girl as related to her occupation; The physiology of the girl as related to her occupation; The girl with the dramatic temperament; The philosophic temperament; The scientific temperament; The interdependence of occupations; The college girl—her own employer; The college girl and women.
“There is a specially good chapter on the problem of the vocational adviser.”
+ A L A Bkl 13:426 Jl ‘17
“A suggestive book for women in and out of college, and for the college faculty as well.” Edna Kenton
+ Bookm 46:345 N ‘17 280w
“Packed with common sense.”
+ Ind 91:136 Jl 28 ‘17 50w
“She has made a mistake in adopting a more pretentious title for her work than the results of her efforts warrant. The book falls far short of being an adequate discussion of ‘Women and work.’”
+ — J Pol Econ 25:856 O ‘17 200w
“Those parts of the book which deal with the specific problem of finding jobs are interesting and valuable, but when the author attempts to characterize human traits or to give the results of psychology and philosophy she shows a plentiful lack of knowledge. ... The reader of the book is likely to be exasperated by the inexcusable irregularity of the style.”
+ — Nation 104:739 Je 21 ‘17 400w
Pittsburgh 22:532 Je ‘17 70w
Pratt p16 O ‘17 20w
“With its sociology Miss Bennett’s book has combined some helpful information for the college graduate who is intelligently trying to choose work to fit her abilities.”
+ Springf’d Republican p6 Jl 10 ‘17 480w
“Written in entertaining style, and useful not only to the girls themselves but to any one helping to educate or ‘place’ them.”
+ Wis Lib Bul 13:153 My ‘17 80w
BENNETT, HENRY EASTMAN. School efficiency; a manual of modern school management. il $1.25 (1c) Ginn 371 17-21650
The author is professor of education in the College of William and Mary, Virginia. He has had in mind, in writing this book, the average community school of medium size, and the teacher of average ability. “It is the only book that has come from the press in recent times which presents in non-technical language a discussion, both of the specific problems of instruction 43and of the broad questions of administration and supervision. The book is really a treatise on the principles and practice of education.” (El School J) The book includes a consideration of the school plant and two chapters deal with “Community coöperation” and “School extension.” “Problems” and “Readings” are appended to the various chapters.
“While the style of the book is distinctly non-technical the author presents the content of the most recent scientific investigations in the various fields of education.”
+ El School J 18:72 S ‘17 450w
BENNETT, ROBERT JOSEPH. Corporation accounting. (Ronald accounting ser.) il $3 Ronald 657 16-25224
“This is much more than a book on corporation accounting; it is more properly a treatise on organization from the legal, industrial, financial and accounting standpoints. It appears in seven parts: Part 1 describes the process of organizing a corporation, discusses the different classes of capital stock and shows the purpose of the various corporate meetings; Part 2 takes up the special books and records required by corporations, and analyzes the distinctive corporate accounts relating to capital stock, bonds, surplus, dividends and reserves; Part 3 is devoted to special descriptions and accounting entries relating to stocks, dividends and processes of incorporation; Part 4 treats bond issues, including a description of the different classes of bonds, their security, methods of issue, amortization of discounts and premiums, sinking funds and redemption; Part 5 explains and illustrates the balance sheet, income statement, and various other special reports and statements; Part 6 is devoted to consolidation, including merger, lease and holding company; Part 7 takes up receiverships, reorganizations and dissolutions. Much more space is devoted to general descriptions than to pure accounting discussion.”—Ann Am Acad
“Mr Bennett has given added authority and interest to many of his observations by frequent citations from some of the best known corporations in the United States. In the preface and throughout the volume there is abundant recognition of alternatives of procedure. Mr Bennett’s volume will come to take rank. ... among the first ten or a dozen titles that should be owned by every one seriously interested in accountancy. The arrangement of the book makes it readily adaptable for general reference by corporation officers and accountants. When a new edition is prepared, it is to be hoped that more systematic and thorough attention will be given to the index.” C. H. Scovell
+ Am Econ R 7:637 S ‘17 800w
“The book will probably serve as an excellent handbook for practical business men who wish a broad view of corporate organization, finance and accounting. The discussion is unusually clear, simple and informing. Except for incidental suggestions, the book is likely to have little value to the practicing accountant, for it is too general in treatment, or to one interested in the more scientific aspect of accounting because it is not sufficiently analytical. It may serve very well, however, as a text for college classes on account of its forms and clear descriptions.” J: Bauer
+ Ann Am Acad 72:227 Jl ‘17 430w
“Concise yet comprehensive.”
+ Pittsburgh 22:444 My ‘17 70w
BENNION, MILTON. Citizenship; an introduction to social ethics; with an introd. by D: Snedden. *$1 (3c) World bk. co. 323 17-20398
The author, dean of the school of education in the University of Utah says, “This book is the result of six years of experimentation in teaching ethics to college freshman and senior high-school students in the University of Utah. The topics have been developed in class discussion and afterwards written up by each student, who thus made his own text.” Part 1 treats of the nature of society and social problems; Part 2 deals with the social obligations of the individual and the opportunities society offers each one for development thru service. The book aims to meet the needs of the senior year in high school and first year in college. At the end of each chapter are questions and exercises on the subject matter of the chapter.
“On first thought the social-science teacher might feel that the book has no interest for her. Should such be her conclusion, based on a passing notice of the book, she will change her mind upon careful reading. ... By making free use of the questions a teacher could make the book the basis of a full semester’s work in social problems.”
+ School R 26:69 Ja ‘18 240w
BENSON, ARTHUR CHRISTOPHER. Life and letters of Maggie Benson. *$2.50 Longmans 17-31049
“The record of this life, largely by means of her letters, is made by her elder brother. Margaret Benson was the daughter of the distinguished Anglican clergyman who became archbishop of Canterbury in 1883, and the story of her years is necessarily to some degree the story of a family placed amid exceptional surroundings. ... Step by step we watch the progress of Margaret Benson through life, viewing the development of her mind and the eagerness with which she thought and studied. Her letters are brief and graphic, but the essential elements of her life, her work and her character are clearly summarized by her brother.”—Boston Transcript
“Such lives as the life of Margaret Benson are among those worth recording but that too infrequently give inspiration to the biographer. ... As a contribution to the history of a remarkable family, Mr Benson’s book is no less remarkable than as a contribution to the study of a notable personality.” E. F. E.
+ Boston Transcript p6 O 24 ‘17 1750w
“Without moralizing or preaching, merely by recounting the simple story of Maggie Benson’s life, he does indeed succeed in showing ‘how life can be lived nobly.’”
+ Cath World 106:404 D ‘17 350w
“The life impresses her brother as a most useful one but he hardly succeeds in persuading the reader.”
— Dial 64:30 Ja 3 ‘18 230w
“Mr Benson has thrown together a mass of notes and hurried communications which can have very slight interest for any except friends of the family. ... Mr Benson’s own additions in the way of narrative and characterization are pleasantly written.”
– + Nation 105:543 N 15 ‘17 130w
“Dr Benson may rest assured that many readers, friends and strangers, will thank him for bringing out a book which will certainly elevate and strengthen and brighten them.”
+ Sat R 124:444 D 1 ‘17 650w
+ Spec 119:651 D 1 ‘17 60w
“Her brother has performed his task lovingly and well. Arthur Benson’s own contribution is in his fluent, modulated English; he supplies delightful descriptions of English country life as his family lived it.”
+ Springf’d Republican p6 D 4 ‘17 950w
“It cannot be said that as far as art goes his treatment of his sister’s life marks any advance. The author with facile skill sets forth the family facts which he has mostly given elsewhere; and he includes a number of letters of all shades of interest. The attraction lies rather in that Bensonian faculty for criticizing other Bensons, as well as folk in general, which Maggie possessed in a large measure.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p552 N 15 ‘17 1000w
44BENSON, EDWARD FREDERIC. Freaks of Mayfair. il *$1.50 (4½c) Doran 18-1525
“In ‘The freaks of Mayfair’ Mr E. F. Benson pokes fun at some very paltry people. Among them are the social snobs; the woman who makes the fad of the moment into a religion; the man who will prattle to anyone who purveys nice food; the cats of both sexes who pretend to be kittens; and the automaton who is governed not by reason or impulse, but by habit.”—The Times [London] Lit Sup
“Mr Benson is happier in his satire than in those long and rather didactic efforts in fiction by which we have so far known him. ... Compared with satire qua satire, the sketches are not of much account, they are rather too obvious and laboured; but they amuse, especially ‘The perpendicular,’ which is decidedly the best.”
+ — Ath p46 Ja ‘17 100w
“What makes this volume so worth while is that one feels that it is not inspired by a mere desire and delight in mocking, but that it springs rather from an honest and profound detestation of all the soft-brained and wasteful snobs and parasites that incumber a gasping world. Mr Benson, you feel, is a philosopher as austere as Emerson.”
+ N Y Times 22:463 N 11 ‘17 900w
“Mr George Plank’s intricate patterns of lines and squares trick out with much ornament things that are not worth any ornament at all. ... When Mr Benson has finished with his freaks, the futility of what they do compared to the effort they make to do it must be apparent even to themselves. No defence is left to them; and we fear they are too invertebrate to turn and say: ‘How came you, brother, when paper is so dear, to describe us in a rivulet of print, meandering thro’ a meadow of margin?’”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p636 D 28 ‘16 350w
BENSON, EDWARD FREDERIC. Tortoise (Eng title, Mr Teddy). *$1.50 (2c) Doran 17-17423
This novel, the scene of which is laid in Sussex, was published in England under the title, “Mr Teddy.” It is a gently humorous story, with a slight plot, of youth, middle-age, and old age. Edward Heaton, or “Mr Teddy,” as he is usually called, a kindly bachelor of forty, devoted to his exasperatingly selfish mother, is “the tortoise.” Other characters are the two middle-aged sisters, “Miss Marion,” who writes stories for the parish magazine, and “Miss Daisy,” who looks after their home; Mrs Vickary, clergyman’s wife and feline diplomatist, and the youthful lovers, Robin and Rosemary.
+ A L A Bkl 14:129 Ja ‘18
“This is a far better story than ‘The Oakleyites,’ in which similar material is handled with less spontaneity and freshness. Mr Benson has no idea or ‘message’ to convey unless it be that the humours of ourselves and our neighbours are among the best sources of refreshment the Lord has given us, and that beneath them, we may flatter ourselves, there wells many a pure fountain of kind feeling and honest purpose.” H. W. Boynton
+ Bookm 46:491 D ‘17 350w
“In ‘The tortoise,’ a delightful tale of English village life, Mr E. F. Benson displays again his peculiarly feminine outlook to great advantage.”
+ Dial 64:77 Ja 17 ‘18 80w
“‘The tortoise’ is just good enough to read when there’s nothing better around.” Harry Salpeter
– + N Y Call p14 Ja 12 ‘18 320w
“It is one of those quiet, human, very interesting tales which are so rare and so difficult to write.”
+ N Y Times 22:434 O 28 ‘17 980w
Outlook 117:475 N 21 ‘17 40w
+ Spec 119:169 Ag 18 ‘17 30w
“Mr Benson has the intuition and deftness to make trivialities take on importance.”
+ Springf’d Republican p13 Ja 20 ‘18 500w
“Once more Mr Benson takes us into a quiet little set of ‘nice’ people in a provincial town, or village; and once more he studies them with a tenderness at once shrewder and blunter than Mrs Gaskell’s, but not less attractive.”
+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p272 Je 7 ‘17 370w
BENSON, OSCAR HERMAN, and BETTS, GEORGE HERBERT. Agriculture and the farming business. il *$3.50 Bobbs 630 17-7062
The preface says that this book attempts “what has not yet been accomplished for the farmer—the bringing together in one simple non-technical volume of a wide range of practical scientific information directly related to the every-day problems of the farm and home.” The object of the authors has been to bring together in convenient form a wide variety of information that is now scattered thru reports and bulletins, etc. In addition to chapters covering the usual subjects, farm management, farm crops, live stock, etc., there are chapters devoted to: The farm home; The automobile and the farmer; Extension education and the farmer; Extension education by means of boys’ and girls’ club work, and other miscellaneous subjects. Mr Benson is connected with the United States Department of agriculture, and Mr Betts is author of “Better rural schools.”
“An admirable general work. ... Well illustrated.”
+ Agricultural Digest 1:460 My ‘17 60w
“There is vast deal of material touched upon between these covers, but it is not always clear upon what principle it is organized and distributed. ... This volume does pretty much all that can be done in 500 pages towards a manual of information, of laboratory experiment, and of field practice. Whether the feat is worth attempting, remains a question.”
Nation 103:521 N 30 ‘16 270w
N Y Br Lib News 4:71 My ‘17
BENSON, STELLA. This is the end. *$1.35 (3c) Macmillan 17-29334
The author has a way of her own in telling a story, as one who has read “I pose” will know. Simplified, the story she now tells is of an English girl who leaves home in war-time to become a London ‘bus-conductor. Hoping to find her, her family starts out on a motor car journey around the English coast, following clews thrown out in the girl’s letters. Only one of them, her brother, home on leave, knows that the “house by the sea” of which she writes is fancy and make-believe. For these two, brother and sister, have always played at that game together. They have lived in a secret world, which later, comes to an end for the girl with the news of the brother’s death in France.
“Cleverness of a somewhat forced type mars the effect of this volume. The author has both imagination and insight, but her sarcastic gifts are apt to run away with her.”
+ — Ath p253 My ‘17 70w
“In ‘I pose’ her recklessness seemed a little too real for comfort, her modernity too desperate, her feminine nature set too defiantly against any sort of simple emotion or faith. The impression is renewed in this second novel, or fantasy.” H. W. Boynton
— Bookm 45:533 Jl ‘17 500w
“Starts like an essay on modern philosophy, continues like a confession, goes at a bound into fiction, shifts into the manner of a Kipling fairy tale, and ends in perfect consistency with them all.”
+ Dial 63:117 Ag 16 ‘17 550w
“Another very modern, and rebellious, and essentially sentimental affair.”
Nation 104:737 Je 21 ‘17 230w
“In spite of its many pathetic efforts at cheerfulness, and even gayety and whimsical humor, it is this effect of utter hopelessness which remains in the mind of the reader after closing the slender volume.”
N Y Times 22:238 Je 24 ‘17 400w
45“A book so kaleidoscopic in its changes from mockery to tenderness, from realism to fantasy, defies the ordinary canons of criticism. We must not omit to note Miss Benson’s gift for verse—whimsical and mystical—or her suggestive and vivid treatment of the mysteries of existence. ... In fine, this is a book to bewilder the old, to perplex the middle-aged, and to enrapture the very modern young.”
Spec 118:593 My 26 ‘17 930w
“Miss Benson often irritates when she means to stimulate; and if we have dwelt on this at some length it is because the irritation spoils our enjoyment of gifts of fancy and expression not often met with. There is an imaginative tenderness in what she writes about certain dead soldiers which shows her sensibility to be delicate, rare, and true.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p152 Mr 29 ‘17 650w
BENTON, ALEXANDER HAY. Indian moral instruction and caste problems: solutions. *$1.40 Longmans 17-13834
“The British government in India has, according to the author, made three mistakes in dealing with the educational problem and the book may be regarded as a study of the causes of those mistakes and of possible remedies for the evil results. ... Mr Benton suggests that toleration should be substituted for neutrality; and toleration he explains to be ‘impartial favour for all religions, with maintenance of the law.’ Mr Benton’s suggestion is to found a committee in each district for religious and moral instruction, empowered to draw up a religious and moral syllabus; and this syllabus would ‘contain a narrative of the barest facts of Christ’s life simply told, with the most important gospel precepts embodied.” (Int J Ethics) “This scheme, he suggests, should be first introduced in the higher schools and colleges, ‘where the plague spot is to be found,’ rather than in the elementary schools.” (The Times [London] Lit Sup)
“The treatment of the caste problem seems to us to be somewhat inadequate. ... A similar criticism may be passed upon the treatment of the subject of religious toleration. ... Here again the defect is chiefly due to lack of space and it may be left to the reader to fill in the gaps and to apply to present day problems the truths enunciated in the past and expounded by Mr Benton. We have nothing but praise for the masterly way in which Mr Benton with the scholarship of a statesman is not content merely with stating the problem and suggesting temporary and superficial remedies but insists on referring his readers to the fundamental principles underlying the problems set forth. But some of his remedial measures are dangerous.” M. C.
+ — Int J Ethics 27:544 Jl ‘17 570w
“We hope that Mr Benton’s thoughtful study will commend itself to the British as well as to all governments concerned with the education and welfare of Asiatic wards.”
+ Nation 106:42 Ja 10 ‘18 1550w
“The failure of the educational system being assumed, many minds have been directed for many years to find a remedy, or, at least, a palliative. Mr Benton’s book is a thoughtful contribution for this purpose. But ... his proposals are open to serious political objections.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p65 F 8 ‘17 780w
BERCOVICI, KONRAD. Crimes of charity. *$1.50 Knopf 361 17-15181
“It is the contention of Konrad Bercovici that in being a remedy for one evil, organized charity has become itself an even greater evil to be combated. ... His charges are not made for the common reasons that it is a futile palliative, that it works toward graft and expenses wasted in red tape, but for the more vital reason that it becomes an actual force of detriment and oppression to those it is supposed to aid.”—Boston Transcript
“It is a very strong book whose pictures come very truly from the heart of reality.” D. L. M.
+ Boston Transcript p6 Ap 21 ‘17 1000w
“In spite of the extreme position of condemnation taken by the author as the result of his alleged experiences as an investigator, the book is worth reading as showing the possible need of a change of method along certain lines.”
+ Cleveland p93 Jl ‘17 50w
“Many of the charities condemned by the author of ‘Crimes of charity’ would certainly not be considered forms of ‘organized charity’ by those who are supposed to know what these words stand for. ... But the book is chiefly devoted to the work of a large relief agency, apparently a Jewish relief society in New York, and the author finds his opportunity to observe the methods of the society by becoming what he calls a ‘charity spy.’ ... Is it necessary to say that such dishonesty is not really the method of organized charity in America. The language of the author is extremely violent throughout. ‘This stupid ass in charge of the poor,’ ‘This spiritual hog,’ are typical of expressions found throughout the book. His conduct is almost equally violent. ... Whatever the faults of organized charity may be, they are certainly not set forth in this volume of hysterical stories.” Edith Abbott
– — Dial 62:478 My 31 ‘17 1200w
“The testimony given by the author is not melodramatic, but a revelation made by one who has studied at first hand conditions that are pathetic, thrilling, and revolting.”
+ Lit D 55:37 S 22 ‘17 200w
Pittsburgh 22:687 O ‘17 90w
Pratt p11 O ‘17 20w
“A preposterous attack.”
— Springf’d Republican p19 O 14 ‘17 60w
BERENSON, BERNARD. Study and criticism of Italian art, v. 3. il *$3.25 Macmillan 759.5 (17-14402)
“Of the six essays in this volume, five relate to Venetian painting in the fifteenth century. They have been selected because they deal with points for which there was no room in another book, published under the title of ‘Venetian painting in the United States: the fifteenth century.’ Two essays, however, on Carpaccio’s ‘Glory of St Ursula’ and ‘A Carpacciesque Madonna in Berlin,’ stand somewhat apart, being chiefly essays in method. A paper on Leonardo da Vinci is an attempt at a revaluation.”—Ath
Ath p197 Ap ‘17 80w
“It is equally hard to accept our critic’s final appraisal of Leonardo, whom he would put down to Botticelli’s level. And still harder is it to share his implicit tenet that the art of the Far East gives us a norm by which Leonardo’s painting, and presumably all other painting, is to be measured. ... Even if Leonardo does not seem wholly to come to his rights in this remarkable essay, the incidental criticism and the fresh point of view are boldly significant.” R: Offner
+ — Dial 63:447 N 8 ‘17 1850w
“Offers besides the reprinted papers a novelty and a sensation in a revaluation of Leonardo da Vinci. Mr Berenson describes whimsically his gradual liberation from the spell of legend and his final view that Leonardo is barely a great artist, rather a charming draughtsman obfuscated by the discovery of counterpoise and chiaroscuro. We by no means share the individual appreciations, or depreciations, upon which Mr Berenson’s view is based. ... The whole volume is good reading whether for the amateur or for the professional student.”
+ Nation 104:663 My 31 ‘17 430w
“Nor will the admirer of Leonardo be much troubled by the dubious studio works with which Mr Berenson tries to fortify his case. The essence of his attack is that knowledge, science, logic, and attention to technical problems are ruinous to the artist. Such a sweeping generalization does not stand the test of inquiry.”
The Times [London] Lit Sup p91 F 22 ‘17 1200w
46BERENSON, BERNARD. Venetian painting in America: the fifteenth century. il *$4 Sherman, F: Fairchild 759.5 16-25230
“Gathered and amplified into a book, Mr Berenson’s conclusions, known to us through his serial studies in Art in America, have gained in persuasion and consequence. Mr Berenson, finding an adequately representative sequence of Venetian paintings in our collections, has grouped them historically; and adopting the discursive method of his avowed master Morelli, he has made them the pretext for discussion of almost all problems incident to their study. ... As one might expect, the central figure in the book is Giovanni Bellini, and the central problem, his chronology.”—Dial
Ath p307 Je ‘17 60w
“One of the most significant works of reconstructive criticism that have appeared in recent years on the subject of Italian painting. It teems with incidental criticism, æsthetic evaluations, and valuable hints of attribution. ... The 263 pages of text are abundantly illustrated with one hundred and ten reproductions and provided with two tables and two indexes.” R: Offner
* + Dial 62:64 Ja 25 ‘17 2500w
“Alike for enjoyment and for minute consideration of attributions and chronology the book must be read widely. Thanks are due the publisher for making what must have been a pretty costly book accessible at a price possible for students.”
* + Nation 104:316 Mr 15 ‘17 720w
“Whatever one may think of the author’s method, the volume shows insight and enthusiasm and contains valuable information on the subject with which it principally deals.”
+ Springf’d Republican p19 My 20 ‘17 570w
The Times [London] Lit Sup p166 Ap 5 ‘17 90w
“If the book fails wholly to satisfy, the scheme on which it is planned must be held in some measure responsible. The author has attempted to rewrite the history of the Venetian school in terms of the pictures representing that school in America. These are of very unequal merit, and though interest in them doubtless gave Mr Berenson the principal stimulus for his work, it is a little unfortunate for its permanent value that it was not planned on cosmopolitan lines.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p195 Ap 26 ‘17 750w
BERESFORD, JOHN DAVYS. House-mates. *$1.50 (1½c) Doran 17-12391
The main interest in this story lies in the author’s analysis of the character of Wilfred Hornby, a young architect, shy, awkward, conventional, brought up “to divide society into categories.” “His early experiences at home, at school, and in the architect’s office, his love affairs and engagement to his cousin Gladys—a poseuse to the backbone ... are related with comparative brevity. Then comes the day when, for the first time in his life, obliged to act for himself, he takes lodgings on the ground floor of the old house in Keppel street, a house inhabited by all sorts and conditions of men—and women. Resolved though he is at first to have nothing to do with his fellow-lodgers, proud of his isolation, he is gradually, inevitably drawn into the life of the house. And presently he comes to know all these ‘House-mates’ of his, and one of them is the girl with whom he quickly falls honestly and deeply in love.” (N Y Times) In Keppel street Wilfred learns to alter his standard of values and comes to the “simple realization of [his] essential equality with the rest of mankind.”
“When all is said, it is by far the most vital and most appealing of all Mr Beresford’s novels.” E. F. E.
+ Boston Transcript p6 S 8 ‘17 1300w
* Nation 105:292 S 13 ‘17 750w
“The hand of the craftsman continues to work, though the materials are of a quality so much thinner and cruder than those he customarily uses.”
+ — New Repub 13:387 Ja 26 ‘18 380w
“The book is written in a style somewhat easier than are the majority of Mr Beresford’s novels, but it does not quite rank with his best work—not with ‘A candidate for truth,’ for instance—though it is, of course, well worth reading and decidedly interesting. The development of Hornby’s character, which is the core of the book, is in every way excellent. The product of his narrow, middle-class, Sabbatarian surroundings, the brief spells of emotionalism for which he is unable to find a name, his hesitations and mistakes, and that honesty which lies at the root of his character—all these are portrayed with sure, firm strokes. ... In the last pages of the story we are given a brief glimpse of the result of the war and of several weeks’ service in the trenches on this especial temperament.”
+ — NY Times 22:322 S 2 ‘17 1050w
“Not by any means the equal of Mr Beresford’s ‘These Lynnekers.’ The incidents are disagreeable and in one case revolting, and the young man who narrates the history of his younger days is much more interested in his own psychological development than the reader is likely to be.”
— Outlook 117:100 S 19 ‘17 50w
“If, however, the book has no great central purpose, so that there seems to be no place where the reviewer can take hold, it brings out two big Beresford ideas—freedom from restraint, whether that restraint be stereotyped art or stereotyped thought, and democracy.” Doris Webb
+ — Pub W 92:808 S 15 ‘17 500w
“Its purpose is to show the influence of a strange group of human beings in drawing out and molding the spirit and character of a sensitively introspective young man. It is a carefully wrought picture, and a keenly analyzed situation, differing widely from the character of work Mr Beresford has done heretofore. ... It is not a particularly easy or entertaining story to read.”
+ Springf’d Republican p15 S 23 ‘17 660w
The Times [London] Lit Sup p104 Mr 1 ‘17 480w
BERESFORD, JOHN DAVYS. The Wonder. *$1.40 (2c) Doran 17-8200
The story of a child prodigy. Victor Stott was the son of the most famous man of his time in England. It was the father’s ambition to raise up a son who should take his place. The father was a champion cricketer; the son turned out to be a Wonder. Abnormal in appearance, his well-developed and sturdy child’s body appearing frail in comparison with his massive head, Victor Stott seemed, so far as those who tried to puzzle out his case could ascertain, to possess illimitable understanding. Nothing in the universe, unless it was the mystery of his own personality, was hidden from him. He had a strange power over every one who came in contact with him. There was one being only who could defy that power. This was the idiot boy, who tried dumbly to claim a kinship with the Wonder. No-mind and absolute-mind were brought into contact in these two. As Henry Challis, the scientist, explained the Wonder, he represented finality, giving a glimpse of what a world would be without ignorance and without mystery.
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
Bookm 45:315 My ‘17 400w
“All the elements of wizardry in this story can only be suggested. It is told consistently with all the verisimilitude of a scientific document, with an occasional footnote and a mention of actual men that can not fail to delude the reader, at least for the moment, into thinking that he is having set before him the life story of a prodigy that actually existed. As to his fate, ... it brings the story to a logical and a sensible conclusion.” E. F. E.
Boston Transcript p8 Mr 31 ‘17 1050w
Nation 105:456 O 25 ‘17 500w
“Throughout the book we feel restraint. Now and again in elusive realism possible analogies 47in the life of Jesus are hinted at, analogies which are never pressed—from that pitfall the author is saved by his understanding of how only in little flashes historical analogy may appeal to the imagination. But for the familiar and barren query, ‘What would happen if Jesus appeared on earth today?’, Beresford plainly substitutes in effect the more stimulating query, ‘What would have to happen today to produce the effect Jesus once produced?’” E. C. P.
+ — New Repub 13:53 N 10 ‘17 1900w
“Mr Beresford’s new story is quite unlike any of his previous novels. It is, indeed, a peculiar book, and one is not at all certain whether the author intends it to be taken partly at least, as an allegory. ... But one thing at least seems fairly certain—it is a book about which people will disagree.”
N Y Times 22:113 Ap 1 ‘17 500w
“The workmanship of the book is notable; its intent is presumably satirical, but it is also, to us at least, unfathomable.”
Outlook 115:710 Ap 18 ‘17 200w
Pittsburgh 22:649 O ‘17 20w
“In ‘The wonder’ Mr J. D. Beresford has satirically pilloried certain methods of education and taken a fling at the sum of human knowledge.”
+ R of Rs 56:553 N ‘17 210w
BERGER, MARCEL. Ordeal by fire; tr. by Mrs Cecil Curtis. *$1.50 (1c) Putnam 17-26261
This story of the first days of the war follows the development of a man who is transformed from a sceptic and cynic to a loyal and ardent patriot. Michel Dreher is in Switzerland when he learns that war has been declared. For a moment he entertains the idea that he need not return to his country. That he does so is due to a sense of his social position rather than to patriotism. He takes up his duties as a sergeant half-heartedly, but as the war progresses he gradually undergoes a change. Shortly before he had met a young French girl who attracted him greatly, but since love and marriage had no place in his cynical scheme of life, he had passed her by. But with his new seriousness he comes to think of her more and more often and the Epilogue, which carries the story into 1915, pictures their union. The author is a sergeant in the French army.
A L A Bkl 13:314 Ap ‘17
“It is grimly terrible, but not morbid.”
+ Bellman 22:303 Mr 17 ‘17 260w
“This, evidently, is a book of deeper mood and meaning than the now famous ‘Gaspard’; here are Gaspards in their natural setting and relation to the great theme as a whole—the great theme of France at war, which has here its finest interpretation in fiction thus far.” H. W. Boynton
+ Bookm 45:93 Mr ‘17 550w
“A vivid translation of a story that throbs with life.”
+ Cath World 105:543 Jl ‘17 160w
“The story is told in the first person with all the characteristic incident and spirited dialogue to be expected from a French writer handling such a theme.” P. F. Bicknell
+ Dial 62:306 Ap 5 ‘17 180w
“‘Ordeal by fire’ does for France something very much like what ‘Mr Britling’ and ‘The vermilion box’ have done for England. It shows how the war came home to France.” H. W. Boynton
+ Nation 104:404 Ap 5 ‘17 180w
+ Nation 104:491 Ap 26 ‘17 950w
“Whatever M. Berger, himself a sergeant in the French army, was solely responsible for in this book has been admirably done. ... But the work of the translator leaves much to be desired. ... One closes the book with a strong desire to read it in French.”
+ — N Y Times 22:26 Ja 28 ‘17 700w
+ Springf’d Republican p17 Mr 18 ‘17 150w
+ Wis Lib Bul 13:158 My ‘17 40w
BERLE, LINA WRIGHT. George Eliot and Thomas Hardy; a contrast. *$1.50 Kennerley 823 17-30753
In a preliminary chapter the writer shows that it is Eliot and not Hardy who furnished a basis upon which rational idealism may be developed,—one which, while acknowledging facts, recognizes also the relation of the spiritual elements in life to the grosser material forces. George Eliot’s idealism has been in the direction which subsequent generations have found most sound. Hardy, on the other hand, is the romantic decadent. His characters never pass from a lower to a higher spirituality but are bound on the wheel of life which inexorably breaks them in its revolution. Following a statement of these fundamental principles of difference are essays that show the striking contrast in treatment of both weak and good women; that indicate how both novelists struck the same rock in the creation of men—both making the minor characters real men, their principals, men of straw; points out the differences of goal in their love stories,—Eliot attaining wisdom higher than ourselves thru suffering and pain, Hardy descending to licentious, often brutal love; finds saneness in the treatment of old age; and closes with an illuminating estimate of radical and reactionary types with the deduction that Eliot was the radical and Hardy the reactionary.
“On every page of Miss Berle’s book is evidence of the futility of writing such a study.” E. F. E.
— Boston Transcript p9 N 24 ‘17 780w
“As worked out by Miss Berle the thesis becomes fruitful of excellent criticism, at once ethical and æsthetic, as the best literary criticism always is. Only the last chapter gives one pause. In her use of the words ‘radical’ and ‘conservative’ Miss Berle is somewhat arbitrary, and in a manner that may lead to confusion in the minds of many readers.”
+ — Nation 105:697 D 20 ‘17 200w
“The book is decidedly interesting and well phrased, but one feels that while the radicalism of George Eliot has been properly valued by the author, there are emendations that might be suitably made to the estimate of Hardy.”
+ — R of Rs 57:217 F ‘18 70w
BERTSCH, MARGUERITE. How to write for moving pictures; a manual of instruction and information. il *$1.50 (2½c) Doran 808.2 17-17069
The author is director and editor for the Vitagraph company and the Famous players film company. “Her complete discussion of the writing and production of the photoplay is followed by warnings against hackneyed themes, which she classifies, and a presentation of unhackneyed possibilities.” (Springf’d Republican) The last four chapters deal with the censorship and the educational possibilities of moving pictures. The illustrations are from photographs. There is no index.
A L A Bkl 14:49 N ‘17
“The literature of scenario-making is already bulky, but Miss Bertsch’s manual is well worth a place in it.”
+ Springf’d Republican p15 Ag 19 ‘17 90w
BETTS, FRANK. Saga plays. *$1.25 Longmans 822
There are three plays in this collection: The passing of Sinfiotli; Ingiald Evilheart, and The sword of Sigurd. Writing in 1917, the author says in his preface, “The plays were completed in April, 1914, by one who did not believe that great wars were any longer possible. Especially in ‘The sword of Sigurd’ he used the traditional motif of the sword to stand in his imaginations for all the adventurous and creative life of men. There is now need for the actual and physical sword as well as the Sword of the Spirit. ... The writer finds nothing to alter on this account. ... ‘The sword of Sigurd’ is not intended to be a complete play. It is a prologue to a play, as yet unfinished, dealing with the death of Sigurd.”
48“They present tragic episodes from the ‘Volsungasaga,’ and the terse, grinding dialogue is strong and dramatic, and a fair imitation of that in the translated sagas. But though a prose different from that of real life is tolerable in a translation, where one unconsciously makes allowances, it gives a sense of unreality here without evoking the right poetic atmosphere.”
+ — Ath p411 Ag ‘17 100w
“Through their likeness and unlikeness to the conditions of our own strenuous days Mr Betts’s three plays come apt to the moment. Even in the days of laughter and dancing, peace and overflowing garners they would have been found exciting, exalting work. ... The dialogue seems to thrill and quiver; and though we are always kept close to the matter in hand, the suggestions of thought on fighting, on adventure, on honour, on religion and fate, set the mind at work outside the scope of the stories here vividly and dramatically told.”
+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p246 My 24 ‘17 900w
BETTS, GEORGE HERBERT. Class-room method and management. il *$1.25 Bobbs 371.3 17-13425
“Part 1, which is devoted to a discussion of general method, makes use of what Professor Betts calls the ‘four cardinal elements which comprise method.’ These to him are (1) the determination of aim, (2) the selection of material, (3) the organization of subject-matter for instruction, (4) presentation or the technique of instruction. He states the outcome of instruction in the elementary subjects as (1) fruitful knowledge, (2) right attitudes, (3) applied skills. ... In Part 2 the author discusses method in teaching, applied specifically to reading, spelling, language, arithmetic, geography, history, civics, physiology and hygiene, agriculture, and home economics. In each case he makes use of his four cardinal elements of method and tries to summarize the conclusion from the recent scientific work in learning and teaching in each of the elementary subjects.”—El School J
“In spite of the many excellences of the book, the reader familiar with contemporary critical thought in education finds frequent cause for disappointment. ... Nearly all contemporary books intended as guides to teachers, while indicating orientations of aim and subject matter, fail like that of Dr Betts, to present acceptable indications as to desirable boundaries of the areas of knowledge and skill to be mastered.” D: Snedden
+ — Educ R 54:203 S ‘17 1450w
“The title of the book is in part misleading. It is really a rather systematic treatise on the principles of education and general principles of method in teaching together with a statement of method applied specifically to each of the common branches. ... Prof. Betts’s discussion of the teaching of spelling ought to be very helpful. His treatment of reading from the standpoint of the ‘quantitative movement’ is quite inadequate. ... He has not taken advantage of available scientific material in the chapter on the teaching of arithmetic. ... This book will be of definite value to prospective teachers of elementary subjects or teachers who wish to keep abreast of current modes of thinking about school problems.”
+ — El School J 17:687 My ‘17 520w
BEVAN, EDWYN ROBERT.[2] Land of the two rivers. *$1 (3c) Longmans 935 (Eng ed 18-1520)
A brief historical survey that attempts to answer the question What has Mesopotamia stood for in the past? The author says: “The country which we incorrectly call Mesopotamia and the countries connected with it—Armenia, Asia Minor, Palestine, Persia—have recently become associated with living interests of the hour and immediate questions of practical politics; that may seem a reason for trying to give a fresh rapid survey of what their significance has been in former ages. ... I have tried to seize the main points and leave out all details which did not contribute to making them apprehensible.” There is one folding map.
“This admirable little sketch of Mesopotamia’s place in history is by far the best of its kind that we have seen. Mr Bevan’s very first sentence, protesting against that misleading catchword ‘the unchangeable East,’ stimulates curiosity, and is fully justified in the course of the book.”
+ Spec 119:452 O 27 ‘17 210w
“To write a small book on such a subject calls for special qualities in its author, if it is not to degenerate into a mere list of names and dates. Mr Bevan has avoided that pitfall. The reader with no special knowledge of ancient history will here find a book he has long wanted.”
+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p523 N 1 ‘17 900w
BEVAN, EDWYN ROBERT. Method in the madness. *$1.50 Longmans 940.91 17-28628
A fresh consideration of the case between Germany and ourselves. Loyal to the cause of the Allies, in no sense a pacifist, the author who is an Englishman sets aside controversy and denunciation and prepares an unimpassioned statement of what appear to him the inexactitudes in prevalent views of Germany; and looks at Germany just as it might be looked at by some one who stood outside the hurly-burly, with a desire, not to score points, but to say what he seems to see. In the quiet atmosphere of reflection he invites the reader to a consideration of truths which forward-looking men of all countries regard as basic, calling attention to these truths as the common ground upon which plans for peace may be made, the questions of territorial possessions and economic prosperity cleared up, and the matter of future warfare settled for all time.
“This English book on the great war has two unusual characteristics: it is written in a style of fine and deliberate quality, and its writer is almost as much as it is humanly possible to be, fair and dispassionate. ... With regard to the attainment of peace, his chapter entitled ‘Differences on the major premise’ is of special worth as showing that after all the difference between the contending parties is not so much a difference of primary principles as of judgment on particular facts.”
+ — Cath World 106:252 N ‘17 500w
Pittsburgh 22:825 D ‘17 100w
“Perhaps its greatest merit is that Mr Bevan, unlike too many of the patriotic men of letters who ‘do their bit,’ has really taken the trouble to master his material. ... Our only criticism concerning the documentation of the book is that it has been allowed to appear without an index. That is all the more unfortunate because there is a certain lack of consecutiveness and plan. ... His book is valuable for the light it throws on German aims and German methods.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p315 Jl 5 ‘17 1100w
BIERSTADT, EDWARD HALE. Dunsany the dramatist. il *$1.50 (4c) Little 822 17-7565
This study of Lord Dunsany consists of four chapters: The man; His work; His philosophy; Letters. The author finds a happy characterization of Dunsany in the exclamation of Thoreau, “Who am I to complain who have not yet ceased to wonder?” He cannot be classified as a realist or romanticist, for he deals not with life but with dreams. The series of letters, taken from a correspondence between Mr Stuart Walker and Lord Dunsany during Mr Walker’s production of the Dunsany plays, is particularly interesting. The illustrations show scenes from the plays.
A L A Bkl 13:398 Je ‘17
49“The most interesting section of Mr Bierstadt’s book is the chapter which records the recent correspondence between Lord Dunsany and Mr Stuart Walker, the proprietor of the Portmanteau theatre. ... The simple record of this correspondence, in itself, would make the book worth reading. ... Those of us who have seen ‘The gods of the mountain’ do not need to be told that it is a great play. All we really want to learn is a catalogue of further facts concerning the career of a dramatist whose life has been hidden in obscurity. On this account, it is unfortunate that Mr Bierstadt’s book is weakest on the score of information.” Clayton Hamilton
+ Bookm 45:192 Ap ‘17 700w
+ Boston Transcript p6 Ap 18 ‘17 950w
“While Mr Bierstadt’s comments are entertaining rather than authoritative, the volume will repay perusal.”
+ — Cath World 106:544 Ja ‘18 110w
“He has read everything in print on the subject. He has conned all the plays and Dunsany’s other writings. Yet the result leaves one with a sense of undiscovered depths. Least fortunate of all is Mr Bierstadt in the life of Dunsany. ... The appendix, on the contrary, dealing with productions and publication, seems precise and accurate. The sixteen illustrations in half-tone give us a notion of both the man and his plays. Altogether the book will be welcome as the first treatment of a playwright whose vogue has advanced with surprising leaps in the last year or two.”
+ — Nation 105:18 Jl 5 ‘17 350w
+ N Y Times 22:316 Ag 26 ‘17 700w
“The most discriminating and valuable part of the author’s survey is his treatment of Dunsany’s philosophy. Like Yeats, Dunsany is more interested in ideas than in people. ... But he has revived Wonder for us. His plays release us from an intolerable burden of photography and realism.” Algernon Tassin
+ Pub W 91:975 Mr 17 ‘17 550w
R of Rs 55:662 Je ‘17 370w
St Louis 15:151 My ‘17 20w
“His criticisms are highly laudatory, but the points at which he takes issue with Dunsany are points which to the average reader will appear to have little importance.”
+ — Springf’d Republican p17 My 6 ‘17 480w
BIGELOW, FRANCIS HILL. Historic silver of the colonies and its makers. il *$6 Macmillan 739 17-25629
A vast fund of information has been collected in this work which describes and illustrates the various forms of colonial silver of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries made principally by the colonial silversmiths. It seeks its audience among possessors of colonial heirlooms, art lovers, art collectors, and art students. Church silver, beakers, tankards, flagons, mugs, chalices, table silverware, candlesticks, porringers, casters, tea kettles, inkstands, stew pans, bread baskets and many other objects wrought in silver are included with genealogical and historical notes concerning owners, donors and silversmiths. Over three hundred illustrations accompany the text.
“The 325 illustrations of pieces of colonial plate which the author has selected as typical or as particularly beautiful will arouse the wondering admiration of those who think of our forefathers only as simple and rather inartistic frontiersmen.”
+ Ind 92:261 N 3 ‘17 100w
“There is a confusing mass of genealogical information and dates which would appeal principally to the collector or student, but there is, too, much that is interesting for the general reader. The anecdotes that enliven these pages are of like variety and interest.”
+ — Lit D 55:38 D 8 ‘17 160w
“The art side of our pre-Revolutionary times is seldom brought home to us so graphically as in this well-illustrated book. The author writes as one who loves his subject and is an authority upon it.”
+ Outlook 117:349 O 31 ‘17 40w
“The book will prove a joy to lovers of old silver and a competent guide to collectors.”
+ R of Rs 57:103 Ja ‘18 220w
“He has made a book of much value in its particular place, one which collectors and connoisseurs will be very glad to possess.”
+ Springf’d Republican p17 D 8 ‘17 250w
BIGELOW, JOHN. Breaches of Anglo-American treaties; a study in history and diplomacy. maps *$1.50 Sturgis & Walton 341.2 17-11357
In quotations from the British press the author shows that the United States has been looked upon as a treaty breaker. His purpose in this book, begun and practically finished before the war, is to examine the record of the two nations in this respect. He says, “The following study is devoted to determining the relative trustworthiness of two great nations as indicated in their conventional intercourse with each other. Beginning with the treaty of peace at the end of our War of independence, it considers all the treaties, conventions, and similar agreements negotiated between Great Britain and the United States that may be regarded as broken by either of the contracting parties, sets forth and discusses the infraction in each case, and ends with a summarising of the records on both sides and a balancing of the accounts.” This summary shows that “the United States has more than a safe balance of good faith to its credit.”
“A perusal of the work indeed fully confirms the accuracy of the statement that it ‘was not written to form or influence public opinion as to any phase or feature of the present world war.’ ... An examination of the disputes arising out of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty occupies nearly two-thirds of the volume. In this way their relative importance is perhaps unduly enhanced.” J. B. Moore
+ — Am Hist R 23:194 O ‘17 850w
A L A Bkl 14:40 N ‘17
“A curious, interesting, and, in some ways, a futile book. It would seem to reflect the spirit of an enquiring mind, rather than the results of profound research.” P. M. Brown
– + Am Pol Sci R 11:577 Ag ‘17 530w
“The limits of this review do not permit of an analysis, or estimate of the evidence which Major Bigelow brings forward in support of his conclusions but it may be doubted whether the case he makes out against Great Britain in some of the instances which he cites is conclusive.” J. W. Garner
Ann Am Acad 72:240 Jl ‘17 480w
“Marked by fairness of treatment and broad scholarly effort.”
+ Cath World 105:553 Jl ‘17 120w
“We have ventured to sound a note of protest against the tone and temper of this volume, which doubtless contains much valuable matter, but we should equally regret railing accusations on behalf of British claims. One can only hope that a major, even though retired, is finding now more useful scope for his energies than in fanning the flames of wellnigh extinct controversies.” H. E. Egerton
— Eng Hist R 32:443 Jl ‘17 900w
“Greatly to be commended for its research and candor. ... After reading the author’s gatherings and conclusions about the treatise named, one lays down the book feeling that he has produced a powerful argument for the world court that seems to be rapidly coming nearer.”
+ Ind 90:436 Je 2 ‘17 150w
R of Rs 56:215 Ag ‘17 80w
+ Springf’d Republican p10 My 25 ‘17 1250w
BILBRO, MATHILDE. Middle pasture. il *$1.25 (1½c) Small 17-26262
The middle pasture divided the two Crawford farms. Neglected and unused and overgrown with brambles, it lay between the well-kept acres, dividing the two families as well. For at their father’s death, each brother had claimed it, and the family quarrel that resulted had lasted thru many years. The difference didn’t 50extend to the children, however, and the pasture that separated their elders became a common meeting ground for them. Billy and Beatrice climbed the stone wall on one side to meet Mary and Carey, who came tumbling over the wall on the other. The pasture was a very paradise for play. Beatrice, a delightful mixture of earnestness and mischief and naughtiness and wisdom, tells the story, bringing into it the grown-up affairs of many of the neighbors in the pleasant little southern community.
“A mildly interesting story by a precocious child of twelve who with her brother manages the affairs of family and friends in a little southern town. ... Of course there is a sentimental interest. A good example of its type.”
A L A Bkl 13:314 Ap ‘17
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
+ Bookm 45:313 My ‘17 250w
“Another of the type of stories to which ‘Little women’ and ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm’ belong.”
+ Boston Transcript p6 Je 13 ‘17 170w
+ Dial 62:246 Mr 22 ‘17 180w
“A good story about decent, lovable human beings told with directness and simplicity.”
+ Ind 90:84 Ap 7 ‘17 140w
“We are pretty close to village melodrama. But there are characterization and true color and sincere feeling in the book.” H. W. Boynton
+ Nation 104:404 Ap 5 ‘17 40w
“The telling is simple; but after it is all over you wonder why the book should have been written at all. It is a weak novel of the ‘old South’ type.” C. W.
– + N Y Call p13 Ap 22 ‘17 120w
+ N Y Times 22:99 Mr 18 ‘17 350w
“The atmosphere of the story is fresh and delightful.”
+ Springf’d Republican p19 My 20 ‘17 220w
“Very real folk and a charming setting—a little Alabama farming community—make this a pleasing story.”
+ Wis Lib Bul 13:158 My ‘17 40w
BILLINGS, MARIS WARRINGTON, pseud. (EDITH S. BILLINGS). Cleomenes. *$1.40 (1½c) Lane 17-13922
“The central figure is Cleomenes, the great sculptor, who is commissioned by the emperor to make a statue symbolizing maidenhood. This piece of art is known in the present as the famous ‘Medici Venus.’ In his search for a beautiful, virtuous maiden to serve as model, Cleomenes chooses a young Greek slave girl, and sets to work in the atmosphere of danger and intrigue of Nero’s court. The story, which involves the sculptor, the model and the emperor as its principal actors, unfolds during the progress of the work on the statue.”—Springf’d Republican
“The characters, many of them historical, follow generally historical tradition. The chief exception is that of Octavia, the young wife of Nero.”
Boston Transcript p6 Je 20 ‘17 250w
“The author deserves praise for the care with which the background of imperial Rome has been prepared and set forth.”
+ N Y Times 22:250 Jl 1 ‘17 190w
“The tale is not distinguished either as to style or character drawing, but the author makes telling use of fact and legend to make a narrative of suspense and thrilling incident, the action of which never lags.”
+ Springf’d Republican p15 S 2 ‘17 300w
BINDLOSS, HAROLD. Brandon of the engineers (Eng title, His one talent). il *$1.35 (1c) Stokes 16-24202
Altho the scene of this story is Central America, its plot is concerned with international affairs. Dick Brandon, who had been dismissed from the Royal engineers after losing valuable papers that were in his possession, is engaged in engineering work in one of the Central American states. Here he unexpectedly meets Clare Kenwardine and her father, who are associated in his mind with his disgrace, for it had been after an evening spent at their house that the loss of the papers was discovered. Kenwardine’s presence in the country is not explained, but it later develops that he is, and has all the time been, a spy. This disclosure however does not permanently affect Brandon’s relations with Clare.
A L A Bkl 13:266 Mr ‘17
+ Ath p544 N ‘16 60w
“The author’s hand too obviously moves his puppets about; circumstances do not occur as the result of character, but at the very apparent wish of the author.”
Boston Transcript p13 Ap 7 ‘17 190w
“Interesting but not important.”
Ind 90:257 My 5 ‘17 50w
“Like most of Mr Bindloss’s books, this one is neatly manufactured, but Brandon is less likeable than are the majority of his heroes.”
N Y Times 22:40 F 4 ‘17 300w
The Times [London] Lit Sup p526 N 2 ‘16 130w
“Not better than the author’s other stories, but of a different type.”
Wis Lib Bul 13:158 My ‘17 40w
BINDLOSS, HAROLD. Carmen’s messenger. il *$1.35 Stokes 17-13719
Carmen is the “belle” of a Canadian lumber town and her messenger is a young Englishman going home to visit the parents of his partner. Just before he leaves a man commits suicide—or is murder committed?—and a safe is robbed. At this time too he learns for the first time that his partner is subject to blackmail owing to wrongdoing in his youth. Carmen’s message is a package to be personally delivered in Great Britain. The outwitting of blackmailers and evil-doers takes place both on the Scottish border and in Canada and local color is added to the interest of events.
A L A Bkl 14:59 N ‘17
“A well-written tale of adventure, but the complications are rather too numerous and too subtle.”
+ Ath p204 Ap ‘17 15w
“Not a remarkable piece of work in any particular, but it is a capital story of adventure told in a forthright manner, which insures the reader’s attention.”
+ Boston Transcript p6 S 12 ‘17 280w
+ N Y Times 22:311 Ag 26 ‘17 500w
BING, PHIL CARLETON.[2] Country weekly. *$2 Appleton 070 18-291
A manual for the rural journalist and for students of the country field. “The purpose of this book is to open the whole subject of the problems and possibilities of the country field. It is written to show the journalistic neophyte that there are chances in the country field which are worth while from every point of view. It is written, too, to suggest plans and possibilities to men who are already in the field; to encourage a vigorous effort among country editors to do their utmost to make country journalism a bigger, more vital thing than it has heretofore been.” (Preface) Contents: The country weekly and its problems; Local news; County correspondence; Agricultural news; The editor; The editorial page; Make-up of the country weekly; Copy-reading and headline writing; Circulation problems; Advertising in the country weekly; Cost finding for the country weekly.
“Notwithstanding Professor Bing’s disclaimer that he presents this book as an authoritative, definitive guide, every editor and journalistic neophyte who absorbs the feast of good things provided under its many subjects will be in a fair way to make a success in his profession. In his chapters on the editor and the editorial page Professor Bing devotes 51several pages to an elaboration of some capital suggestions which might be adopted to their ultimate profit by city editors.”
+ Boston Transcript p6 D 29 ‘17 290w
BINYON, LAURENCE. The cause. *$1 Houghton 811 17-9484
A volume of poems on the war, with such titles as: The fourth of August, Ode for September, To women, The bereaved, To the Belgians, Louvain, Orphans of Flanders, To Goethe, At Rheims, Gallipoli, The healers, Edith Cavell, The zeppelin, Men of Verdun, etc.
“Reprints some of the poems which appeared in ‘The winnowing fan.’”
+ A L A Bkl 13:439 Jl ‘17
“This spirit of exaltation, of glory in the fact that England has chosen the heroic part, is the strongest emotional utterance throughout the book. It is the book’s strength and its weakness. He approaches the whole subject in the guise of the idealist, and while he admits the presence of pain and death, he counts them little beside the white heights of patriotism. This attitude is apparently instinctive, but it makes evident a certain limitation, for one must recognize the depths of human passion in the sacrifice and consecration of the soldier before that sacrifice and consecration can raise him to the loftiest heights.” D. L. M.
+ Boston Transcript p6 My 2 ‘17 1150w
“Laurence Binyon’s poetry once was somewhat coldly ‘literary’—aloof from common human experience. But the war has given him new vigor and new humanity.”
+ Lit D 54:1511 My 19 ‘17 280w
N Y Br Lib News 4:78 My ‘17
“Laurence Binyon’s vigorous war poems have great spiritual strength and imaginative richness. ‘Thunder on the downs’ has scarcely been equaled by any poet save Masefield since 1914, and ‘Fetching the wounded’ fixes a picture every eye-witness of the war must remember. It is quite the best work Mr Binyon has done.”
+ R of Rs 55:660 Je ‘17 50w
BIRD, CHARLES SUMNER, jr. Town planning for small communities. (National municipal league ser.) il *$2 (2c) Appleton 710 17-11219
A volume prepared by the chairman of the Walpole town planning committee and based on the experience of Walpole, Massachusetts. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 consists of a general discussion of town planning with chapters on The why of town planning, Ways and means, Streets and roads and physical problems, Parks and playgrounds, Outdoor recreation, Public health, etc. Parts 2 and 3 are devoted specifically to Walpole’s experience. Bibliographies are added to the chapters of part 1. Mr Clinton Rogers Woodruff, general editor of the National municipal league series, says that the book affords an admirable complement to John Nolen’s volume on “City planning” published earlier in the series.
+ A L A Bkl 13:438 Jl ‘17
“The appropriateness, interest and novelty of his experiment justify the book in spite of some deficiencies in execution. These include a lack of proportion—the choice of illustrations—nearly always local and sometimes even personal; and the all pervading discussion of Walpole. These, it must be confessed, are faults natural to that town viewpoint which is the first requisite for a book of this kind.” C: M. Robinson
+ — Am Pol Sci R 11:787 N ‘17 260w
“The inclusion of this practical matter renders the book all the more useful as a guide to other communities seeking to rebuild themselves in a scientific and economical manner.”
+ Dial 64:75 Ja 17 ‘18 260w
N Y Br Lib News 4:88 Je ‘17 130w
Pittsburgh 22:812 D ‘17 60w
“The illustrations are effective and interesting.”
+ R of Rs 56:327 S ‘17 70w
“The spirit animating the book is that of a broad, fraternal liberalism which is entitled to be regarded as progressive in the best sense. ... The foreword is a vigorous protest against the evils of individualism, especially as found in the manufacturing classes and as embodied in the industrial village.”
+ Springf’d Republican p15 Jl 22 ‘17 1100w
Survey 39:46 O 13 ‘17 220w
BIRDSALL, RALPH. Story of Cooperstown. il $1.50 M. F. Augur, Cooperstown, N.Y. 974.7 17-18707
Mr Birdsall is the rector of Christ church, Cooperstown, where Cooper worshipped and within whose grounds he was buried. A circumstantial account is given of Cooper’s life in the village, and many pages are devoted to the subject of the originals of the most famous characters in his novels. The book also gives the history of Cooperstown and its inhabitants from Indian days to the present time.
“Contains many photographic illustrations.” E. F. E.
+ Boston Transcript p7 Ag 1 ‘17 1150w
“Books about Cooperstown there have been in some numbers, one of them by Cooper himself, which he called ‘Chronicles,’ but this and others deal with the smaller and less generally interesting facts. Mr Birdsall’s book stands quite apart from any of these. It abounds not so much in the simple annals of an old and somewhat aristocratic community, as in sketches of important men and picturesque events, that give to the book much wider value. ... The style has distinct originality and is notable for its literary quality.”
+ Lit D 55:33 Ag 18 ‘17 1300w
“The author has done his work well and has made as human and as interesting a book of that kind as any one could wish.”
+ N Y Times 22:279 Jl 29 ‘17 1100w
+ R of Rs 57:104 Ja ‘18 30w
BIZZELL, WILLIAM BENNETT. Social teachings of the Jewish prophets: a study in Biblical sociology. *$1.25 (2c) Sherman, French & co. 224 16-23121
The author says, “This volume is the outgrowth of studies begun in the University of Chicago several years ago, and since made use of in a series of lectures delivered to college students and instructors. The approach to the study of prophetic literature from the social point of view has aroused a genuine interest, but the fact that I could find no book that exactly met the requirements made the instruction somewhat difficult.” This book, based on the best works of modern scholarship, will doubtless meet the needs of others planning similar courses. The general plan is to present the life and teachings of each of the prophets against his historical background, for it is assumed that “the social message of the Jewish prophet was intended for his own times.” The author is president of the Agricultural and mechanical college of Texas.
“We are almost led to doubt whether the author knows anything about either biblical or sociological science. ... What we have here is an uncritical use of critical tools. On top of the lamentable deficiency in scientific method the book is swamped beneath a host of inexcusable errors in spelling and the like.”
— Bib World 49:379 Je ‘17 250w
+ — Dial 63:534 N 22 ‘17 100w
Pittsburgh 22:436 My ‘17 20w
“For those who wish to revalue the teachings of the Judaic prophets, this book meets a real need.”
+ R of Rs 56:554 N ‘17 80w
St Louis 15:47 F ‘17 12w
BLACKMORE, SIMON AUGUSTINE.[2] Riddles of Hamlet and the newest answers. il *$2 Stratford co. 822.3 18-2484
The only apologia a writer needs for the appearance of a new interpretation of Hamlet is that the interest inherent in the tragedy is 52perennial. Hamlet is examined in this study not only as a drama, but as an ethical treatise in which the characters and the problems in the play are shown in their relation to Shakespeare’s religious and social affiliations. The first part is preliminary and deals with such questions as the invalidity of Gertrude’s marriage, Hamlet’s right to the crown, his feigned madness, his commonly alleged vacillation and defective power of will, his character, his religion and philosophy. The second part is the commentary proper. It takes up the drama, scene by scene, analyzing the thought and purpose and Shakespeare’s pertinent allusions. An appendix contains a “Note on the doctrine of repentance and justification in relation to the conflict of the king at prayer.”
+ Cath World 106:691 F ‘18 250w
BLACKWOOD, ALGERNON. Day and night stories. *$1.50 Dutton 17-21793
“These fifteen stories are of varying length, and in each of them is some phase of that form of mysticism which Mr Blackwood has made the basis of all his fiction. Their mystic quality is, however, as variable as their length. ... Now and then they touch the mythology and the religions of bygone ages; now and then they are wholly of the immediate hour.” (Boston Transcript) Contents: The tryst; The touch of Pan; The wings of Horus; Initiation; A desert episode; The other wing; The occupant of the room; Cain’s atonement; An Egyptian hornet; By water; H. S. H.; A bit of wood; A victim of higher space; Transition; The tradition.
“It is probably coincidence that the title of this book has already been used for two volumes of more or less creepy stories by Mr T. R. Sullivan, published in the early nineties. Mr Blackwood’s fancies are to my mind more effective in these brief sketches than in the long-drawn narratives of ‘Julius Le Vallon’ and ‘The wave.’” H. W. Boynton
+ Bookm 46:207 O ‘17 310w
“Especially notable in this collection are two stories entitled, ‘The occupant of the room’ and ‘By water.’” E. F. E.
+ Boston Transcript p6 Ag 22 ‘17 1750w
“The present volume is not one that can be regarded with very warm hopes for the author’s permanence in literature. Certainly such a tale as ‘The touch of Pan’ is not worthy of a place in any volume.”
– + Cath World 106:407 D ‘17 320w
“Mr Blackwood is undeniably a master of style—one not only rich and wonderful in itself, but also admirably adapted to his bizarre stories.”
+ Dial 63:532 N 22 ‘17 160w
“The ‘Stories’ have the author’s usual unusualness. No one else could write with the restrained art which always seems about to lift the curtain between man and the unseen, yet always leaves us with a sense of mystery and of Isis faintly guessed at thru many veils.”
+ Ind 91:514 S 29 ‘17 50w
“No one of these stories equals the half dozen tales, scattered through different volumes, which represent the high-water mark of Mr Blackwood’s production. ... That reincarnation theory, which forms the cornerstone of so much of Mr Blackwood’s fiction, is the main theme of ‘Cain’s atonement’—a story of the present war. ... Two of the most characteristic stories in the volume are ‘Initiation’ and ‘H. S. H.,’ both tales of the mountain solitudes.”
+ — NY Times 22:310 Ag 26 ‘17 1100w
“We have often commented on the imaginative quality of Mr Blackwood’s work. These mystical tales have that quality in a pre-eminent degree. Like his former stories, they possess distinct literary value.”
+ Outlook 117:100 S 19 ‘17 30w
“The book is seasoned with one humorous tale.”
+ — The Times [London] Lit Sup p92 F 22 ‘17 650w
BLACKWOOD, ALGERNON. The wave; an Egyptian aftermath. *$1.50 (1c) Dutton 16-24201
From childhood he had been haunted by a wave. It rose behind him, advanced, curled over from the crest, but did not fall. Sometimes it came as a waking obsession, sometimes as a dream. His father, a learned psychologist with inclinations toward Freud, tries to explain it, but the Freudian hypothesis is inadequate. Associated with the wave, is a strange perfume, identified afterwards as Egyptian. The recurring experience follows him into manhood, affecting his life and his relations to men and women. Certain persons are borne to him on the crest of the wave, as it were. These always become of significance in his life. Of them are Lettice Aylmer and his cousin Tony. Later in Egypt, these three act out a drama which seems to be a repetition of something they have experienced before. It is here that Tom Kelverdon’s wave rises to its full height and breaks, but it does not overwhelm him.
“On the whole, Mr Blackwood maintains, though he does not strengthen, our good opinion of his imaginativeness and power of evoking the beautiful.”
+ Ath p544 N ‘16 150w
“Mr Blackwood knows how to give these stories of reincarnation an effect beyond mere creepiness. But his method is so leisurely that he is often ‘slow,’ in the sense of dull and long-drawn-out; and his manner is formal and ponderous and unleavened by humour: common frailties of philosophical romance.” H. W. Boynton
+ — Bookm 45:207 Ap ‘17 480w
“Never before has Mr Blackwood written a novel that comes so close to the real things of life as ‘The wave,’ It touches persistently upon the supernatural, but its visions are wholly subjective.” E. F. E.
+ + Boston Transcript p8 F 21 ‘17 1400w
+ Ind 89:556 Mr 26 ‘17 200w
+ — Nation 104:368 Mr 29 ‘17 430w
“One’s strongest impression on closing this book is that of beauty—beauty alike of style and of spirit. The glory of words, the grandeur that was Egypt, the splendor of a brave and loving human soul—these are the very substance of this fascinating volume.”
+ + N Y Times 22:47 F 11 ‘17 950w
“A strange and unusual book, full of insight and imagination. It is the work of a very delicate literary craftsman, who is a past master in the art of elusive suggestion.”
+ Sat R 123:40 Ja 13 ‘17 500w
“With the characteristic Blackwood mystery to help, the book is rich in excitement and experience.”
+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p488 O 12 ‘16 450w
BLAISDELL, ALBERT FRANKLIN, and BALL, FRANCIS KINGSLEY. American history for little folks. il *75c (2c) Little 973 17-25786
This book, adapted for use in the third school grade, is intended as an introduction to “The American history story-book” and other more advanced works by the authors. The aim has been to choose some of the more dramatic and picturesque events and to relate them in a simple and easy style. A partial list of contents follows: Columbus, the sailor; The sea of darkness; The hero of Virginia; Seeking a new home; Captain Miles Standish; Dark days in New England; The Dutch in New York; William Penn, the Quaker; A famous tea party; Polly Daggett saves the flagpole; Peggy White calls on Lord Cornwallis.
Reviewed by J: Walcott
Bookm 46:496 D ‘17 50w
BLANCHARD, RALPH HARRUB. Liability and compensation insurance. il *$2 Appleton 331.82 17-24252
A textbook which presents the results of the workmen’s compensation movement in the United States in terms of legislative and insurance 53practice, and explains the industrial accident problem and the development of liability and compensation principles as a background for the comprehension of present problems. The book is divided into three parts: Industrial accidents and their prevention; Employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation; Employers’ liability and workmen’s compensation insurance.
“Mr Blanchard covers the entire field in a very fair way, though it is evident that he does so in the professor’s study rather than from the ground of practical experience. The insurance feature is especially well covered.”
+ — Dial 63:534 N 22 ‘17 170w
“The author deals with the state compensation acts, and the stock company, mutual and state fund methods of insuring the payment of such compensation. He concludes that, because of insufficient data, a choice among these three methods cannot be made at present. The author misses the determining factor in such a choice. This is, that the most desirable method of taking care of industrial accident losses is that which does most to prevent such losses.”
— Engin News-Rec 79:1170 D 20 ‘17 240w
“In the presentation of the insurance problem an important and timely contribution has been made.” E. S. Gray
+ J Pol Econ 25:1050 D ‘17 250w
“It should appeal primarily to teachers and students of insurance, but it contains much information of interest to the business man and the intelligent general reader as well.”
+ Nation 106:122 Ja 31 ‘18 360w
“The subject is presented both broadly and well. The point is not shirked that the subject in some aspects is controversial. In such cases both sides are presented, as the author’s intention is to give information rather than judgment.”
+ N Y Times 22:497 N 25 ‘17 230w
“The author has to be commended for the clearness and conciseness of statement and helpful bibliographic notes. On the other hand it must, like most text-books, be dogmatic, and one fails to get the impression from reading the book how much is still controversial in the field of compensation. ... One is somewhat inclined to question the wisdom of the printing of the New York compensation law as an appendix to the book. The New York act is not as typical as a good many other acts.” I. M. Rubinow
+ — Survey 39:149 N 10 ‘17 350w
BLAND, JOHN OTWAY PERCY. Li Hung-chang. (Makers of the nineteenth century) il *$2 (2c) Holt (Eng ed 17-26886)
Mr Bland is joint author of Backhouse and Bland’s “China under the Empress Dowager.” The introductory chapter of the present volume reviews the conditions existing in China at the outset of Li Hung-chang’s career. The author then gives a detailed account of Li’s life from childhood to his death in 1901, just after the Boxer rebellion, at the age of seventy-eight. He considers him as a Chinese official, as a diplomat, a naval and military administrator, and a statesman and politician, and concludes that Li’s chief claim to greatness lies in the fact that, at the time of the Taiping rebellion, he “grasped the vital significance of the impact of the West, and the necessity for reorganizing China’s system of government and national defences to meet it.” The biographer’s task, he tells us, has been complicated by the lack of any accurate Chinese account of Li’s career, and the untrustworthiness of Chinese official records. Moreover, the “Memoirs of the Viceroy Li Hung-chang,” published in 1913, were a “literary fraud.” The present work, therefore, is based largely upon the recorded opinions of independent and competent European observers. There is a bibliographical note of two pages, followed by a chronological table of events in Chinese history. The book is indexed.
“Mr Bland makes very clear to us the mingling elements in Li’s nature, showing how sometimes patriotism and sometimes self-interest stirred him most. ... By the time we reach Mr Bland’s final summing up of the character we realize how skilful has been his handling of the material and how vividly he has made us realize his impression of the great premier.” D. L. M.
+ Boston Transcript p8 O 17 ‘17 900w
+ Lit D 55:36 N 3 ‘17 950w
“His treatment of his subject recalls a time when familiarity with life at the treaty ports was enough literary capital for the ordinary authority on Chinese affairs and real acquaintance with their history and ideas was left to the missionaries. ... No new material about Li has been unearthed, no advance has been made towards obtaining Chinese estimates of the man, no approach towards any but an Englishman’s point of view is attempted. ... On the other hand, it is fair to add that the book is easily read and that it portrays a rather splendid type of the oriental viceroy.”