Chapter IX: Part 2: the author discusses method in teaching, applied specifically (1)

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

“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 extend 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 several 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 perennial. 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
practice, 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.”

– + =Nation= 105:488 N 1 ‘17 1500w

“Excellent biography.”

+ =N Y Times= 22:501 N 25 ‘17 1000w

“The really significant services that Li Hung Chang rendered to his
race are clearly set forth in this volume by a writer who has had good
opportunities to study China and the Chinese at first hand.”

+ =R of Rs= 56:551 N ‘17 120w

“If the provision of an adequate ‘setting’ is one of the difficulties
to be encountered in limning Li Hung-chang’s career, another is the
paucity of record. ... Mr Bland is to be congratulated upon the
comprehensive narrative which he has succeeded in compiling.”

* + – =The Times [London] Lit Sup= p535 N 8 ‘17 1850w

=BLATHWAYT, RAYMOND.= Through life and round the world; being the story of my life. il *$3.50 Dutton 17-23043

Mr Blathwayt is a British journalist who has traveled widely and has
made a specialty of the art of interviewing. Before taking up
journalism, he served as a curate in Trinidad, in the East End of
London, and in an English village. He believes himself to be the first
to adapt the American “interview” to English manners. Among those
interviewed by him are William Black, Thomas Hardy, Hall Caine, Grant
Allen, William Dean Howells, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, and Oliver Wendell
Holmes.

“Illustrated from photographs and from drawings by Mortimer Menpes.”
E. F. E.

=Boston Transcript= p7 Ag 8 ‘17 800w

“So many aspects of English life and examples of English character are
included in Mr Blathwayt’s book that it forms a reminiscential
commentary upon the journalistic and literary world of London during
the past thirty years.” E. F. E.

=Boston Transcript= p6 Ag 11 ‘17 900w

“The book is a veritable gold mine for the after-dinner speaker, for
it is besprinkled with quotable anecdotes.”

+ =Dial= 64:30 Ja 3 ‘18 250w

“His book abounds in what Mr Leacock calls ‘aristocratic anecdotes,’
platitudinous reflections, and ‘fine writing.’ His naïve confessions
as a curate help to explain the spiritual deadness and professionalism
of the Church of England; they might well be used as illustrative
footnotes to ‘The soul of a bishop.’”

— =Nation= 105:610 N 29 ‘17 190w

“It is very entertaining, as engaging a book of reminiscence as has
been put before the public in many a day.”

+ =N Y Times= 22:293 Ag 12 ‘17 1200w

“Mr Blathwayt is a born raconteur. Particularly good are his
descriptions of his life as a young curate and as an almost penniless
wanderer in Connecticut.”

+ =Outlook= 117:26 S 5 ‘17 70w

=Sat R= 123:436 My 12 ‘17 820w

“All his admiration of Captain Marryat and of Mrs Radcliffe has not
taught him to spell their names right. He misquotes with the utmost
facility. ... Here is a writer who has made livelihood and reputation
by writing, yet has never mastered the elementary rules of the
art. ... His book is frequently, though not constantly entertaining;
but it would be much less entertaining than it is without the
innocence of its author’s self-revelation.”

– + =The Times [London] Lit Sup= p198 Ap 26 ‘17 950w

=BLEACKLEY, HORACE WILLIAM.= Life of John Wilkes. il *$5 (3½c) Lane 17-24876

This is a scholarly account, based to a great extent on original
documents of the English politician, publicist and political agitator,
who, “from 1764 to 1780 was the central figure not only of London but
of England.” (Sat R)

“Mr Bleackley has executed his task in a scholarly and interesting
manner, and his book forms an acceptable supplement to Lecky. ... The
numerous illustrations are a valuable feature of the book.”

+ =Ath= p419 Ag ‘17 160w

“Remarkable as the career of John Wilkes confessedly was, and
undeniably interesting as this biography is, in spite of Mr
Bleackley’s literary skill its final impression is not good. If, as we
are told, none ‘of his contemporaries influenced more powerfully the
spirit of the age,’ that spirit must have been grossly immoral to
condone his immoral grossness.”

– + =Lit D= 55:44 N 17 ‘17 240w

“Mr Bleackley has found a subject well suited to his talent in this
profoundly interesting historical study.”

+ =N Y Times= 22:417 O 21 ‘17 550w

+ =Outlook= 117:184 O 3 ‘17 50w

“This is one of the best biographies that have appeared for a long
time. Mr Bleackley has read and rifled nearly all the memoirs,
manuscripts, diaries, letters, newspapers of the period, and we have
not read a more erudite and conscientious treatment of a controversial
subject. ... He treats his hero with the benevolent impartiality of
the scientific historian.”

* + + =Sat R= 124:sup4 Jl 7 ‘17 1200w

“Mr Bleackley has given us a most interesting book. ... He has put
before himself the task of proving that a man who wrought so much for
liberty was himself a great man and a lover of the cause for which he
fought. We allow that Wilkes had genius of a sort, but doubt whether
he really cared two pins about the rights of constituencies, or the
illegality of general warrants, or the liberty of the press. He fought
for John Wilkes, and in fighting for him achieved results of wide
constitutional importance.”

* =Spec= 119:167 Ag 18 ‘17 1500w

“The language is journalistic. ... As a picture of 17th-century
England in its most corrupt and licentious phases the book has some
historical value, though it is too often written in the language of
gossip rather than history. ... The book has its faults—particularly
its emphasis upon Wilkes’s mistresses—but the evidence is well
documented. ... It is to be regretted that a career so closely
connected with American independence should be treated to so great an
extent as the subject of a record of private vices. ... There is much
biographical and historical matter in it of genuine interest.”

– + =Springf’d Republican= p15 S 23 ‘17 1050w

“Mr Bleackley enumerates a good many of those who have included Wilkes
in their historical canvases. ... An essay by Fraser Rae preceded
Trevelyan’s description in his rainbow-tinted history of Charles James
Fox, and later came a biography in two volumes by Percy Fitzgerald.
Praise is reiterated of the excellent monograph by J. M. Rigg in the
‘Dictionary of national biography’; but so far as we see, no mention
is made of by far the most judicial and philosophic account of the
transactions in which Wilkes was conspicuous in Lecky’s ‘History of
England in the eighteenth century.’ ... His style is a little arid,
but his ripened power of research, his patience and diligence in
sifting material, combine to furnish a truly notable portrait. ... The
historical background shows a great advance upon any of his preceding
work. ... The volume is very well finished, the references (largely to
Mss.) overwhelming, the illustrations well-chosen, the errata
scrupulous, the index complete.”

* + =The Times [London] Lit Sup= p318 Jl 5 ‘17 2050w

=BLUMENTHAL, DANIEL.=[2] Alsace-Lorraine. map *75c (7c) Putnam 943.4

“A study of the relations of the two provinces to France and to
Germany and a presentation of the just claims of their people.” The
author, an Alsatian by birth, has been deputy from Strasbourg in the
Reichstag, senator from Alsace-Lorraine, and mayor of the city of
Colmar. The book has an introduction by Douglas Wilson Johnson of
Columbia university, who says, “The problem of Alsace-Lorraine is in a
very real sense an American problem.”

“There is no more moving recent plea for the restoration of
Alsace-Lorraine than this little volume.”

+ =Boston Transcript= p6 Ja 9 ‘18 200w

=BLUNDELL, MARY E. (SWEETMAN) (MRS FRANCIS BLUNDELL) (M. E. FRANCIS, pseud.).= Dark Rosaleen. *$1.35 (1c) Kenedy A17-1416

A story of modern Ireland. In a study of the relationship between two
families, the author gives an epitome of the situation that exists in
Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. Hector McTavish’s father is
a fanatical Scotch Presbyterian, but since he grows up in a Catholic
community, Hector makes friends with the children of that church.
Patsy Burke is his dearest playmate and Honor Burke is to him a foster
mother. Fearing these influences, the father takes the boy away and,
when he returns thirteen years later, it is to find Patsy an ordained
priest and Patsy’s little sister, Norah, grown into sweet womanhood.
The love between Hector and Norah, their marriage and the birth of
their child leads to tragedy. But, in the child, the author sees a
symbol of hope for the new Ireland.

“The author has not written a thesis novel, but a touching tale of
what she feels and loves.”

+ =Cath World= 105:259 My ‘17 130w

“There is nothing intolerant in the spirit of this very thrilling
book.”

+ =N Y Times= 22:166 Ap 29 ‘17 550w

=BODART, GASTON, and KELLOGG, VERNON LYMAN.= Losses of life in modern wars; ed. by Harald Westergaard. *$2 Oxford 172.4 16-20885

“It is the function of the Division of economics and history of the
Carnegie endowment for international peace, under the direction of
Professor J. B. Clark, to promote a thorough and scientific
investigation of the causes and results of war. ... The first volume
resulting from these studies contains two reports upon investigations
carried on in furtherance of this plan. The first, by Mr Gaston
Bodart, deals with the ‘Losses of life in modern wars:
Austria-Hungary, France.’ The second, by Professor Vernon L. Kellogg,
is a preliminary report and discussion of ‘Military selection and race
deterioration.’ ... Professor Kellogg marshals his facts to expose the
dysgenic effects of war in military selection, which exposes the
strongest and sturdiest young men to destruction and for the most part
leaves the weaklings to perpetuate the race. He cites statistics to
prove an actual measurable, physical deterioration in stature in
France due apparently to military selection. ... To these dysgenic
aspects of militarism the author adds the appalling racial
deterioration resulting from venereal diseases.”—Dial

=Am Hist R= 22:702 Ap ‘17 450w

+ =A L A Bkl= 13:196 F ‘17

“The work is a candid and sane discussion of both sides of this very
important aspect of militarism.”

+ =Dial= 61:401 N 16 ‘16 390w

“It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of this original
and authoritative study into the actual facts of war.”

+ =Educ R= 52:528 D ‘16 70w

=BOGARDUS, EMORY STEPHEN.= Introduction to sociology. $1.50 University of Southern California press, 3474 University av., Los Angeles, Cal. 302 17-21833

The author who is professor of sociology in the University of Southern
California offers this textbook as an introduction not only to
sociology in its restricted sense but to the entire field of the
social sciences. He presents the political and economic factors in
social progress not only from a sociological point of view but in such
a way that the student will want to continue along political science
or economic lines. It is the aim to stimulate and to direct social
interest to law, politics and business. He discusses the population
basis of social progress, the geographic, biologic and psychologic
bases as well; social progress as affected by genetic, hygienic,
recreative, economic, political, ethical, esthetic, intellectual,
religious, and associative factors. A closing chapter surveys the
scientific outlook for social progress.

“The advantage of Professor Bogardus’s method is that it brings to
bear in a simple, elementary way a great mass of pertinent facts.”

+ =Dial= 63:596 D 6 ‘17 150w

“The author does not, perhaps, distinguish clearly enough between the
sociological and the social points of view.” B. L.

+ — =Survey= 39:202 N 24 ‘17 240w

=BOGEN, BORIS D.= Jewish philanthropy; an exposition of principles and methods of Jewish social service in the United States. *$2 Macmillan 360 17-15182

“The entire field of Jewish social service, both theoretic and
practical, is here discussed by a man who has been engaged in it for
about twenty-five years as educator, settlement head, relief agent,
and now field secretary of the National conference of Jewish
charities. ... The author points out that the pre-eminent Jewish
contribution to social service in this country is the ‘federation
idea.’ By federating their charities, the Jews succeeded in uniting
communities, in raising more funds to carry on work more adequately;
they have prevented duplication of effort, conserved energies and
eliminated waste.” (Survey) The book has an eight-page bibliography.

=A L A Bkl= 14:40 N ‘17

“No one perhaps is better qualified to discuss with authority the
subject of Jewish philanthropy than Dr Boris D. Bogen, of Cincinnati.
Himself a Russian by birth and early training, he speaks concerning
the immigrant with a thoroughness born of intimate and empiric
knowledge, supplemented by years of accurate and exhaustive study.” A.
A. Benesch

+ =Am Pol Sci R= 11:785 N ‘17 580w

“Once in a while the author makes a sweeping statement without citing
authorities. There are two serious drawbacks to the usefulness of the
work. One is the constant use of Hebrew words, which are usually not
translated or are mistranslated. Any future work of this character
should have a glossary of such Hebrew words as part of its appendix.
The other is the chapter on Standards of relief, which ought to have
been the most important, received the most scant attention. But all in
all, the book is a splendid piece of work.” Eli Mayer

+ — =Ann Am Acad= 74:303 N ‘17 400w

=Cleveland= p107 S ‘17 10w

+ =Ind= 92:109 O 13 ‘17 110w

“The book contains a great mass of information regarding various
Jewish philanthropies, although no attempt is made to present
statistical matter in a formal way.”

=R of Rs= 56:441 O ‘17 50w

“Dr Bogen’s book is wide in scope and will be found useful as a
handbook for non-Jewish as well as for Jewish social workers.” Oscar
Leonard

+ =Survey= 38:532 S 15 ‘17 500w

=BOIRAC, ÉMILE.= Our hidden forces (“La psychologie inconnue”); an experimental study of the psychic sciences; tr. and ed., with an introd., by W. de Kerlor. il *$2 (3c) Stokes 130 17-13485