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ABBOTT, EDITH, and BRECKINRIDGE, SOPHONISBA PRESTON. Truancy and non-attendance in the Chicago schools. *$2 Univ. of Chicago press 379.2 17-3577

“‘Truancy and non-attendance in the Chicago schools’ carries the tale of public education—‘the most important subject that we as a people can be engaged in’—through its vivid history in the second city in the United States, from the establishment of our free schools to the present day, indeed it may be said, to the last authentic news on the topic in the present day. ... Beginning with a picturesque survey of the struggle for the ‘free-school’ principle (1818-55), the chronicle continues with a relation of the main events of the struggle for the compulsory principle (1855-83) ‘when the first compulsory law was passed,’ and closes with a record of the various activities characterizing the period, still continuing, ‘of struggle for the perfection of the compulsory law.’”—Dial

“This book should be carefully read by every administrative officer in charge of the enforcement of school attendance or child labor laws, and also by every person who contemplates the difficult task of drafting such legislation. Practically every feature of the system recommended for Illinois is in effect in one or more other states.” H. L. Sumner

Reviewed by E. L. Talbert

“A clear, logical and interesting study, illustrated with the case histories of many children, of value to social workers and specially to educators. A companion volume to ‘The delinquent child in the home’ (Booklist 9:9 S ‘12).”

“Of especial interest for two reasons. Because it forms a striking comment on a characteristic American weakness—our failure to realize—our inability to follow up with sustained attention or even with intelligent curiosity the vital social experiments made, or perhaps one should say the vital social experiments mentioned as mandatory, by our statute-books. It is of interest also because of its description of our inability to correlate juvenile laws whose joint efficiency should guarantee a child a fair opportunity for education.” Edith Wyatt

“By far the most extensive study of the kind that has yet been made for any American city. ... The recommendations are reasonable and conservative. ... The book is therefore written from the social worker’s sympathetic point of view rather than from the frequently more circumscribed, and usually somewhat different, point of view of the professional school man. It is a model of rigorous scientific study of the questions involved that ought to be of large suggestiveness to other cities in their making of similar studies.” J. F. Bobbitt

“It is likely that the book will result in an important improvement of the child labor law in Illinois.” J. H. T.

“The question of how to make compulsory education laws and child labor laws jointly effective is so important that light upon it is to be welcomed from every quarter. The experience of Illinois with such legislation is that of one of the most advanced states; it is described by two experienced workers in the Chicago School of civics and philanthropy in a manner that goes well outside the field suggested by the title.”

“A story competently told with adequate documentation, not essentially different from that which could be presented for most parts of the country during the same periods. The accomplishment of this book is to take public schooling out of its antiquated and still somewhat academic atmosphere, and out of the outworn but persistent habits and concepts of the earlier American community, to present it in the light of the social background in which it belongs today, and compel the reader to realize that the education of the children of our great cities demands consistent thinking and courageous following up of its implications and honest common sense in administration.” G: H. Mead

ABBOTT, ELEANOR HALLOWELL (MRS FORDYCE COBURN). Stingy receiver. il *$1 (4c) Century 17-7926

A middle-aged woman who is tired of spending her wealth on people who receive grudgingly, a young doctor and a beautiful and radiant young girl who rejoices in the name of Solvei Kjelland, are the characters in this little story. The rich woman is ill. The young doctor is trying to cure her. The rich woman is offered one wish. This is what she wished: “That the last mail of the day may never leave me utterly letterless; and that I may always be expecting a package by express!” The story was published as a serial in the Woman’s Home Companion.

“The story is possible but we cannot escape from the feeling that it is wildly improbable. The young doctor is the one real character in a world of phantoms. ... Although it possesses a certain amount of charm in the telling it lacks conviction.”

“It is a gay and sweet little story, unusual in its beginning, happy in the way it ends, entertaining and sympathetic throughout the progress of its pretty romance. It is full of laughter, and it has touches, especially in unexpected bits here and there about the older woman, of tenderness.”

ABBOTT, GEORGE FREDERICK. Turkey, Greece and the great powers; a study in friendship and hate. maps *$3 (3c) McBride 949 17-7959

The two parts of this book are quite distinct. In part 1 chapters devoted to France and the Turks, Russia and the Turks, England and the Turks, and The Germanic powers and Turkey are followed by a discussion of Turkey’s choice in the present war. “While the practical statesman must deplore the effects of that choice,” says the author, “the philosophical onlooker will derive a certain cold satisfaction from its perfect logicality. The capricious hand of chance had nothing to do with it. It all came about in strict accordance with the law of causation. Each side reaped precisely what it had sown.” The treatment of Greece and the powers in part 2 is similar. The historical relationship of Greece to each of the great powers at war is studied at some length in order that her position and attitude at the present time may be understood. The policy of the Allies toward Greece since the beginning of the war is characterized as stupid and blundering, producing an effect exactly opposite from that desired. Mr Abbott was a war correspondent in the Turko-Italian war and published a book on “The holy war in Tripoli.” He is also author of “Turkey in transition.”

“Very readable, it gives a better understanding of the Near East problem. Many references and a page list of source material.”

“The last chapter, ‘The moral suasion of Greece,’ is an excellent study of popular sentiment.” C. H. P. Thurston

“The author is more convincing in his historical statements, for which he invariably cites his authorities, than he is in his judgments of contemporary policies. The book is certainly a valuable contribution to a better understanding of the Near East problem. There are two maps; one of Turkey in Europe at its zenith, published about 1680, and the other is of the Balkans today.”

“So far as it professes to be a historical examination of the relations between Turkey and Greece and the great powers the book is defective and badly planned. ... Mr Abbott brought to his task much familiarity with Balkan countries, an incisive style, and an evident capacity for laborious research. Yet the result is to some extent disappointing, for the book lacks balance and perspective. ... Yet, with all its faults, some sections of it serve a very useful purpose, and it is worth reading.”

ABBOTT, GRACE. Immigrant and the community. *$1.50 (2c) Century 325.7 17-13469

Our policy toward the immigrant has been one of laissez-faire. Miss Abbott’s purpose in this book is to show how, as a result, both the immigrant and the community have suffered, and to point out means for his protection and better adjustment to American life. The book is based in part on lectures given before the Chicago School of civics and philanthropy and consists of chapters on: The journey of the immigrant; The problem of finding a first “job”; The special problems of the immigrant girl; Protection against exploitation; The immigrant in the courts; The immigrant and the public health; The immigrant and the poverty problem; The immigrant and industrial democracy; The education of the immigrant; The immigrant in politics; The immigrant and American internationalism; The immigrant’s place in a social program. The author is a resident of Hull House and director of the Immigrants’ protective league of Chicago. Judge Julian W. Mack writes an introduction for the work.

“No other existing book treats so fully or so well the problem of the woman immigrant. Admirable example of settlement house method and viewpoint. As a work of reference, particularly in statistics, needs to be used with caution.”

“Miss Abbott has been able to put her evidence into readable form, to appeal to our common humanity and yet reveal that she is not blind to the problems involved. The volume is to be highly commended to all who are interested in immigration, and particularly to those who want to know the extent of our own failure to safeguard newcomers and help in their readjustment to our life.” C. K.

“Miss Abbott’s plea is for adjustment rather than assimilation. In this respect she disagrees with the textbook writers, and perhaps with most staunch Americans. She believes that the immigrant brings a contribution to America which should be preserved. One of the most interesting of her many pertinent suggestions regarding immigrant adjustment is that we organize more carefully the potentialities for the development of an international understanding through immigration into this country and return migration.” L. L. Bernard

“It is not Grace Abbott’s facts, but her inferences, that will produce two opinions about her volume. ... The entire responsibility for the stranger within our gates she places squarely upon our shoulders. Perhaps, so long as we admit him, that position is arguable. But Miss Abbott will not allow us to lighten the burden by restricting immigration. ... Yet it might be urged that the immigrant himself would profit by a slower infiltration, which would prevent the growth of the huge foreign colonies which have hindered as well as aided his advance, and have created a special problem for a democracy already pretty well loaded up.”

“The book fails in just one point. After piling on a tremendous indictment—an indictment that every American should read and ponder—there is no great general lesson drawn. These questions press for reply: What drives these hordes here? Should they continue to come? Should we let them in? If they have a right to come, then these further questions appear to need answer.” W: M. Feigenbaum

“Authoritative, incisive. The book cuts far below the surface alike of censure and of complacency. It offers the kind of information which, now perhaps as never before, every American needs.”

“Miss Abbott is director of the Immigrants’ protective league of Chicago, and has worked for the Massachusetts immigration commission. Her study of the problem has included visits to some of the most important European homes of the immigrant, notably, Galicia, Croatia and the Slovak districts of Hungary and Bohemia. It is from her own experiences and knowledge of the question that she has drawn in writing a discussion that is illuminating in its choice of incidents and sound in its suggestive conclusions.”

“The only disappointing chapter of the book is that which deals with the immigrant and the public health.” B. L.

ABDULLAH, ACHMED. Bucking the tiger. *$1.35 (2½c) Shores 17-15283

“Ritchie Macdonald finds himself ‘dead broke.’ ... Unable to borrow any money in Spokane, he evolves an original scheme to lift from him, and from the little group of men with whom he foregathers, the common burden of dead-brokeness. ‘There’s just one way, and I’ve pointed it out to you. We chip in—all of us—all but one—we buy a heavy life insurance for that one. He kills himself at the end of a year, and we divide the money.’ The adventurers agree and gamble to decide who shall be the one sacrificed. The lot falls to Mac himself. He sees to it that it does. Another clause has meanwhile been added to the agreement, whereby the prospective suicide is to be provided by his confrères with sufficient money to make this last year of his life one long enjoyment. ... Mac at once takes up quarters in the leading hotel of Spokane. ... Now enters the little manicurist, Emily Steeves. And soon Mac finds that the idea of suicide is growing less and less alluring. He becomes identified with certain large life insurance interests. Makes money rapidly. A plot is formed to discredit him. But he circumvents this plot, and gets out of the fulfillment of the suicide pact exactly as Emily declares he must, ‘without paying blackmail and without welshing.’”—Boston Transcript

“A slangy, but broadly amusing tale.”

ABT, ISAAC ARTHUR. Baby’s food; recipes for the preparation of food for infants and children. *$1.25 Saunders 613.22 17-19828

The author, who is professor of diseases of children in the Northwestern university medical school, says in his foreword: “Young mothers, nurses, and caretakers frequently ask the physician for minute directions for the preparation of foods for infants and older children. I have attempted to collect from various sources recipes for the preparation of the most commonly employed foods. I undertook to do this primarily for my own convenience in prescribing for patients and meeting the repeated demand. I claim no originality in regard to the recipes, and acknowledge my indebtedness to various sources for information.” He appends a list of authorities in English and German and refers to practical help given by various women dietitians. In addition to the recipes, which are grouped by class and indexed, the book contains tables of Mineral constituents of the food, Caloric value of various foods, Diet lists (for children up to five years), Baths and packs, Tables of measurements, etc.

“A good collection of recipes. ... For the intelligent mother.”

“A most useful book for mothers, and one that will save many doctor’s bills.”

ACADEMY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. Labor disputes and public service corporations; ed. by H: Raymond Mussey. (Proceedings, v. 7, no. 1) pa $1.50 Acad. of political science 331.1 17-26392

“This is a valuable survey of American, Canadian, and Australian experience in governmental mediation and arbitration, with statements of the attitude of the labor unions toward compulsory arbitration, mediation, and conciliation.”—R of Rs

“The book is divided into four sections: (1) Government mediation and arbitration, (2) Trade unions and compulsory arbitration, (3) Trade unions and mediation and conciliation, (4) Recent aspects of labor disputes. The fourth section discusses arbitration of recent labor disputes and also the Adamson act, from the employees’, employers’ and public viewpoints.”

ACHARYA, ANANDA. Brahmadarsanam; or, Intuition of the absolute. il *$1.25 (2½c) Macmillan 181 17-24840

An untechnical introduction to Hindu philosophy by Ananda Achārya. The author discusses the six systems of Hindu philosophy all of which differ from the philosophies of the rest of the world by presupposing that the soul is ultimate reality. His analysis leads up to a tabulation of the four states of our psychic life, viz. (1) waking, in which we are conscious of the outward universe; (2) dreaming, in which we are conscious of the inward universe; (3) dreamlessness, in which we are unconscious of the inward and outward universe; (4) Turiya, in which we are self-conscious in the absolute sense. The four states correspond to (1) conquest of the objective world of sense and emotion; (2) conquest of the subjective world of intellect and reason; (3) conquest of the subtile world in which the first two lie in seed form; (4) freedom in the identity of self with God, and the attainment of the absolute. His doctrine of error, expounded at some length and consisting in thinking of non-existence as existence, suggests the Christian science idea. The study is stimulating and inspirational.

“Unqualified approval can scarcely be the meed of an author who professes to be scientific yet has no notion of history and no clear sense of the value of definition. These faults vitiate the ‘Brahmadarsanam.’ Despite these defects, the ‘general reader’ will learn a good deal from the Acharya’s book, and his exposition, albeit rather too flowery and poetical, of Hindu monism is, on the whole, to be approved.”

“Sri Ananda Acharya is an excellent writer. He has a faculty for making the most abstract and profound subject absorbing and entertaining. His method is direct, concise, yet vivid and human.”

“Brief and popular exposition of Hindu philosophical doctrine presented to us by a Hindu in terms which are not exposed to the suspicion of western or of Christian prejudice. His book is well worth reading. But we must repeat the caution that its teaching may mislead those who are unfamiliar with the phraseology and development of western speculation.”

“Satisfactory to such as it satisfies. And others will take refuge in ‘common sense.’ Perhaps the better, or best, attitude is to welcome the book as offering an exposition of the Vedānta school of philosophy not readily to be found elsewhere in such clear and full detail.”

ACKERMAN, CARL WILLIAM. Germany, the next republic? il *$1.50 (3c) Doran 940.91 17-17989

In his preface the author makes the following somewhat surprising statement: “I believe that the United States by two years of patience and note writing, has done more to accomplish the destruction of militarism and to encourage freedom of thought in Germany than the Allies did during nearly three years of fighting.” He was in Germany as correspondent for the United press from March 1915 to the breaking off of diplomatic relations and he watched the progress of thought in Germany during that time. President Wilson’s notes started the people to thinking, but as the thinking did not go far enough, a crushing military defeat is now looked to as the only hope for a democracy in Germany. Contents: Mobilization of public opinion; “Pirates sink another neutral ship”; The gulf between Kiel and Berlin; The hate campaign against America; The downfall of von Tirpitz and von Falkenhayn; The period of new orientation; The bubbling economic volcano; The peace drive of December 12th; The Bernhardi of the seas; The outlawed nation; The United States at war; President Wilson. Among the illustrations are a number of interesting German cartoons.

Reviewed by C. H. P. Thurston

“We knew very little of Germany before the war, and we know practically nothing of what has been going on in that country since August, 1914. Our conception of the whole war is confined to some trite phrase, such as ‘democracy against autocracy.’ ... In view of this deplorable situation, it is fortunate that Mr Ackerman has written this book; it is a book that every American, and especially every American liberal, should find of the greatest value.” Ward Swain

“When the more impartial post-bellum histories of the war are written, volumes like Mr Ackerman’s will have become invaluable source-books. And this solely because of the facts presented, not because of any insight. To disagree with Mr Ackerman’s interpretation of his facts does not necessarily imply that one maintains the opposed or pacifistic view. It means rather a criticism of his plausibility. So many flagrant inconsistencies appear in the book because, I believe, his viewpoint towards our entrance into the war is the result of a reasoned rather than a felt conviction. To reconcile his early statement that Wilson’s two years of diplomatic patience and appeal to public opinion did more to liberalize Germany than all of England’s and France’s attacks in the field with his later statement that only a crushing military victory for the Allies will free Germany of her autocratic rulers—such a task would require more dialectical skill than Mr Ackerman possesses.” H. S.

“The author, who stayed in Germany during the last two years of the war and whose dispatches to the American press betrayed a keen insight in German public affairs, offers mainly a description of the internal struggle between the Bethmann-Hollweg and the Tirpitz factions and its reaction upon American foreign policy. While in general his judgment is reliable, his description of Bethmann-Hollweg as leading the democratic forces can hardly be called well-chosen.” J. Koettgen

“One of the most illuminating phases of his book is the view he gives of the discussion and division of opinion among the people and in the government itself as to submarine warfare.”

“The earlier chapters are by far the most interesting. The last two chapters—on the United States at war, and President Wilson—descend to journalese and add nothing to the book.” Frank Fitt

“Whatever may be said of the value of this evidence, the portions of Mr Ackerman’s book that deal with Germany, though containing little that is new, are of interest to the American public; the chapters on America’s entrance into the war, with long quotations from speeches and editorials, make the most obvious sort of padding.”

“For the serious student of affairs the importance of the book lies in the large mass of information which it contains as to the struggle which was going on all the time in Germany between the two great parties, the Pan-Germans and the party of comparative moderation which centered round the Foreign office.”

ACTON, JOHN EMERICH EDWARD DALBERG-ACTON, 1st baron.^[2] Selections from the Correspondence of the first Lord Acton; ed. with an introd. by J: Neville Figgis and Reginald Vere Laurence. 2v v 1 *$5 Longmans 17-31664

v 1 The editors have made selections from Lord Acton’s correspondence with Cardinal Newman, Lady Blennerhassett, W. E. Gladstone and others. This collection constitutes volume 1 and is to be followed by a second volume devoted to correspondence with Döllinger. The letters have been arranged in three groups: Early letters; Ecclesiastical correspondence; General correspondence. Groups 2 and 3 are then subdivided. The editors say, “Out of a large mass of letters we have chosen those which throw most light on Acton’s development.”

“A liberal Catholic, a lover of freedom, enunciator of the maxim that ‘liberty depends on the division of power,’ and an opponent of capital punishment, Acton was in advance of much of the opinion of his time. For this reason, if there were no others, the correspondence is worthy of attentive study.”

“The importance of these letters is due essentially to the fact that they relate to Lord Acton rather than to Lord Acton’s times and contemporaries.” W. S. B.

“Though he knew too many men as well as books to be dull, the lovers of personalities and gossipy biography are warned off. On the other hand, those who wish to understand something of the beginnings of continental liberalism in church and state will find so much instruction in Lord Acton’s letters that they will be well repaid for the attentive reading which they demand.”

“This new volume of Acton’s own correspondence is welcome in so far as it throws light on his elusive personality, but it must be added that the letters are not often as interesting as we had hoped. For our part, we should have preferred a strictly chronological order for the Acton-Gladstone correspondence, which would then have illustrated clearly the long and intimate friendship existing between these two eminent men. As it is, we are carried backward and forward, from one topic to another. His editors have diligently annotated the text, and their biographical references are valuable. But the book is, like Acton’s other writings, not at all easy to read.”

“Apart from the notes and the index it cannot be said that the editors have done their work particularly well. Their worst sin is their method of arrangement. ... This sounds like order, but in fact produces chaos.”

ADAMS, ARTHUR BARTO. Marketing perishable farm products. (Columbia univ. studies in history, economics and public law) pa *$1.50 Longmans 338 16-14602

For descriptive note see Annual for 1916.

“In thus stating the problem it seems that the author must realize that he is dealing with a question of the distribution of wealth; that is, with the method of its apportionment among those who produce and handle farm products. But he considers marketing as entirely a part of production. In his review of the present system of marketing and in his analysis of its cost he dwells only upon activities which are mechanically necessary to put goods in the hands of the consumer. ... Mr Adams goes farther in recommending government aid than many authorities—Mr Weld, for instance, in his work on ‘The marketing of farm products’; but not so far as Mr Elwood Mead, who has the Australian and European situation in mind.” W: R. Camp

“The author has produced a valuable work. It is analytical, not dogmatic, keeps in view the facts, and is constructive. It overturns preconceived opinions and demolishes the positions of some writers and many agitators. The reader of the work has the sense of dealing with something substantial and trustworthy and feels that he has secured a much better foundation for judging the case of the much maligned marketing or middleman system.” J: M. Gillette

“The book is valuable in pointing out definite defects and discussing corrective measures. It does not contribute much that is new to the solution of the problem.” N. D. H.

Reviewed by C. L. King

ADAMS, FRANKLIN PIERCE. Weights and measures. *$1 Doubleday 817 17-29489

A new book of verses, selected from the author’s contributions to newspapers and magazines. Mr Adams parodies Amy Lowell, Sara Teasdale, Edgar Lee Masters, and Horace, and writes on The indignant captain of industry, The patriotic merchant prince, and other modern themes. “Don’t tell me what you dreamt last night” is inspired by Freud, and “Strange cases” relates a series of tales with surprising conclusions—surprising because not unusual.

“Besides his funniness, which depends as much on his assumptions of intimacy as on a gentle irony, Mr Adams is felicitous in his use of exacting metres and involved rhyme-schemes. Most choice is his use of slang in paraphrasing Latin.”

“As any one might know by mention of ‘F. P. A.’ as the author, this is a delightful book. It is so full of a number of things!”

ADAMS, JOHN DUNCAN. Carpentry for beginners. il *$1.50 Moffat 684 17-24720

“John D. Adams has gathered together his articles on carpentry which have previously been printed in magazines, and they now appear in book form under the title ‘Carpentry for beginners.’ Beginning with the simplest of articles which the average small boy can make, the author proceeds to describe others, more difficult, some of which would be a credit to a cabinet maker. ... For those who do not care to undertake the laborious task of getting out their own stock, each article has its mill bill. This enables the builder to have all material cut and planed, leaving only the putting together and finishing to be done.”—Springf’d Republican

“The photographs, drawings and descriptions are so clear that with patience one should turn out very creditable pieces of furniture granting that one has the necessary knack.”

ADAMS, JOSEPH QUINCY. Shakespearean playhouses. il *$3.50 (4½c) Houghton 792 17-24678

A history of seventeen regular and five temporary English theaters which takes advantage of the findings of later scholars. The writer, who is assistant professor of English in Cornell university, has examined original sources first hand and offers his own interpretation of historical evidences. The audience sought includes college and university students of Shakespeare or of the Elizabethan drama; all persons interested in English literature; and those interested in the history of the theater. The illustrations and maps are note-worthy for their value as a pictorial history of English theaters from their beginning to the restoration. The bibliography, tho “not intended to be exhaustive, is fairly complete.”

“A good reference book.”

“Its material is drawn from a first-hand examination of original sources and from an independent examination of the historical evidences. It is to be regretted, however, that in reproducing old documents he has chosen to modernize their spelling and punctuation, and that he has thought it necessary to change dates from the old style chronology to the new.” E. F. E.

“Since the present cannot be understood without a thorough knowledge of the past, Mr Adams’s scholarly account of ‘Shakespearean playhouses’ is an important factor in any study of contemporary development. Mr Adams’s book will be welcomed by all students of the theatre, whether of its contemporary or historical phases.”

ADAMS, SAMUEL HOPKINS. Our square and the people in it. il *$1.50 (2c) Houghton 17-29518

“Walled in by slums stands our square, a valiant green space, far on the flank of the great city,” writes the author in a foreword. He has told a series of stories of the people of the square, the little sculptor, the doctor, the Scotch tailor and others. The stories deal with matters of every day life but are told from the point of view of a romanticist. Contents: Our square; The chair that whispered; MacLachan of our square; The great peacemaker; Orpheus, who made music in our square; “Tazmun”; The meanest man in our square; Paula of the housetop; The little red doctor of our square. Some of these are reprinted from magazines.

“It would not be altogether candid to say that their truth to life impresses one as he reads these pleasant chapters. That there is no evil under the sun which true love may not remedy might well be the motto of each essay.”

“The author’s style, stimulating and capricious as it always is, sets heart-strings to vibrating and brings tears close to the surface.”

“They are pleasant stories, ... and if they make one feel that they belong to some enchanted dreamland rather than in and around a New York east side park, they are, nevertheless, agreeable and entertaining.”

“The stories are luminous with a delicate humor and wholly free from the vulgarity which sometimes characterizes stories in or about the slums.”

ADLER, ALFRED. Neurotic constitution; outlines of a comparative individualistic psychology and psychotherapy; auth. English tr. by Bernard Glueck and J: E: Lind. *$3 Moffat 130 17-4718

“Dr Adler, starting as a pupil of Freud, has now been disowned by the master because of the diminished emphasis laid by Adler on the sexual element. The neuroses grow, according to Adler, from a sense of inferiority, due itself to some actual or imagined bodily infirmity. The neurotic individual, even as a child, feels himself inferior and his position and outlook insecure; this feeling, not acquiesced in, leads to a self-assertion (the ‘masculine protest’) that seeks fictitious and strained means of expression, while at the same time shrinking from the real tests of life.”—Survey

“The book is not pleasant reading, and one has, all through, the impression that Adler is trying very hard to defend himself in a position, which really does not need such valiant efforts, to gain the fulfillment of his own craving for security.” Wilfrid Lay

“Furnishes many suggestions of therapeutic value. ... Any person, whether neurotic or not, would be much interested in and benefited by a reading of Dr Adler’s work.”

“‘The neurotic constitution’ prompts the observation that if all the studies of Freud and his method are to be translated for the American public they should at least be put into intelligible English.”

Reviewed by R. S. Woodworth

AIKEN, CONRAD POTTER. Jig of Forslin. *$1.25 Four seas co. 811 A17-1323

“‘The jig of Forslin’ is a much more ambitious effort than ‘Turns and movies.’ ... Its theme, as explained in the preface, is ‘the process of vicarious wish fulfillment by which civilized man enriches his circumscribed life and obtains emotional balance. It is an exploration of his emotional and mental hinterland, his fairyland of impossible illusions and dreams.’ Forslin, alone in his hall bedroom, dreams himself by turns a murderer, a juggler, the lover now of a woman of the street, now of a great queen, now of a lamia. He ranges through all periods, all climes. The sound of music binds his dreams together.”—N Y Times

“The poem as a whole is unlike anything else. The sensibilities will be offended, the coarseness of the picturesque novel is introduced, and yet there are sections of mystical beauty and lyrical intensity. It will arouse discussion, and rightfully so, because, whatever one may say of form and method, there is little or no artifice in the substance. As a poet Mr Aiken gains immeasurably with this poem.” W. S. B.

“The author has not quite completed the dramatization of his narratives. They are poignant as stories of other men and women, as dramatic monologs, if you will, but in spite of painstaking efforts on Mr Aiken’s part their vicarious significance in Forslin’s life does not really emerge from the fluid mixture.”

“The author has not tempered the rashness of his colors, but, by substituting vision for reality, he has in a manner lowered the gas, and, in the restful though morbid twilight, effects are more poetical and less repulsive. Mr Aiken employs many verse-forms, including free verse. He is a born metrist.” O. W. Firkins

“The evident purpose is to render man’s vicarious satisfaction of the tabooed impulses. The thing will be done some day, but it will take a greater knowledge of life and man and Freud than this poet seems to possess.” Clement Wood

“‘The jig of Forslin,’ no less than ‘Turns and movies,’ is a poem of youth, but of youth imaginative, not sensuous.”

“To the persons who like the newer schools of verse and enjoy the study of the processes of the mind, and to all poets, one heartily commends ‘The jig of Forslin,’ a most extraordinary novel in verse.”

“With a refreshing sense of relief, the reader in search of something new comes upon the work of a new poet who deserves the term in a descriptive sense as well. Such a writer is Conrad Aiken, one of the youngest of contemporary poets, a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1911, and already the author of two volumes of verse.”

AIKENS, CHARLOTTE ALBINA. Home nurse’s handbook of practical nursing. 2d ed, thoroughly rev il *$1.50 (1½c) Saunders 610.7 17-7826

The first edition was published in 1912. Changes in the new edition consist of minor revisions and additions. “Of the additions, the most important are the notes on the care of premature babies, infantile paralysis, tuberculosis patients, aged patients, and patients afflicted with chronic diseases of the heart and kidneys, and on the prevention of mental diseases—all of which have their beginnings, and in most cases their endings, in the home.”

AINGER, ARTHUR CAMPBELL. Memories of Eton sixty years ago; with contributions from Neville Gerald Lyttelton and J: Murray. il *9s Murray, London 373 (Eng ed 17-13276)

“The author finds a reason for the presentment of another book on Eton in the fact that many of the events of the years from 1850 to 1860 show the passing of the old order and the birth of the new. Not only to old Etonians, but also to the general reader, this volume of memories clinging around the ancient school, its inner life, the discipline, manners, and customs of far-off days, and the picturesque buildings, some of which are no more, will be of great interest.”—Ath

“The illustrations are very attractive.”

“To the old English public schoolboy, these reminiscences of sixty years ago will call up many vivid recollections; to the old American schoolboy they will prove no less delightful by their contrasts between the educational systems and methods of the two countries.” E. F. E.

“He has fulfilled his task, obviously a labour of love, in a manner that calls for unstinted praise at the hands not only of those who owe to Eton the educational and moral training which has fitted them for the battle of life, but of all Englishmen who are justly proud of this, one of her greatest institutions.”

“Mr Ainger writes always with the urbanity which is the special charm of the Etonian. Never unkind, as is the way of some stylists more careful of effect than of the truth, he speaks out when criticism is needed.”

“It is even scrappy; but does that matter if every scrap is a pleasure? Inserted between the chapters are seventeen of his school songs and other verses, and Johnson’s ‘Boating song,’ which, with Mr Ainger’s ‘Carmen’ and ‘Vale,’ is known all the world over.”

AKSAKOV, SERGIEI, TIMOFIEEVICH. Russian gentleman; tr. from the Russian by J. D. Duff. *$2.25 (2½c) Longmans (Eng ed 17-22678)

Sergiei Aksakov was a Russian writer who lived from 1790 to 1859. He is the author of two autobiographical works, one of which “Years of childhood” was published in English last year. The other, “Recollections,” is promised for future publication. The present work is pre-autobiographical. It deals with matters before the author’s time and ends with the year of his birth. “Family history” is its more exact title. The translator’s preface says, “‘A Russian gentleman’ seems a suitable title for this book, because the whole scene, in which a multitude of characters appear, is entirely dominated and permeated by the tremendous personality of Aksakov’s grandfather, Stepan Mihailovitch. Plain and rough in his appearance and habits, but proud of his long descent; hardly able to read or write, but full of natural intelligence; capable of furious anger ... but equally capable of steadfast and even chivalrous affection; a born leader of men and the very incarnation of truth, honour, and honesty—Stepan Mihailovitch is more like a Homeric hero than a man of modern times.”

AKSAKOV, SERGIEI TIMOFIEEVICH.^[2] Russian schoolboy; tr. from the Russian by J. D. Duff. *$2.25 (2½c) Longmans 18-1741

“A Russian gentleman,” “Years of childhood,” and “A Russian schoolboy” are the three volumes of Aksakov’s recollections, named in chronological order. The second however, which appeared in English translation in 1916, was written later than the other two, having been published within a short time of the author’s death. The book, which begins with a touching account of a little boy’s homesick longings for his mother, covers the years from 1799 to 1807, and consists of four long chapters: My first term at school; A year in the country; My return to school; Life at college. An appendix contains a sketch, “Butterfly-collecting, an episode of college life,” which was the author’s last piece of writing.

“This completes Mr Duff’s translation of the memoirs of one of the most striking and individual among Russian writers.”

“When we consider the rare merit of these books we can scarcely thank the translator sufficiently. Ignorant as we are of the works of Aksakov, it would be rash to say that this autobiography is the most characteristic of them; and yet one feels certain that there was something especially congenial to him in the recollection of childhood. He is not, we think, quite so happy in the present volume because he passes a little beyond the scope of childhood. ... Aksakov’s peculiar gift lay in his power of living back into the childish soul.”