EDUCATION The First State Normal School in America: the Journals of Cyrus Peirce and Mary Swift. (15s. net. Harvard University Press. London: Oxford University Press.) The first State Normal School in America, opened at Lexington in 1839, presided over by Cyrus Peirce, who was encouraged and befriended by Horace Mann and Henry Barnard, has its early history set forth in this ample and well-illustrated volume. We envy our American friends their opportunities of getting such a book as this published at all. An equally interesting story might be made of some of our own early normal schools, such as the Battersea and the Borough Road, but we doubt whether an English publisher could be found to take the risk involved. Anyhow, this book is a good example of what we ought to be doing before it is too late. Letters to a Young Headmaster. By W. J. THOMAS and C. W. BAILEY. (3s. 6d. net. Blackie.) This small volume contains so much practical wisdom and so much shrewd comment, not only on boys, but also upon teachers and parents, that we hope it will reach a larger public than that to which it seems nominally to be addressed. The many and varied situations that arise in a headmaster's dealings with governors, masters, parents, and pupils, are described with unfailing humour and sound common sense. The book should certainly be read by headmasters, but we think that headmistresses might also get some hints from it. And for its insight into human nature, it deserves to be still more widely read. Education and Social Welfare in Switzerland: to Commemorate the Pestalozzi Centenary, February 17, 1927. By A. J. PRESSLAND. (3s. 6d. Harrap.) The older generation of living teachers will recall that it is nearly thirty years since Robert Morant wrote his masterly report on education in Switzerland, followed a few years later by an account of the school system of Zurich by Messrs. Spenser & Pressland. On the occasion of the Pestalozzi Centenary, Mr. Pressland again comes forward with this useful and interesting volume, combining an account of Pestalozzi and his work with a description of the organization of Swiss schools. Swiss experience is important, because, as Mr. Pressland says, Switzerland is the educational laboratory of Europe. We note that the author's profits are to be devoted to the benevolent funds of the A.M.A. and the Swiss Lehrerverein. The Place of Play in Education. By Dr. M. JANE REANEY. With Seventy-four games arranged by Amy Whateley. (3s. 6d. net. Methuen.) Dr. Reaney has an established reputation on the subject of play. She knows the various theories that have been put forward by biologists and psychologists, and has earned the right to have her own views respected. Moreover, her researches on organized group games, together with her opportunities as a training-college lecturer, have led her to a point of view from which she can profitably relate theory and practice. compact manual should prove very useful both to people who wish to understand play and to teachers who wish to direct children's play to the best advantage. We have noted some rather bad misprints, including the spelling of the author's own name (page 76). This Educational Yearbook of the International Institute of Teachers College, Columbia University, 1925. Edited by Prof. I. L. KANDEL. (15s. New York; Macmillan.) Students of comparative education, and indeed, everyone who desires insight into education as a world problem, will welcome the second issue of this excellent year-book. The thanks of other civilized countries are due to the International Institute of Teachers Coliege, New York, for the production of these most useful annuals. The editor, Dr. Kandel, points out that it is the elementary stage of education which is everywhere being attacked most seriously and with greatest success, but that the training of the teacher for the elementary school is a vital problem which is by no means solved. Educational developments in England are described by Mr. W. H. Perkins, and the problem of the curriculum of the English elementary school is handled by Prof. Nunn. Education for a Changing Civilization; Three Lectures Delivered on the Luther Laflin Kellogg Foundation at Rutgers University, 1926. By Prof. W. H. KILPATRICK. (4s. 6d. New York: Macmillan.) That things are changing there can be no manner of doubt. The old authoritarian discipline, for example, is gone for good, and our only hope lies in substituting a discipline from within The thoughtful for the vanished discipline from without. American, in whose midst wealth relatively abounds, has still more reason for anxiety than has the thoughtful Briton. In both countries, however, educational readjustments are called for. In these lectures three questions are asked. What are the chief trends of change? What are the resultant demands on education? To what extent is education already answering to these demands? Prof. Kilpatrick is one of the most gifted and inspiring exponents of education in English-speaking countries, and these lectures, both for their style and for their matter, are heartily commended to our readers' attention. Educational Opportunities for Young Workers. By O. D. EVANS. (12s. 6d. net. New York: Macmillan.) New Schools for Older Students. By N. Peffer. (IOS. 6d. net. New York: Macmillan.) These two books are units of the Adult Education Study which is being conducted by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The first deals with young workers who have left the elementary school or the first grade of the high school to go to work, i.e., with adolescents rather than adults. It traces the historical development of educational opportunity for employed youth, shows the needs of this group to-day, and discusses the various ways of meeting these needs. The most interesting chapters deal with apprentice schools, evening schools, and day continuation schools. The second book gives a report of various experiments in adult, as distinguished from adolescent, education, and shows how rapidly the movement for cultural education has spread of late years in the States. It describes the work of individual schools-such as the New School for Social Research in New York City--as well as the educational work of National Associations, like the Federation of Women's Clubs and the Y.M.C.A. The book is very readable and full of interest for English as well as American readers. Liberalism and American Education in the Eighteenth Century. By Dr. A. O. HANSEN. (New York: Macmillan.) A useful contribution to the history of American education. Dr. Hansen gives an interesting summary of the dominant ideas of the eighteenth century in the Old World, and traces the influence of these ideas in the schemes of educational reformers in the United States. Auto-Education Guides. IV. ABC of Development Through Senses and Muscles. By Dr. JESSIE WHITE. (7d. net. Auto-Education Institute.) The Nation's Schools: Their Task and Their Importance. By Prof. H. B. SMITH. (6s. Longmans.) Friedrich Fröbel und Maria Montessori. VON HILDE HECKER und Dr. MARTHA MUCHOW. (M.5.60. Leipzig: Quelle und Meyer.) Educational Diagnosis and the Measurement of School Achievement. By Prof. M. J. V. WAGENEN. (12s. 6d. net. New York: Macmillan.) The University Afield. By A. L. HALL-QUEST. (12s. 6d. net. New York; Macmillan.) NOFFSINGER. The Technique of Examining Children; a Quest for Capacity. Education for Adults and Other Essays. By F. P. KEPPEL. (IOS. 6d. net. New York: Columbia University Press. London: Oxford University Press.) The Vocational Guidance of College Students. By L. A. MAVERICK. The Organization of a Comprehensive High School; a Presentation of Plans and Devices of the Arsenal Technical School, Indianapolis, whereby the Interest of the Individual is kept Paramount. By M. H. STUART. (4s. 6d. New York; Macmillan.) ENGLISH, POETRY AND DRAMA This selection includes prose and verse extracts, and its range is a wide one covering 500 years of English literature from Chaucer to Chesterton. The objection that all collections of extracts tend to encourage superficial reading does not apply to the same extent where all are, as in this case, linked together by a common characteristic, the displaying of some phase of humour. People and Houses. By RUTH SUCKOW. (7s. 6d. net. Cape.) A few months ago we had pleasure in reading and commenting upon Miss Suckow's second novel, "The Odyssey of a Nice Girl." Our pleasure has been increased by the perusal of her third book, a series of short stories dealing with various aspects of the life of the farming community of mid-western America. Miss Suckow's sympathy with the working people whom she describes is real. She displays an intimate knowledge of their lives and characters and a remarkable understanding of their struggles and aspirations, and of their deep attachment to the soil. She writes of ordinary events, of the daily hardships and worries of life, of family relationships, of the inevitable conflict between young and old, but the little intimate touches and the sympathetic appreciation shown throughout give to the stories a wide appeal. She is at her best when describing old people. She understands their passionate desire for independence, their helplessness and frailties, their wish to be petted and made much of, their feeling of emptiness and uneasiness when compelled to give up the arduous work that farming entails. The four stories Retired,' "A Pilgrim and a Stranger," Just Him and Her," and "Golden Wedding are on this account perhaps the best examples of her penetration into human motives and actions. " (1) The Child in the Changing Home. By Dr. C. W. KIMMINS. (2s. 6d. net. Jenkins.) (2) The Women's Side. By CLEMENCE DANE. (2s. 6d. net. Jenkins.) (3) Modern English Fiction: A Personal View. By G. BULLETT. (2s. 6d. net. Jenkins.) The To-Day Library makes a promising start with three books of mark and interest. Dr. Kimmins (1) presents a quite fascinating survey of the changes that have passed over English home-life in the last fifty years and the problems connected with the up-bringing of children to which these changes give rise. Whether one is prepared to follow his acceptance of Montessori and Dalton methods or not, he is always worth listening to, and full of the wisdom which is inspired by humour and common sense. Miss Clemence Dane's The Women's Side (2) is a brilliant contribution to current controversies on female education and careers for women. She writes with vigour, freshness, and independence, and a capacity for seeing both sides of a question. Mr. Bullett (3) discourses pleasantly on Messrs. Wells, Arnold Bennett, Galsworthy, Conrad, and E. M. Forster. His sub-title, A Personal View," points to the limitation of which a reader soon becomes conscious. The criticism is impressionistic and does not carry us very far. (1) Hugh Lofting's Story of Doctor Dolittle: Retold for Younger Children. (Is. 6d. net. Cape.) (2) Luck of the Woods. By D. ENGLISH. (IS. 3d. Bell.) Of these two children's books (1) is full of exciting and highly improbable adventures which will not make it less welcome to little readers, while older ones will enjoy the Foreword by Hugh Walpole, though they may not place the author so near Lewis Carroll as he does. In (2) the incidents are quite credible if somewhat unusual; the tale is fresh and spirited, and from it a certain amount of gipsy-lore can be gleaned incidentally. (1) The Gentle Craft. By T. DELONEY. (10d. Blackie.) (2) The Lives of Alcibiades and Demosthenes. By PLUTARCH. (10d. Blackie.) Of these two examples of the handy and inexpensive "Highways and Byways of Literature Series," (1) is decidedly a byway, and a pleasantly unfrequented one. An abbreviation, so skilfully done that only in one place is a seam noticeable, of the two parts of "The Gentle Craft," first printed in 1597 or 1598, and published in full by the Clarendon Press, it gives a delightful picture of the life of the craftsman in the sixteenth century, and might be read as a corrective to an over-dose of the works of Mr. and Mrs. Hammond. In the whole of medieval literature " there can be no quainter tale than that of the little table' of Sir Simon Eyre, once Lord Mayor of London, and builder of the "Leaden Hall." We wonder when the pancake bell ceased its yearly ringing, and what exactly were those pudding-pies that accompanied the pancakes at the London apprentices' feast. The Writing of Clear English: A Book for Students of Science and Technology. By F. W. WESTAWAY. (3s. 6d. net. Blackie.) It is an excellent idea to provide the specialist in science with a treatise expressly designed to show him how to write simply, accurately, and lucidly. These chapters are weighty with instruction, but lightened by graceful humour. At the end of the book are printed some useful examples of lucidly written scientific descriptions and expositions. Chats About Our Mother Tongue. By Dr. B. L. K. HENDERson. (2s. net. Macdonald & Evans.) " The Building of the Treasury,' Coinage in the Treasury," Base Coinage,' Literary Wealth "- such are the fanciful titles of chapters in this volume that deal with Words, Sentences, Images, Idioms, Style, and kindred matters. Dr. Henderson talked on these things (his chapters were originally lectures) to an audience of London bankers. Hence the metaphorical headings. The ground covered is, of course, well trodden, but the merit of the volume is its fresh method of appeal. In spite of the fact that grammar and, one might almost add, systematic study are ostentatiously avoided, the matter is scholarly and the advice sound. The book should be useful to business people. Tales of Travel and Discovery. By VARIOUS AUTHORS. (IS. 9d. Murray.) As far as mere excerpts can go, the selection of tales here given (their very title is alluring) should prove of interest to youthful school and home readers. Their geographical distribution is wide, and perusal of them may awaken a desire for further reading. The Story of a Short Life. By JULIANA H. EWING. (IS. 4d. This is one of Mrs. Ewing's charming stories for children, and the interest she lends to it is comparable to that of "Parables from Nature," by her mother, Mrs. Gatty. There is surely something in literary heredity! Almond Blossom; a Collection of Verse and Prose. Written by CHILDREN OF TORMEAD. (5s. net. Sampson Low.) On the Study of Words and English Past and Present. By R. C. These works of Archbishop Trench, if not exactly epochmaking, did immense service in their time in the popularizing of a fascinating study. Some of Trench's derivations, it is true, are no longer tenable but his studies, as Mr. George Sampson, the present editor, puts it, are a noble monument to their author. Trench's research had a yet greater outcome: for, though not the only begetter" of "The New English Dictionary," it was he who, in 1857, gave the generative impulse to that great undertaking. Apart from this, these books are of perennial value for the enthusiasm with which they were written, and for the interest in the life-history of words which they cannot fail to awaken in their readers. Holinshed's Chronicle as used in Shakespeare's Plays. (2s. net. Few realize that the complete "Holinshed "runs to thousands of pages, the perusal of which would weary and confuse all but the specialist. The work is therefore one that emphatically lends itself to selection and ordinary students should be grateful to Prof. and Mrs. Allardyce Nicoll for excerpting, with references, passages which have a general or a special bearing on the plays. The names of the editors are sufficient guarantee of the thoroughness of their work. for the English Association by F. S. BOAS and C. H. HERFORD (7s. 6d. net. Oxford University Press.) Italian Literature. By Prof. E. G. GARDNER. (6d. Benn.) Shakespeare. By G. B. HARRISON. (6d. Benn.) The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. By CHARLES DICKENS. Abridged and Edited by CHRISTINA F. KNOX. (Is. 9d. Macmillan.) The Cracker Box: the Adventures of Daddy Fox, Ginger Bear, the (2s. 6d. English Words and Their Uses. By R. B. MORGAN and R. B. Variant Versions of Seven Dozen Junior Texts; Arranged and Better Writing. By H. S. CANBY. (3s. 6d. net. Cape.) The Princess Who Grew. By P. J. COHEN DE VRIES. Translated The Writer's Craft: a Manual of English Composition for the Treasure Island. By R. L. STEVENSON. (2s. net. Collins.) The Story of Hiawatha; Adapted from H. W. LONGFellow. Greek Fairy Tales; Adapted from CHARLES KINGSLEY. (Paper, 6d. each; Cloth, 8d. each. Collins.) Collins' Script Readers. (Book I, 5d.; Books II and III, 6d. each. Collins.) Friday Tales. (4d. Collins.) The Conquered. By NAOMI MITCHISON. (3s. 6d. net. Cape.) Composition for Upper Classes. By E. J. S. LAY and ELLA BRAY. (2s. 3d. Macmillan.) Children of Ancient Egypt. By L. Lamprey. (2s. Harrap.) Little Gem Poetry Books. Edited by R. K. and M. I. R. POLKINGHORNE. (Books I, II, III, 6d. each: Book IV, 8d. Bell.) The real value of these little books is hardly suggested by their modest exterior and low price. The poems chosen are of a kind that no child could or should resist. A footnote to some of the delightful American specimens might forestall misconceptions in natural history. There is no charm in the English sparrow's "song (III 28), and a "flock" of swallows in March (I 14) would be an unheard-of sight, though an occasional straggler has been chronicled. " " " A Commentary and Questionnaire on Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience (William Blake). By M. ORCHARD. A Commentary and Questionnaire on Recent Essays (edited by ARCHBOLD), and on The Tempest" (Shakespeare). By J. G. SIMPSON. A Commentary and Questionnaire on The School for Scandal" (Sheridan), on “Guy Mannering (Scott), and on The History of Henry Esmond" (Thackeray). By K. E. CLARKE. (6d. each. Pitman.) Undeterred by vain fears that they may be accused of promoting "cram," the editors of this series offer practical aid to the busy teacher and to the solitary student preparing himself for written examinations, of whom, if Lady Astor's figures are correct and only some 3 per cent. of elementary pupils pass into secondary schools, there must be a large number. The purpose of the Commentary, which occupies about a third of the space, is to ensure the understanding of the work under consideration, and the scope and variety of the questions may be inferred from the fact that there are 115 on Blake alone. One feature of the Questionnaires is that all require study of books other than the actual text. A Short View of the English Stage. By J. AGATE. (2s. 6d. net. Jenkins.) This little book, written in pungent and amusing style, traces the development of drama in England since the close of the Victorian era to the present day, and briefly sums up the output and merits of British playwrights in that period. Mr. Agate draws a distinction between the drama and the theatre, the former being described as an aesthetic phenomenon and the latter as an economic proposition. He deals in a practical manner with the deterioration in the type of play shown at the larger theatres owing to their control being in the hands of those whose main interest is not in the intrinsic quality of the plays produced, but in the amount of box-office receipts. Although he sees no immediate solution to this problem, he is heartened by the experiments in the smaller independent theatres and by the widespread interest in plays and acting throughout the country. The First Part of King Henry the Fourth. Edited by G. B. SELLON. King Richard II. Edited by C. L. THOMSON. (IS. 6d. each. Marshall.) Not only are these texts provided with a set of general questions, wide in their scope, to cover the reading of the entire play-those on Henry IV are particularly suggestive-but, at the end of each act, a complete set is given which will be a boon to the class teacher. The glossaries, though brief, seem to be quite adequate. The battle alluded to in Henry IV, page 117, was fought at Pilleth in Radnorshire. The Poets' Commonwealth: A Junior Anthology for Australian Schools. Oxford Edited by W. MURDOCH. (2s. 6d. net. University Press.) This attractive anthology includes, in addition to a selection of those poems without which no such collection would be complete, a number by living authors which are less well known. The volume is intended for the use of pupils in Australian schools, and the editor has wisely added to certain sections a few examples of the poetry of the Dominion and these serve to link up the masterpieces of English literature with the actual life of the readers. Shakespeare's The Tempest. Edited by J. HAMPDEN. (IS. 9d. Nelson.) Shakespeare's As You Like It. Edited by EVELYN SMITH. (IS. 9d. Nelson.) As You Like It. (6s. net. Cambridge University Press.) " The two first of the above belong to the Teaching of English" series, of which Sir Henry Newbolt is the general editor. Such explanations as difficult words require are given in footnotes-an excellent plan. The introductions explanatory of the plot and the characters are suited to beginners, and the volumes conclude with a suggestive causerie, which older students will value. Illustrations calculated to stir the imagination are given when practicable, as in Miss Smith's delightful little book. The third volume above is one of the entire works of the dramatist, edited for the syndics of the Cambridge University Press by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and John Dover Wilson. Their As You Like It" has all the literary attractiveness and reliable scholarship that one associates with the editors; and lucky is the student who can possess himself of this tasteful edition of Shakespeare. A Milton Handbook. By Prof. J. H. Hanford. (6s. net. Bell.) Scott's Narrative Poetry: Being Abridgments of The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion and The Lady of the Lake. Edited by A. J. J. Ratcliff. (Is. 6d. Nelson.) Pattern Poetry. Part III-A Book of Longer Poems from Geoffrey Chaucer to Francis Thompson. Compiled by R. WILSON. (IS. 9d. Nelson.) Selections from Keats. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by B. GROOM. (Is. 6d. Macmillan.) God, Man, and Epic Poetry: a Study in Comparative Literature. By H. V. ROUTH. Vol. I-Classical. Vol. II-Medieval. (12s. 6d. net each. Cambridge University Press.) The Young Authors: a Book of Verse and Prose Written and Illustrated by Children. Edited by ELEANOR B. S. JENKINS. (6s. net. Moring: the De La More Press.) Selections from English Dramatists, with a Running Commentary Showing the Development of the Drama in England. By G. H. CRUMP. (2s. 6d. Harrap.) Shakespeare. The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Edited by R. W. FAINT. (3s. University Tutorial Press.) ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE A New View of Society and Other Writings. By ROBERT OWEN. (2s. net. Dent.) Of all the volumes recently added to Everyman's Library, the most interesting from the educational point of view is this reprint of the best of Robert Owen's writings. Owen is much referred to in these days, but not much read, for the sufficient reason that some of his best work has been out of print for about a century. No better editor could possibly have been found than Mr. G. D. H. Cole. Fortunately, as Mr. Cole remarks, those portions of Owen's writings which are most worth reading (except the uncompleted autobiography) can be comprised within the limits of this handy volume, which we heartily commend to our readers. (1) Elements of Economics: A Textbook for Secondary Schools. (3) A Synopsis of Economics. By Gertrude WILLIAMS. (4s. 6d. Of these three text-books, which are of somewhat similar scope and purpose, Mr. Fay's (1) is by far the longest and the most ambitious. It runs to 600 pages and contains nearly 200 diagrams, tables, and charts, besides exercises and book-lists to each chapter. It is written in a clear and vigorous style, and the author, who has taught economics to secondary school pupils for more than twenty-five years, has spared no pains to make it readable and complete. But it is essentially and markedly American: the descriptive parts relate entirely to America, and the theory is illustrated by American examples. English readers, therefore, will prefer The Groundwork of Economics (2), which, though less concrete and more theoretical, is not written from a purely national standpoint. There is no brilliance or striking originality about Mr. Silverman's exposition of economic " " " doctrine, and the student will find his pedestrian style rather dull and uninteresting; but his analysis is always careful and sound, and his treatment of the subject is well balanced. Each of the eight chapters is preceded by a short summary of its contents, and there are 128 test questions at the end of the book. Lack of balance is the weak point in Mrs. Williams's book (3), for nearly a quarter of her 165 pages are devoted to Public Finance. The book is a real synopsis," intended as a guide to the more elaborate treatises"; it is very concise, and makes use of tabulation wherever possible. It reads, in fact, like notes for a course of lectures, and as such it should be useful to the teacher and the private student. There is a short bibliography at the end of each chapter, but no exercises. General Social Science. By Prof. R. L. FINNEY. (7s. New York; Macmillan.) It is not easy to describe the contents of this book briefly, The author is an American professor of educational sociology. and his object is to impart to our youth a sound philosophy of individual and social life." His eighty chapters-they are very short ones—contain a mixture of civics, ethics, psychology, economics, and sociology, all written in a crisp and readable style, and enlivened by illustrations as varied as the text. To each chapter there is a set of problems and projects, and a list of books for supplementary reading. Despite its many merits, however, the book is scarcely suited to the requirements of English schools. Revision Notes-Mercantile Law and Company Law: Covering the Syllabuses of the Examinations of the Royal Society of Arts, the London Chamber of Commerce, and the Various Professional Examinations for Accountants and Secretaries. By W. DE C. HUTCHINSON. (4s. net. Effingham Wilson.) Economic Success. By W. M. COLE. (6s. New York; Macmillan.) GEOGRAPHY (1) Europe. By R. J. FINCH. (Is. 6d. Black.) (3) Australia and New Zealand. By J. BRUCE. (Is. 6d. Nisbet.) The first three books in this set deal with the regional geography of continental areas: they provide ample materials for practical work, and contain numerous exercises for individual effort on the part of the pupil. In each case, suitable illustrations and maps accompany the descriptions. (4) As in the earlier editions of the Highways of the World, the chapters comprise a series of instructive reading lessons on the maritime activities of the Phoenicians, Genoese, Venetians, Portuguese and Spaniards, followed by an account of the great trade routes of the modern world. In the new edition the text has been carefully revised and an additional chapter has been inserted on the recent development of aerial highways. An Introduction to the Study of Map Projection. By J. A. The Valley of Arno: a Study of Its Geography, History, and Works reproduced from old prints, add further distinction to an attractive publication. (1) College Geography. By Prof. R. PEATTIE. (12s. 6d. net. Ginn.) (2) A Geography of the World. By B. C. WALLIS. Second Edition. (4s. Macmillan.) (1) Like all textbooks published for schools and colleges in America. this geography is characterized by its clearly printed pages, and its well-produced illustrations. Although the book is intended to serve as an introduction either to a study of economic geography or to a course of regional geography, the human aspect of the subject is never lost sight of. Chapters on climatic environment and weather variability are followed by sections on the life of man in the jungle, savannah, and desert; nomadism in the desert, steppe, and tundra; plains and their soils; mineral resources and water supply. The book might be used with great advantage by students in colleges and schools in this country. (2) First published in 1911, this geography of the world has been reprinted several times. Changes, due to the War, have made it necessary to alter the statistical tables in the earlier edition, but in its revised form the work retains the special features which have made it so popular a textbook. The Geographical Teacher. Supplement No. 2-The Agricultural Work and Workers. By A. O. COOKE. Alma Roma: a Travellers' Companion to Rome. By A. G. HISTORY The Third British Empire: Being a Course of Lectures delivered at Columbia University, New York. By A. E. ZIMMERN. (6s. net. Oxford University Press.) Nothing that Prof. Zimmern writes can be ignored. He has profound and accurate knowledge, penetrating insight, and unusual power of effective expression. Hence his five lectures on the Third British Empire deserve careful consideration. The First British Empire, he says, was dissolved in 1776; the Second developed spontaneously and reached its apogee in 1914; the Third came into existence by transformation during the Great War. It is not an Empire in the strict sense of the term at all, but a Commonwealth of Free Nations. Prof. Zimmern examines with great ability the implications of that fact, e.g. the relations of the constituent members of that Commonwealth to one another and to foreign powers; their place in the League of Nations; their attitude towards the coloured races, and so on. The appearance of the book at the time of the Imperial Conference is most opportune. Gascony under English Rule. By ELEANOR C. LODGE. (10s. 6d. net. Methuen.) Miss Lodge, Principal of Westfield College, has, as the result of long research and many visits to France, produced a work of high originality, remarkable interest, and first-rate historical importance. As a side-light upon English history during the three centuries, 1152-1453, it is simply indispensable. It provides first a chronological narrative of the Angevin and English rule in Gascony, tracing, with the aid of an excellent series of outline maps, the geographical fluctuations of that rule. Then it proceeds to describe briefly-leaving a detailed treatment to a subsequent work, whose publication we hope may not be long delayed the government and administration of Gascony, the constitution of the communes, the system of the fortified bastides," and the social condition of nobles, burgesses, rural freemen, and serfs. A full bibliography, most impressive in its compass, completes one of the most valuable additions to the knowledge of medieval English history made in recent years. The Formation of the Greek People. By Prof. A. JARDÉ. (16s. net. Kegan Paul.) " "" This volume is one of the great series on the History of Civilization which Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co. are publishing under the general editorship of Mr. C. K. Ogden. In any such series Greece and the Hellenic culture would necessarily loom large. For, as Sir Henry Maine remarked, if with some exaggeration, 'except the blind forces of Nature, nothing moves in this world which is not Greek in its origin." Hence it is not surprising that the section of the series devoted to Greece is to contain no less than seven volumes. Of these seven the volume before us is the first. It deals with origins. How is the "Greek miracle" to be accounted for? Whence came the peculiar Hellenic genius? Prof. Jardé, after a masterly survey of early Greek history, comes to the conclusion that the three concurrent influences which formed the Hellenic people were geographical, racial, and historical. His study, which concentrates the results of much recent Continental investigation, is a distinct addition to the resources of English scholarship. The English Poor in the Eighteenth Century: A Study in Social and Administrative History. By Dr. DOROTHY MARSHALL. (12s. 6d. net. Routledge.) To give a comprehensive account of the social effects, during the eighteenth century in particular, of the English Poor Law, was a task that must have needed some moral courage to undertake, for it is a sordid and painful subject. Miss Marshall has performed the task thoroughly, and has presented the results of her investigation in good literary form. She shows how the Elizabethan Poor Law, with the individual parish as its unit, and with no central authority, became entirely inadequate; and how the Law of Settlement of 1662, which sanctioned the removal of paupers to their own parishes, led to an amount of harshness and of suffering which at this time of day is terrible to contemplate. " " The Legacy of the Middle Ages. Edited by C. G. CRUMP and E. F. JACOB. (10s. net. Clarendon Press.) This volume is a companion to those on the Legacy of Greece and the Legacy of Rome recently published by the Clarendon Press. It consists of an introduction and ten chapters. The subjects treated are religion, art, literature, philosophy, education, law, women, towns, government, and political ideas. The authors of the various sections are scholars of the highest rank. They have presented admirable pictures of medieval life. Their work, however, is singularly lacking in unity of design. Nearly all of them completely ignore the idea of a legacy. They describe medieval civilization excellently, but make little effort to indicate what it has bequeathed to the modern world. Greece. By M. A. HAMILTON. (2s. 6d. Clarendon Press.) This fascinating little volume is a monument alike of attractiveness and of cheapness. On the one hand it gives an excellent narrative of the outlines of the history of Greece from the earliest times to the death of Alexander the Great. On the other hand, it provides a picture gallery of nearly 150 photographs representative of all that is best in Greek scenery and Hel'enic art. It is a text-book transformed into a prize. Champions of Peace. By HEBe Spaull. (3s. 6d. net. Allen & Unwin.) This is a handbook to the League of Nations. It gives sketches of Woodrow Wilson, General Smuts, Lord Čecil, Dr. Inazo Nitobe, Dr. Nansen, M. Branting, Dr. Benesh, and Mr. Ramsay Macdonald. For young people this biographical approach to the technicalities of the League is excellent. A History of Europe and the Modern World, 1492-1914. By R. B. MOWAT. (4s. 6d. net. Clarendon Press.) The indefatigable Mr. R. B. Mowat has in the volume before us produced an admirable introductory sketch of Modern History from the date of the discovery of America to that of the outbreak of the Great War. An interesting and valuable feature of Mr. Mowat's survey is that it includes chapters both on America and on the Far East. The illustrations are, as is usual with text-books emanating from the Clarendon Press, of high originality and excellence. The Conquest of Brazil. By R. NASH. (18s. net. Cape.) This is a work of description rather than of history. It briefly sketches the occupation and development of Brazil from the time of its discovery by the Portuguese in 1500 to the present day. It then devotes its attention to a detailed account of existing landways and waterways, modes of cultivation, pasturage, mining, etc. Next it treats of commerce, education, public health and other communal matters. Finally it seeks to forecast the future of Brazil. The author is an American traveller, who writes with a supreme contempt for Europe, and in a style which is meant to be vigorous and picturesque, but is, to the present reviewer at any rate, extremely exasperating. Those, however, who can ignore the style will find the book full of information. Days Before History. By H. R. HALL. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. (Is. 6d. Harrap.) Ancient Palestine. By the Rev. J. BAIKIE. (2s. 6d. net. Black.) England under the Tudors and Stuarts. By K. FEILING. (25. Williams & Norgate.) The Growth of Europe Through the Dark Ages, A.D. 401-1100: a Brief Narrative of Evolution from Tribal to National Status. By General Sir E. BARROW. (10s. 6d. net. Witherby.) Exhibit on the Organisation and Work of the League of Nations: a Series of Twenty-eight Pictorial Charts and Diagrams specially suitable for Display in Schools, Colleges, Public Libraries, and other Educational Institutions. (6s. a set. League of Nations Union.) English Women in Life and Letters. By M. PHILLIPS and W. S. TOMKINSON. (7s. 6d. net. Best Edition, 8s. 6d. net. Oxford University Press.) The Cambridge Ancient History. Edited by J. B. BURY, Dr. S. A. Cook, and F. E. ADCOCK. Vol. V-Athens, 478-401 B.C. (21s. net. Cambridge University Press.) Life and Work in Medieval Europe (Fifth to Fifteenth Centuries). By Prof. P. BOISSONNADE. Translated, with an Introduction, by Dr. EILEEN POWER. (16s. net. Kegan Paul.) A History of England. By D. SOMERVELL. (6d. Benn.) In the Days of Elizabeth. By W. R. MACKLIN. The Coming of the Stuarts. By G. N. PocoCK. (2s. each. Dent.) A History of Hawaii: Prepared under the Direction of the HistoricalTM Commission of the Territory of Hawaii. By R. S. KUYKENDALL. With Introductory Chapters by H. E. GREGORY. (10s. 6d. net. New York; Macmillan.) Home Life in History: Social Life and Manners in Britain, 200 B.C.-A.D. 1926. By J. GLOAG and C. T. WALKER. (12s. 6d. net. Benn.) Histories. By C. H. K. MARTEN and E. H. CARTER. Book III Blackwell.) |