Book Notices

The Literature of the South. By Montrose J. Moses. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Price, $2.50.

A book over which one with the slightest bit of literary inclination would love to linger! It blends letters and politics, tradition, custom and culture in an alluring narrative in which the spirit of the South is revealed as a distinct force which created a type of life as original as that of Puritan New England. One wonders that a sympathetic and comprehensive presentation of this literature as a whole had not been made earlier. It includes some great names,

such as Captain John Smith, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Henry Clay, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert E. Lee, Paul Hamilton Hayne, Sidney Lanier, F. Hopkinson Smith, Charles Egbert Craddock and many others. The literature of a people reveals their life, and because the life of the Southern people has been full of romantic and dramatic elements, this book is as interesting as a novel and far more instructive and inspiring.

Introduction to Political Science. A Treatise on the Origin, Nature, Functions and Organization of the State. By James Wilford Garner, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois. American Book Company. Price, $2.50.

Professor Garner furnishes in this volume a monumental work on government. There are six hundred and sixteen pages in the book including the index. Though in a sense elementary it covers a wide range of topics, and gives not only the author's opinions but also an impartial discussion of the leading opinions of others on various questions of statecraft. It is intended for a college text-book and develops the subject on a logical plan, and is inclusive of all that a well-educated person should know about the state and its functions. It presents at the head of each chapter a bibliography of the best English, French, German and Italian literature on the subjects treated, thus encouraging the student to read widely and to form his own opinions. Professor Garner's book leaves little to be desired further in the way of a textbook on this subject. It is strong, clear, impartial and adequate.

The Teaching of Latin in Secondary Master in the Roxbury Latin School. Price, 80 cents postpaid.

Schools. By Eugene A. Hecker,
The Schoenhof Book Company.

This is a rather rambling sort of work wherein is discussed the value of studying Latin (the author believes it should not be compulsory study), the grammar of Latin to be mastered, the authors to be studied, and those methods of presentation which shall develop the subject in its highest degree of usefulness and inspiration. Mr. Hecker has some very definite conclusions on the subject of the study of Latin, and he does not hesitate to state them, inviting discussion. The book is highly suggestive and will stimulate thought by its aggressiveness and candor.

The Science of Poetry and The Philosophy of Language. By Hudson Maxim. Illustrated by William Oberhardt. Funk & Wagnalls Company. Price, $2.50.

The author says: "The main object of this book is to provide a practical method for literary criticism and analysis, and a standard of uniform judg. ment for determining the relative merits of literary productions, and further, to supply a more practical and efficient means than we have had heretofore for the standardization of poetry, whereby any poem may be assayed and the amount of its poetic gold determined and separated from the slag and dross." Opinions will differ as to the success of this author's quest for a standard. To the reviewer it seems as though he were judging poetry in the way that the scientist judges a bone, or a bug, or a flower,-by analyzing and classifying and tabulating it. But the trouble is that to do so it must be or become a dead thing; whereas to us the flower, the butterfly or the human hand is a living object full of a beauty and significance that cannot be analyzed and classified as only so much mere material substance. So poetry seems to us to be of the spirit rather than merely a matter of vibrations and stress of voice and tone-colors. When we have it analyzed on this author's plan it is poetry no longer. The living spirit of it has flown away forever. Perhaps this is a sentimental and not a scientific point of view. But sentiment is sometimes good and true.

A History of the United States. For schools. By S. E. Forman. The Century Company.

In this book Mr. Forman has accomplished a task that might well appall any writer of history, that of setting forth to beginners in the formal study of our history not only the salient and significant facts in an orderly and interesting manner, but also in presenting the wave of civilization as it has advanced from the East toward the West. This latter feature, not discoverable in other elementary histories, is one that will commend itself to all teachers as worthy the close study and thorough understanding of their pupils. Mr. Forman has "thought it wise to be liberal in the treatment of this Western development, for no more imposing movement has been wit nessed by man, and there is no more inspiring subject of class-room work." The time is past when a history of our country can be confined to a treatment of the discovery and settlement of the Atlantic coast countries, and a recital of the nation's wars. New England is not the whole of the Union, its history not the whole story of our development and civilization. Progress ever westward in its movement has built up a great power away from the East, and its claims to recognition and justice in the histories to be studied in the schools is imperative and honorable. Mr. Forman has made a history that can be studied in every state in the Union, without the aid of a supplemental history of that state. It is a history of a people and that people's civilization, of the whole people as they are found to exist to-day. The book marks an epoch in the making of school histories. It is fitted to be used in the upper grades of elementary schools, the aids in the way of reviews, questions, chronological tables, reference books, etc., being ample and suitable.

EXCELLENT BOOKS FOR CHRISTMAS

Getting On. By Orison Swett Marden. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. $1 net. Postage, 10 cents.

Dr. Marden is an inspiring writer for young men. This book deals with experiences that are common to young men who are struggling with various obstacles of birth, environment, poverty, etc., and endeavoring to make a successful and honorable career for themselves. Such will find much sympathetic and helpful counsel in this attractively printed volume.

Be Good to Yourself. By Orison Swett Marden. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. $1 net. Postage, 10 cents.

This is another excellent volume in Dr. Marden's series of inspirational books. He points out the fact that many people are good to every one else but hard on themselves. He advocates the policy of keeping one's self at the highest point of health and efficiency, mental, moral and spiritual. Chapters on "Love as a Tonic" and "Fun in the Home" are particularly interesting.

Fritz in Germany. By Etta Blaisdell McDonald and Julia Dalrymple; and Betty in Canada. By the same authors. Little, Brown & Co. Each volume, 60 cents. Price to schools, 40 cents.

These charming books while intended for geographical readers are so beautifully illustrated and so fascinating in subject-matter that they will be used for Christmas gifts as well as for school purposes. They take the young reader to the countries described and make him see the sights, almost hear the sounds, and breathe in the fragrant odors of the woods and fields. All young folks love to travel; and by the use of these accurate and pedagogical volumes they can do so with little expense and trouble.

The Young Forester. By Zane Grey. Harper & Bros. $1.25 net. This is a delightful book for boys, depicting the life of a young man who heard "the call of the wild," and so loved life in God's outdoors that he chose the life of a forester. Encounters with wild beasts, thrilling adventures with lumbermen, and exciting fights with forest fires keep the interest at the boiling point. The boy who does not like this book should go and play with dolls.

The Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks. The same: Tales of the Romans. By F. J. Gould. With an Introduction by W. D. Howells. Harper & Bros. 50 cents each.

These books re-tell in simple language the stories that have so long been "classics" as found in Plutarch's Lives. They are suitable for children from ten to fourteen years of age. They are interesting, instructive and inspiring. The editor is to be commended for placing these valuable means for cultivating a good literary taste within the reach of young children.

"Up to Calvin's." By Laura E. Richards. Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. Dana Estes & Co. $1.25.

This is a capital novel for boys and girls, full of love, adventure, humor and other interesting features. It is a good book for mature boys and girls.

Harper's Book of Little Plays. Selected for Home and School Entertainments. With an Introduction by Madalene D. Barnum, of the Brooklyn Training School for Teachers. Harper & Bros. 75 cents.

Six good short plays are contained in this volume, viz.: The Frog Fairy, The Revolt of the Holidays, The Ninepin Club, Familiar Quotations, The Tables Turned, A Thanksgiving Dream. Increasing attention is given to the cultivation of the dramatic instinct in children. This volume furnishes the ready means for children to practice in the presentation of simple, dramatic plays to home and school audiences.

Chatterbox for 1910. Dana Estes & Co.

This is a well-known annual full of short selections, prose and verse, science, travel, adventure, all interesting to the normal boy or girl. The variety of subject-matter is alluring.

Dana Estes & Co. $1.25.

A Happy Little Time. By Laura E. Richards. This is "a partly true story" for children, and charmingly illustrated. It deals with such fascinating characters as "the wall-paper fairies," "the bottle family," "the washstand people and Mr. Tray," etc. The table of contents appeals to the child mind and awakens a desire to know the stories of the chapters from beginning to end.

Prince Pimpernel, or Kitty's Adventures in Fairyland and the Regions Adjoining. A Fairy Story by Herbert Rix. Illustrated by Frank C. Pape. Dana Estes & Co. $1.00.

Nearly all children love fairy tales. This volume serves up some dainty new ones. They are based on nature, and the imaginative mind of the child reader will find no difficulty in fitting these wonderful adventures and revelations to his own environment.

Old Greek Nature Stories. By F. A. Farrar, B.A., B.Sc. With thirtytwo exquisite plates after the Masterpieces of Paintings and Sculpture in the Principal Galleries. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York. Price, $1.50 net. This is a wonderfully rich and attractive volume, which appeals to the eye with its splendid pictures, and to the imagination with its fascinating stories. It tells us how the old Greeks regarded nature, and groups the scattered stories of Greek literature around the natural phenomena from which they originated. We have stories of the sun, the earth, the rivers, the animals, the birds, the trees, the flowers, the volcanic regions, etc. Teachers of nature study and parents who would refine and deepen the characters of their children through the gentle art of story-telling will find this a most attractive and useful volume.

Hawaiian Tradition Stories of the Menehunes. Collected and translated by Thomas G. Thrum (from Hawaiian Folk Tales). A. C. McClurg & Co. Price, 50 cents net.

A pretty little collection of Hawaiian traditions beautifully illustrated. They are full of the perpetual fragrance and sunshine of those beautiful isles of the Pacific.

Hero-Myths-Legends of The British Race. By M. I. Ebbutt, M.A. With sixty-four full-page illustrations by J. H. F. Bacon, A.R.A., Byam Shaw, W. H. Margetson, R.I., Patten Wilson and Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Price, $2.

Uniform with the Old Greek Nature Stories this attractive volume presents the great stories which illustrate the national characteristics of the British race and reflect so much of its history. The stories themselves are delightful for old and young. They have been edited with care, present the typical British hero in attractive colors that cannot help cultivating the heroic spirit in the mind and heart of the reader. This book will make admirable supplementary reading. The Christmas tree should get its fair share also, and happy the boy or girl who sits down after the excitement is over, to feast on these interesting and inspiring chapters.

Stories from Shakespeare. Retold by Thomas Carter, Doctor of Theology. Author of Shakespeare Puritan and Recusant, Shakespeare and Holy Scripture. With sixteen full-page illustrations by Gertrude Demain Hammond, R.I. Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Price, $2.50.

The fact that Charles and Mary Lamb gave the world a book of Tales from Shakespeare, which has always been popular with old and young, does not preclude the making of other books of a like nature. Mr. Carter's scholarship and his former literary labors upon Shakespeare and other authors peculiarly qualify him for that labor of love which produced the present volume.

The plays which are retold here are eleven in number, comprising the Merchant of Venice, King Lear, The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, As You Like It, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, and The Tempest.

The sixteen plates in four-color process are by Gertrude D. Hammond, R.I., whose pictures are always far beyond the level of mere book illustrations.

Billy To-morrow in Camp. De Lay. A. C. McClurg & Co. This is one of a series, and like the rest is a wholesome boys' novel or story. Billy, like all boys, longs for a taste of camp life; gratifies his longing and meets with adventures that develop in him a manly spirit. Incidentally he solves a mystery. All boys and girls will like this story. It is appropriate for the Sunday-school library, for Christmas, etc.

By Sarah Pratt Carr. Illustrated by H. S.
Price, $1.25.

Old Fashioned Fairy Tales. Retold from the Poetic Version of Tom Hood. By Marion Foster Washburne. Illustrated by Margaret Cly Webb. Rand, McNally & Co.

A pretty presentation in colors and large type of those immortal tales, Little Red Riding-hood, Puss in Boots, The Sleeping Beauty and Hop-o'-myThumb. The children of the present day have much done for them. The eye as well as the imagination will be cultivated by this artistic little book.