Book Reviews.

Government and Politics in the United States. A text-book for Secondary Schools. By William Backus Guitteau, Ph. D., Superintendent of Schools, Toledo, Ohio. Houghton, Mifflin Co. Price $1.00.

One would have to search far and long to find a better book on this subject. It is a volume of 478 pages of reading matter, besides 36 pages of indexes, appendices, etc. The reader's attention is first arrested by the exceptionally fine half-tones of public buildings, parks, school houses, yards, railroad stations, bridges, rivers, canals and other objects too numerous to mention. But this is only the superficial; the text of the volume is a full, clear scientific presentation of the subject of civil government. It begins with the origin of government, explaining the historical relations of the beginnings of civil life. Then the machinery of government is described. Following this, the functions of government are fully set forth. Large use is made of town warrants, presidential messages, legislative bills, etc., that have had a real existence. A suggestive list of questions and exercises has been placed at the end of each chapter; likewise a bibliography. Students are advised to visit township and local offices and to interview town and city officials and to invite them to come before the class to give personal account of the duties of their offices. There are many such practical suggestions. Proceeding from the local to the state and federal branches of government, all that an educated person ought to know is fully described and illustrated. Such subjects as charities, work for the relief of the poor, sick and defective classes, the life-saving service of the government, the Panama Canal, the Navy, with a description of its ships and their armaments, the Bureau of Education, the history of the political parties are treated. All that one can think of that would be likely to come up as a subject of inquiry, is here covered by clear, condensed, comprehensive statements. The book can hardly have a competitor; and the ordinary reader cannot understand how so much mere material in the way of paper, ink and artistic illustrations, to say nothing of the brain products entering into such an undertaking, can be sold for the low price of one dollar.

The Great Morning. By Clarence Lathbury. Minneapolis. The Nunc Licet Press. Price 75 cents. Postage 6 cents.

It would be hard to find a more beautiful Easter gift for a friend than this. It breathes the spirit of hope and of love, from the superb frontispiece which represents an ascension,—an angel bearing a human figure through the air, above a mystical sea, in a soft, white beam of light,-to the last sentence of prose and the last line of the beautiful concluding poem. The book is a work of art throughout. There are three chapters, entitled "Sunset," "The Great Morning," "And Beyond." The author is well known as a man of vision, a clear thinker and possessed of a spiritual sensitiveness that appre

hends truth in its higher ranges. There is an atmosphere about this book that is good to breathe. It will comfort many a mourning soul and cheer many a one who is down-hearted. It reveals the meaning of life, the oneness of the life that now is with that which is to come. It is the emanation of a faith that is contagious and convincing.

History Made Visible—A Synchronic Chart and Statistical Tables of United States History, by George E. Croscup, B. A., with a Chronological Text by Ernest D. Lewis, A. M., Instructor in History, High School of Commerce, New York, N. Y. Windsor Publishing Co. Price, $1.50 net.

This book is an encyclopaedia of history. It is a splendid example of the outline method. It will delight the heart of the history teacher and of the pupil as well. A copy of it should be kept on the home table and in every business office. It has a thousand possible uses and it will increase knowledge of facts and promote patriotism wherever it is used. It is a work of genius and must be seen to be appreciated. It includes a number of American historical maps and diagrams, principal among which is the large folding chart from which the book takes its name. This chart is a really notable piece of work, practical, impressive, instructive. Upon it each important event of our national history is set down in such a way that its relation to every other event both in time and locality can be seen at a glance. Each of our States has its separate place upon the chart where its individual history is shown, and its career can be traced back to the territory from which it has developed. Its connection with other States is made clear, as well as its part in the general history of the nation. The relation of our country to others is also shown, the events of European history bearing upon America being noted in briefer form. The influence of European nations upon America is emphasized by the coloring of the various portions of the chart, which is yellow during the period of Spanish dominance, red when and where England ruled, and so on. All of this is kept in chronological order by lines dividing the chart into centuries and quarter centuries. Mr. Croscup, the author, for we must regard the constructor of so elaborate and minute a work as an author rather than a mere designer, has assuredly made good his boast by bringing all American history clearly before the eye in a single view.

The text of this book offers another novelty. Its main chapters form a brief American history arranged in strictly chronological sequence. Here again the author's central idea has been employed. History is "made visible." Each chief event stands out in big and heavy type, obtruding itself across the page. Events of less, but still prominent importance, appeal less strongly to the eye. Minor matters, necessary explanations, connecting passages, are dressed in minor type. There can be no question of the visual impressiveness of this work, and hence of its practical utility in teaching. It has already been widely endorsed by leading educators, and is being adopted for use in our schools. The scholarly character and mechanical accuracy of the book are of high grade throughout; and it is in every respect a work which we can heartily recommend.

The Oregon Trail, by Francis Parkman. Charles E. Merrill Co. 50 cents. Here is a valuable addition to Merrill's English Texts, being the historian Parkman's account of a five-months' trip, in the year 1846, in the wild regions of the then remote West. In these 580 pages one gets a wonderfully vivid and realistic picture of life on the frontier and among the Indians along the Platte river and near the Black Hills, nearly seventy years ago. Parkman, one of the keenest and shrewdest of observers, saw nature in its raw state, when the buffalo roamed those desert wastes and great bands of Crow and Sioux Indians were on the war path. It is most surprising that in the midst of so many perils, which the ardor of youth and a thirst for knowledge of the Indian at first had forced him into, he escaped unharmed. The book is carefully edited by Clarence W. Vail of Brooklyn.

The Qualities of Men, by Joseph Jastrow. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. $1.00 net.

This is an essay in appreciation by the able Professor at the University of Wisconsin. He interprets the contrasts in temperament, ability, ideals and social relations which we may observe in people about us. He deals with the more general bearings of the problem of human quality which constantly grows in interest and demands formulation. "As we are impressed by the limitations of nature, or by the possibilities of nurture under the guidance of ideals, we shall place our allegiances and shape our endeavors." The noblest qualities cost, and, as he says, "should willingly be paid for." This little volume is in a measure to clear the way for a later, fuller work on "Character and Temperament." Professor Jastrow is a keen, incisive thinker.

Grasshopper Green's Garden-The Story of Some Wonderful Little Lives. A Nature Reader for Elementary Schools, by Julia Augusta Schwartz, Author of "Wilderness Babies," etc. Little, Brown & Co. 60 cents.

This is a very pleasantly written book. It is divided into eight chapters, describing the life and actions of a lucky little Grasshopper, a vigorous Earthworm, a mischievous modern Mosquito, a very beautiful Butterfly, an untidy Fly who was always getting into the food and milk and molasses, and the little Spider who was always rushing off in this direction or that; also the Ant which built her house so carefully, and the busy little Bee who worked so hard to fill the hive with new sweet honey. The children who read this book will have a clear idea of the way in which these busy little creatures do their work and spend their lives. There are a number of fairly good illustrations.

The Dawn of Character, by Edith E. Read Mumford. London and New York: Longmans, Green & Co.

Mrs. Mumford, who is a lecturer on "Child Training " at the Princess Christian Training College for Nurses, Manchester, England, here gives a very interesting and instructive study of child life. She declares that "a race of sturdy, strong-willed, kind and thoughtful children is the highest

result of a nation's greatness and the best guarantee of its future prosperity." And, in these 225 pages, she gives fourteen chapters of very frank, kindly, helpful, and often truly illuminating advice. Would that all who care for little children could read these clear, wise, thoughtful pages. It would save much friction and many mistakes and sad blunders.

The Rout of the Foreigner, by Gulielena Zollinger. A. C. McClurg & Co. $1.50.

The author of "A Boy's Ride," etc., here gives us a stirring story of English life in the early part of the thirteenth century. The scenes are laid mostly in Bedfordshire and London, in the decade following the death of King John, from whom the Barons wrested Magna Charta. It is a story of bravery and fidelity on the part of men and boys in high stations and low, and of rascality and treachery on the part of a few. It is undoubtedly a good mirror of those rough, hard times, nearly seven hundred years ago. We like particularly the characters of the stout lad, Ranuff, and the faithful swineherd, Osbert.

The Mastersinger. A Collection of Choruses and Part Songs arranged and adapted for the classroom and for large and small assemblies by Frank R. Rix, A. B., M. D., Director of Music, Public Schools, New York City. American Book Company. $.65.

This is an ambitious collection of musical selections of large content from the masterworks of the great composers, arranged to be used in the upper grades of elementary schools and high schools. Dr. Rix believes that pupils in these schools are capable of singing the very best music, and that it is a mistake to limit them to the smaller forms of musical composition. The numbers in the book are made suitable for either small or large choruses, and may be sung by unchanged voices. Thirty-three compositions make up the body of selections; nearly all of these have been specially arranged for the work by Dr. Rix.

The Story of Paul of Tarsus. From the outline prepared by Louise Warren Atkinson. Constructive Bible Studies, Elementary Series. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

This is an admirable collection of material on the Life of St. Paul for the use of teachers and classes in the Sunday School. The pupil is furnished a note book with perforated leaves and partially constructed sentences. He is to complete them by filling in the missing words. He cannot do this except by some real study of the Bible. Picture spaces invite him to paste in the choice pictures which accompany the book. When he has finished his head work and his hand work he has a book partly written and illustrated by himself. An accurate map is included by which the journeying of the great apostle may be traced. The plan is an excellent one, sure to engage the interest and increase the knowledge of the pupil.

Text-Book of Elementary Zoology for Secondary Educational Institutions. By Thomas Walton Galloway, Ph. D. Professor of Biology in the James Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois. With 160 illustrations. P. Blakiston's Son & Co. Philadelphia. $1.25 net.

The author aims in this book to combine the older and the newer phases of thought on this subject, that is, the evolutionary with the economic thus making a distinct step toward a sound and humanistic movement. The book retains the evolutionary phase as the skeleton of the course, the economic phase being in the form of topics and supplementary exercises for investigation. By this method the student is lead to investigate for himself and do field work and apply his knowledge to the practical facts of life. In this manner the book is eminently successful as a working text in the subject.

The Siepmann Modern Language Texts-German Texts. RUBENZAHL, Ferdinand Goebel; WILHELM der SiegreichE, Karl Zastro; VOM ERSTEN BIS ZUM LETZSTEN SCHUSS, Hans Wachenhusen; FREDERICH DER GROSSE, Ferdinand Schrader. The Macmillan Company. 35 cents net. These German Texts are convenient in size and cover a variety of subjects. Taking the last named as a sample of all, we find it to be a short account of the great king's life, prepared especially for school use. It is written in excellent modern German and with a view to being read by youthful readers. A good vocabulary, practical notes, alphabetical list of verbs, and introduction make the volume serviceable and complete.

Practical Curve Tracing, with chapters on Differentiation and Integration by Howard Duncan, A. R. C. Sc. Assistant lecturer in the Engineering Department, the University of Leeds. With Diagrams. Longmans, Green & Co. $1.60 net.

This book aims to present the methods of curve plotting in an orderly sequence, and at the same time give the student that knowledge of the properties of the chief families of curves which is essential to him. By eliminating whatever of co-ordinate geometry that is not directly concerned with curve drawing, and by the addition of chapters on differentiation and integration, the reduction results in a text that is undisturbed by other mathematical properties and is admirable from every point of view.

Periodical Notes.

In the March issue of the Atlantic Monthly will be found an article by Paul W. Goldsberg on "The Physiology of Fatigue," which points out emphatically the importance and necessity of proper intervals of rest for the over-ambitious worker. The author convincingly shows the absolute need of these rest periods for one who would do the best work mentally or physically. The opening number in the School Review for March is "The American Idea." Readers of Education cannot fail to be interested in this subject as presented by Mr. Showerman. He contends that amid all the nebulous whirling chaos of atomic education ideas of today there is a nucleus which is becoming plainly visible.-" Photographing the Civil War," by Henry Wysham Lanier, in the American Review of Reviews for March, is of great interest. Few people realize the important part the camera played in the Civil War, or the difficulties and dangers encountered by the men who were trying to obtain the pictures. "Extraordinary as the fact seems, the American Civil War is the only great war of which we have an adequate history in photographs."-The March, Blackwood's Magazine has many fine papers, but we would call particular attention to "A Study in Failure."-The_Outlook for March 15, contains the fifth article of a series by Mr. Stockwell and is entitled "Business Reliability." This contribution like his previous ones is worth reading from start to finish. -In the March North American Review an important question, Army Morals and the Canteen," is admirably discussed by Judge James H. Blount. The article is not only able but timely.