World Affairs Institute

French Books for American LibrariesAdvocate of Peace through Justice, Vol. 94, No. 1 (March, 1932), p. 64Published by: World Affairs InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20681687 .

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64 Advocate of Peace, March, 1932

Porto Rico and Its Problems, by the survey staff of the Brookings Institution. Pp. 690 and

index. Brookings Institution, Washington, 1930.

Price, $5.

This survey, illustrated with tables and photo

graphs, is prepared with the care and expert at

tention to detail usual in the work of the Insti

tution. The islanders themselves, we understand, do not feel entirely satisfied with the findings, in some portions of the book, though the study was

undertaken at their request. As to the economic

conditions in Porto Rico, however, the book stands a masterpiece in spite of some possible misunder

standing of minor conditions. Its recommenda tions for the action of Congress, well tabulated and connected with the survey, should add mate

rially to the final helpfulness of the survey.

Introduction to Research in American His

tory, by Homer Carey Hockett. Pp. 159 and

index. Macmillan, New York, 1931. Price, $2.

One intending to write a paper on any histori cal subject will do well to study this compact, well-organized and pungent book. Professor Hockett tells how to gather data and file notes, how to criticise data, and, no less important, how to block out the composition and how to put it in literary form. This last would be equally useful in preparing papers on any subject whether historical or not.

A valuable bibliography of books on American

subjects and historical method precedes the excel lent index.

The little book is full of crisp but pertinent comments on human nature, such as the following: "An incompetent eye-witness will make an im

perfect report whether it be in a court of law or in a private diary." "The critic must be con

stantly on the lookout for the effects of prejudice, for no one is ever entirely free from it," and "once in circulation, an error displays great vi tality."

International Understanding: Agencies Edu cating for a New World, by John Eugene Harley. Pp. 575 and index. Stanford Univer

sity Press, California, 1931. Price, $7.50.

Few people appreciate the number, variety and forcefulness of the agencies educating for inter national understanding. Some of these have been

engaged in the business a long time. Mr. Harley has, in this thick volume, taken many such agen cies in all countries, grouped and described them

according to purpose. Education in the interna tional field is the main theme, and the book there

fore excludes associations for business or social

purposes only. Of the peace organizations he has

cited only those with large sums of money at their

disposal, which perhaps accounts for the omission

of the American Peace Society, which for over a

century has surely been engaged in education for

international right thinking.

Soviet-Planned Economic Order, by William

Henry Chamberlin. Pp. 243. World Peace

Foundation, Boston, 1931. Price, $2.50.

The author oj^ this book, an American news

correspondent, lived for some eleven years in Rus sia. His book objectively describes the economic

planning of the Bolshevist r?gime, using many statistics and showing much keen observation. One

chapter, not the least profitable, displays the amaz

ing methods of propaganda used in furthering the five-year plan. Soviet documents in the ap pendices relate to labor, agriculture, and the five

year plan.

The International Note in Contemporary

Drama, by Evelyn Newman. Pp. 198 and in dices. Kingsland Press, New York, 1931.

Omitting plays that are mere propaganda as well as those without any literary merit, Dr. Newman has gathered up a notable collection of dramas with some sort of international philosophy, which she here reviews. They are of the present cen

tury, before, during and after the World War; and they come from British, French, German and American sources.

It is, indeed, encouraging to learn that so much desire for a better world has found artistic ex

pression within the nations on opposite sides of the late conflict.

Civic Attitudes in American Textbooks, by Bessie Louise Pierce. Pp. 282 and index. Uni

versity of Chicago Press, 1930. Price, $3.

This book is not, as the title would seem to

suggest, chiefly a study of the attitude our text books inspire toward civic responsibility. Rather, it is a study of the attitudes they encourage to

ward other lands and customs. The author aims to be quite objective. She does not intend to state how such books ought to be written. It is

impossible, however, not to sense that she strongly disapproves of many of her findings as leading to narrow prejudice and historical untruth.

Upwards of 350 textbooks and syllabi were

studied, books in many subjects used widely in American elementary and secondary schools. Evi

dently loyalty to American political doctrines and

ideals is widely taught in the land. Besides this

there are, too, in many centers courses of study

especially designed to teach international good will.

Such a study of texts should be important not

only to teachers but also to all who are interested in improving our national intelligence.

French Books for American Libraries. Pp. 40

and index. American Library Association, 1931, paper. Price, 65 cents.

Here is a list of books in French, which have

current interest, classified according to subject. Where the title does not sufficiently describe the

book a brief paragraph in English is inserted be

low the title, appraising or summarizing the con

tents. An excellent plan, well carried out. Why

is it not done for many other languages?

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