The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-16

 it must be read to be appreciated. It pictures the Kaiser in his most brutal attitude even to the remaking of his broken, wounded, sick and worn sol-
 dfers by scientific processes which are frightfuls
 Perhaps the best criticism of Eff ciency" has been done by the well
 known writer. Irwin S Cobb, who has
 written to the authors in the follow ing words after seeing the play at The Greenwich Village Theatre"
 MT. Cobbs says: Last night I went to see Efficiency and for the rest
 or last night and all through today 1
 have had it in my mind.
 For thrill, for sheer dramatic force,
 Efficiency' surpasses any one-act play
 l ever saw have seen three and four act plays, rated as good, which had Ill them less of strength and intensity thaR are compressed into this piece of yours and Mr. Sheehan's but In my humble opinion Efficiency
 has in it more even than this. In con- crete form 1t embodies the greatest les son which mankind is going to learn from this war-thar flesh and blood are
 worth more to this world than blood and iron, and that in the end, flesh and blood must triumph over the king made
 mechanism of absolutism and ruthless ness.
 l wish this play might be played in Germany-now. It would further the work of taking the mania" out of Ger
 mania.
 ACTIVE SERVICE" By John Breckenridge Castleman, major c. 5. A., brlgadier general U. s. A. The Courier-Journal Job Printing company, Louisville, Ky.
 In these strenuous war days Active Service from the pen of one of the greatest soldiers of another war, Gen. John Breckenridge Castleman. is received with cordiality and interest NO more eminent or scholarly man has lived in this country within the past few decades than General Castle man and his experiences thrill and touch the heart of every warm blooded Ameri- can as few things have thrilled or touched nation in all the annals of history
 From critic far and near, including
 such prominent people as Dr. Anna How
 ard Shaw of suffrage fame, Arthur B. Krock, Louisvilles well known newspa- per man; Young E. Allison, Gen. Basil w. Duke, Credo Harris and others, comes the stamp of approval. From two of these reviews quotations will be made which show the appreciation in which General Castleman's excellent book is held.
 Active Service" General Duke says: .Few books will be found more inter- esting than the forthcoming memoirs of Gen. John B. Castleman. They contain much pleasant reminiscence of 8 nature agreeable to the general reader, and great deal of information that is novel as well as entertaining.
 The earlier pages deal with the scenes and recollections of the authors boy hood; the ante-bellum life of the Blue grass region of Kentucky. In them we are shown the social habits of peo- pie with whom hospitality and kindly intercourse were estimated among the foremost of virtues and we discern GUS toms inherited with slight modification from a period just succeeding the days of the pioneer.
 "It is all treated in an especially at tractive manner. Many incidents are mar rated in such wise as to depict this life with vivid and impressive fidelity and import to the illustration the force and charm of the reality In it's sketches of rural east and prosperity; it's portraiture of the denzens of this favored land, the personnel on the one hand of the sturdy somewhat autocratic and assertive, yet withal essentially genial proprietor of the soil, and per contra. his humble depend- ent the submissive, contented and often l jovial black; all indeed of the distinc 1 tive features of those idyllic social con l ditions are admirably presented" General Castleman was an officer and justly reputed one of the bravest and most efficient officers-in Gen. John 1 H. Morgan's division of Confederate cav 1 airy. As captain in Morgans original regiment, the Second Kentucky Volun- l teer cavalry, c, s. A., for more than | three years of the civil war and during l the most active adventurous period of
 the care, of that exceptionally active
 command, he had ample opportunity to
 participate in daring and arduous serv-
 ice, and certainly fully availed himself 1 of it. In the course of his narrative 1 he relates. in graphic style, much of
 this experience, which will be found il- illustrative of that service and of the met
 tie of the young soldiers who per- | formed it."
 l Greco Harris says;
 "'Activa Service is book as unusual
 as it is charming Indeed it is a book
 that should be in every library. Re- counting many important episodes that l transpired during the war between the
 states it is, furthermore, a contribution 1 of inestimable value to the literature of i Kentucky
 "The wartime incidents Are thrillingly 1 told, being given richer color from the l fact that they are personal "reminiscences
 of a sallant officer and a man of un- 1 deN1atlng chlValry, While the autODlO- graphical style brings sense of near- mess that is convincing. As a whole. it may be classed in three parts: Ante-bel- l ltlm, bellum and post-bellum, and Is the portrait of a life of service from youth to
 old age Hence it's title, Active Serv- 1 ice
 "The first part of this book carries a greater measure of appeal than anything of ifs kind the reviewer has seen. The
 delicate etchinss of Kentucky life in the bluegrass section, decade before the
 outbreak of our civil strife, are re-
 traced by 6 gentle hand.
 This period may be aptly called Ken tuokys Arcady'
 | 'YOUNG TRANCE AND NEW AMER l ICA"
 By Pierre de Larux. The Macmillan l Co.,, Publishers, New York.
 Young France and New America" by i Pierre dc Lanux, is charming book of great interest particularly at the pres
 ent time, It is well written and delight fully told and an insight ia given to the book in the following comment by 1 the author himself, who says; 1 "These are the reflections of French 1 man who spent the year 1917 in America. l They 6eal with the present events and | those from the near past, but their ex- precision is first inspired by the thought l of the near future; that is to say, the period that will hegin when this war ends. My purpose has been to define and l to sum up tkc possibilities which Franco
 American relations will offer tomorrow as well on intellectual as on concrete