Evening star., 1919-08-17
Reviews of New Books

49,
! and separations that keep order where
one has reason to expect confusion OF
picture and scene-all these measures
are surprisingly well handled for the
achievement of this striking drama
Of social discomfort and upheaval.
And in the portrayal Of character. In
his power to create genuine human
| beings. Shaw Desmond is as keen and
capable as he Is in his sense of dra-
matte situation and advance. Creegan
here is a triumph of kingship for the
/ mob. though he himself loathes kings.
And so is Denis Destin Of higher
! order Of malcontent. And SO Is Sgd
! ney Damascene, leader Of the Platon-
| lists. exotic socialists marvel of sub
tie invention on the part Of Shaw Des-
mond. A brilliant piece Of work. One
| wonders il Desmond can do 1t every
time.
THE GERMAN EMPIRE, 1s67-1014,
! And the Unity Movement. By Will
The Evolution Of Modern Ger
many" etc. New York: The Mac
milan Company.
A competent and fair-dealing his
be in good demand, for the average
reader as well as the student himself
is nightly concerned to get at the
real content Of a nation of such amaz-
ing and alarming manifestations as
the German nation has so recently
made. Mr.. Dawson offers q study of
the required quality that deals, in the
main. with the German movement to-
ward political unity The discussion
covers the period lying between the
German confederation following the
peace of Westphalia to the outbreak
of the great war. 1t advances
through the various stages of German
growth to empire and eliminates in
the empires overrreach toward world
domination. Since modern Germany
is the creation of a few men. this
writer deals with these empire-mak-
ers in a full measure of analysis as
derlying their open statesmanship.
Bismarck is the chief OF these. To
Bismarck he devotes studious and dis
passionate attention. The. study
throughout Is readable by virtue of
its nearness to the commonly intelli-
gent person in it's attitude. in phrase.
in plain logic, in consistent deduction
and in a complete laying aside Of the
barriers of a professed scholarship.
The study is exactly what it aimed to
in Germany. presented in a manner to
meet a very large class Of readers.
THE WAY OF THE EAGLE. BY
Maj. Charles ]. Biddle. illustrated.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
The friendly letter, immensely REIN
forced by special circumstance, has
come back as a form Of literary COM
position. And the moment is ready
for it. Personality was never at a
higher premium. Events were never
! more impressive. Personality plus
events makes the letter the most re-
vealing Of all writing. The book in
hand is case in point. A flying man
! than his machine. or. better. one who
| endows his machine with kind of
human gift for comradeship and COM
prehension. No. not poet. On the
who let's himself out in these letters
back homo much more, one imagines.
than he could be induced to do through
J less intimate channel. This personal
story Of flying goes back to the very
in this prodigious art-and moves
along through the circumstantial de-
tail of learning to fly. of dying. Of
fighting in the air, and Of coming
the armistice. Innumerable side lights
on this method Of pursuing war come
| out in these letters. AS many more
are turned upon the personnel Of the
spicious individuals engaged in air
work Mai. Biddle was with the
| "Storks" and knew Guynemer idol
Of the French, and Oliver Chadwick.
| other intimate revelations in this al
| together informing and satisfying ac-
| count These added to its general ex-
cellence make The Way of the
Eagle" as good In substance as It is
| CaDtfVatinR in title.
THE STREET OF ADVENTURE. By
Philip Gibbs. New York: E. p.
Dutton and Company.
The street is Fleet street, London
| (Newspaper row.. The adventure is.
as a matter of fact, a newspaper
biography. From the ingathering to
| the outpouring of news-the A and z
| of newspaper making-all the steps
Of the business find place here. Nat
urally. it Is the human side Of this
| otherwise impersonal performance
that takes on emphasis In Mr.. Gibbs
| novel. From editor in chief on down
to messenger the men and women ami
mating the great machine come to-.
| gether here in their own world of
work. with its natural rivalries. its
! ambitions, it's successes and its fail
ures, its good comradeshtp, its COM
mon loyalty to the chief and the pa
per. Out from these emerge, finally,
and for the sake Of the story. three
two men and a girl-to sustain the
common course Of romance. But 1t
! Is the adventure of the press itself
that Is paramount here. In this field
Mr.. Gibbs is very much at home,
ready with every turn in the intricate
/ business, familiar with all the facts
! and practiced in the art Of changing
facts to adequate words-words that
make pictures, that embody people,
that reproduce incidents, that sum
events. This art he puts to use here
| for the sake Of making a novel of
| unique theme and striking treatment