Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-04-03
NEW SPRING BOOKS OF FICTION AND FACT FOR READERS
LEONARD WOOD
GREAT AMERICAN
Ttvo Biographies Which Dis.
close the Soldiers Title to
Distinction .. =

The candidacy Of Leonard Wood for
the presidency has already produced
three books dealing with his career. The
first by Joseph Hamblen Sears, came out
| last year and was noticed on this page
at the time. OF the two which have ap-
peared this spring, one is written by
Prof. William Herbert Hobbs. of the
University of Michigan, who Is a mem
Der Of the executive committee of the
National Security League. and the other
is by Eric Fisher Wood. formerly a
civil attache to the American embassy
in Paris, who saw service in the war
and left it with the rank Of lieutenant
colonel and two decorations. He is not
related to General Wood.
Colonel Wood has written the story
of the life of General Wood with sym
pathy and fairness. He has not merely
compiled book from newspaper articles
and official reports. but has made per :
sonal Investigations which have re-
suited in the enrichment of his book with
much intimate matter never before in
print. He tells the story of the general 8
youth on Cape Cod. his entrance into the
army as contract surgeon, his re-
markable achievements in the Geronimo
campaign, his participation in the
Spanish War and his success as gov
ernor of Cuba and later in the Philip
pines. Much space is given to his cam
paign for preparedness and the story is
told of how he and Lord Roberts. while
watching the maneuvers of the Germany
army in 1902. were impressed with the
fact that the army was being trained for
attack upon England and America aud
not merely for the defense Of Germany.
Lord Roberts returned TO England and
began his campaign for preparation to
meet the impending attack, but he was
laughed at. General Wood made his
recommendation to the War Depart
ment, where they were filed away in a
pigeon hole. But as the years passed he
came into the open and organized the
college training camps which developed
into the Plattsburg camp and ultimately
provided the raw material for thousands
of officers for the army which had to
be raised. The book is the story of dis
tinguished achievement as soldier and
as an administrator which ought to be
read by every one who wishes to know
something about the man who has played
large part in the history of the
tuited States in the last twenty five
years.
Professor Hobbs book is not so large
AZ that of Colonel Wood and il has been
DTFDuTttl III u ulutIfuJ way ut
admits in bis introduction that il is little
more than n compilation of the work of
others. He lets General Wood tell his
own story where he can get the docu-
ments and he quotes literally from
Theodore Roosevelt's s writings about the
man. The book is more Of a plea for
military preparedness than a biography,
for the greater part of it is devoted TO
lhe efforts of its subject to stir his
couutrymcn to a realization of the need
for being ready for the emergency which
he and few others foresaw.
The two books supplement each other.
for what is lacking from one is supplied
by the other.
LEONARD WOOD. CoRserNator Of American
ism. BY Eric Fisher Wood. Illustrated.
New York: George II. Doran Co. 81.
LEONARD WOOD. soldier. Administrator.
Citizen. BY william Herbert Hobbs. With
an Introduction by Henry A. Wise Wood.
illustrated. New York: q. p. Putnams .
sons. 81.