Evening star., 1920-11-21

p lSAuChl VI PuOtiS cShVOAos DSSSSAA
New York: Harper & Bros.
THIS book is timely. 1t is more
than that. It is clear and
definite statement upon ar
outstanding and pressing mat
ter. Probably there is no current
theme that is more enveloped in
vague fervors than the theme OF
aAmericanizatfon. 1t is obvious that
there will need to be clearing OF
the mists before the real work OF
Americanizing can progress That
clearing is one of the chief achieve
ments Of this book. Here the author
shows just what is being done in
this direction. where it is being done
under what conception of the Ameri-
can idea it is being done. That IS
great deal to tell. 1t reduces
theories to practice. 1t serves as
model or warning. 1t defines the nrst
step in the great process and sets
the next one. Maps and charts OBJ
jectify the descriptive text of this
part of the work. In addition the
author analyses the trend of leglsia-
ton since America reused itself to
the necessity of providing for tne
assimilation of aliens to the spirit
and activities of American life. 70
this substantial body of fact the
author adds suggestive plans for or
ganizing this vast project IN smaii
units of expanding scope. so that by
intelligent effort the final scheme OF
Americanization will fit most 1uiiy
An educator. the author has brought
to this initial work of clearing the
ground the experience and the out
look that give substantial practica
value to his discussion of Americani-
cation.
THE RESCUE, A Romance Of the
Shadows. BY Joseph Conrad. au-
thor of Victory" etc. New York:
Doubleday. Page & Co..
The sea is Joseph Conrad's true pas
sion. Like the poet in love with WON :
an, he is forever seeking to interpret
and glorify it with choice words woven
into golden patterns of beauty. COM
prehension, meaning. The Rescue
is only another tribute that Conrad
lays before this supreme mistress OF
his heart. This is a story of the shall
low seas that lap the shores of the
Malay archipelago. Its hero is man
and a ship. Either by itself is but
half personality. But. united. Tom
Lingard and the brig. Lightning. are
nation and stir the heart of any read
er in the world. A stranded English
yacht is the object of the rescue.
Among its passengers is a woman.
Petty warning tribes of the low-lying
islands form an element of obstruc-
tfon and danger in the work of de-
liverance. Among these tribes Tom
Lingard King Tom. Is something's n
superman Of friendliness and fair
dealing. Such is the situation. In
the foreground are Tom Lingard and
Mrs. Travers. the Englishwoman from
the marooned yacht. AS stage and
setting there are the tribes. the
white men. the islands. the sea. While
the adventure of rescue plays yividly
and electrically upon, this stage. there
is another adventure, that stands as
the heart of the story itself. With
splendid understanding Conrad pic
lures the shake.l strength of this
primitive King Tom before the super
civilization of Mrs. Travers. Here are
subtle and elusive contacts among
and alert. Here are full communions
of the spirit under plain and prosaic
surfaces. Here are elopements Of the
soul. while, the man and the woman
of release from the, tribesmen and
the shadows Well-Conrad has writ
ten another sea story. and this fact
in itself sums the subtlety and the
beauty and the tremendous sea-stir
and hearf-stir of 'sThe Rescue"
A STUDY OF POETRY. BY Bliss
Perry. author Of walt Whitman
etc. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
The general reader, as well as the
student. will be glad to have this
book. 70 the general reader with a
liking for poetry the book in hand
Ofvoc a. nlana IN or x~p,; =,
may overlook the field of revived in
terest in poetry making. In effect,
this is study of that revival. not
alone in it's product OF poetry, but in
the relations as well of this product
to the standards that poetry has al
ready established. In large part this
IL consideration Of the lyric. in Its
many forms. in its ready adaptability
to many themes. Prior to this special
treatment. however. 1t outlines the
province of poetry and its background.
1t defines the quality Of imagination
that the poet possesses. the feel of
! the words that he chooses. the special
response that he makes in meter and
rhyme. in stanza and verse, to the
cadences Of his poetic impulse As a
book for the student there are here
concrete methods Of critical analysis,
. list Of reference studies, notes and
aetsShSs LIE iOi HO"SNcI,
is unobtrusive. so that to the general
reader 1t in no way hinders the free
dom of the thought itself.
r. Jones and Charles Vince. New
York: E. p. Dutton & Co.
In substance. this IL a picture book
OF the war. Along with the sketches
goes running comment of explana-
tion and setting. The 1pictures-nearly
200 Of them In a1l-were made by Mr.
Jones with the 5Sth Division, and give
innumeraole scenes and Incidents
around Amiens. and in the general
region OF the Somme and the Disc. Mr.
Vince In the text here says that these
pictures are "the beginning of the
mellow memories of the war They
are the pictures Of an artist whom
II took to many places. travelling first
in the motor transport about London
and its camps. and then with his divi-
sion to Dublin at the time Of the re-
bellion. and TO Salisbury plain and the
villages Of Wiltshire. to the great
town of Amiens, and the country of
the Somme beyond. when the Germans
were retreating from 1t: and to Mon
treuil. which Is among the most beau
tiful of all old towns" Certainly the
pictures are calculated to evoke
memories" and Impressions OF many
an amazing aspect of the war itself,
OF many a haunting corner of the
war area.
THE RUSSIAN PEASANT AND THE
REVOLUTION. By Maurice G..
Hindus. New York: Henry Holt &
Co.
BY way of this plain and unemo-
tional story the author Of this book
seeks 10 put English speaking peo-
pie on the way to a closer under
standing of the Russian peasant. who.
by virtue Of numbers alone is bound