The New York herald., 1922-12-03

The sight of a world on fire of millions of
trained men ranged along hundreds of
miles of a flaming. thunderous battle front,
of innumerable rockets blazing like evil
lightning in the night of liquid fire that
sears the flesh. of poison gas that paralyzes
the lungs, of howitzers that shatter stout
Notifications like putty. of machines that
drop destruction from the skies and of
other machines that deal death from be-
Meath the waves. of whole great civilian
populations turned into little more than
vast auxiliaries to the armies, and of at
least one great nation forced into virtually
the position of beleagured city-all this
presents a spectacle so appalling and vet
so fantastic that we might believe it to
be the product of some diseased imagina-
ton did We not know it to have been the
reality.
II is only the fact that the war is still
seen in close perspective that makes us
accept the stupendous truth with equa-
nimity; to the historian OF several centuries
hence assuming that some method will
have been found to curb human destruc-
tiveness-it may appear as the nightmare
of delirious man; yet even for con-
temporary it is impossible to read a work
such as John Buchan's history without SEN
sations of renewed surprise. of horror and
of deep though impotent regret that such
a calamity should have been possible In
the pages OF this book we live again the
distressing and spectacular years from
1914 to 1918; we witness again, at close
range, and yet dispassionately, the events
that were to distort the face of civiliza-
ton and leave progress to walk barefooted
over a road of thorns; we are given init
mate and picturesque glimpses of the whole
great drama, the tragedy of a world. staged
on the arena of a continent
And truly as Mr. Buchan makes il evil
dent. that tragedy is one worthy of the
attention of the most keen sighted his
torian. A new Gibbon nigh well honor it
with his skill tracing. perhaps. the decline
and fall of European civilization; for.
though the fall of that civilization may
yet be averted. its decline is flashed i'm
letters of flame across the landscape of the
world war. This fact is indicated on every
page of Mr.. Buchan's four volumes for,
while the author himself is not inclined to
be unduly pessimistic. yet pessimistic con-
clusions are plainly written into most Of
the facts he finds himself forced to mem
tion.
In spite of the pessmism inherent in his
theme-perhaps because of it-Mr. Buchan
has given us a vital and important work
He describes minutely. in a vigorous and
graphic style. the main events of the war
from the murder OF the Austrian Arch
duke TO the signing of the armistice: he
discusses in detail the operations in France.
in Russia. on the Austrian front and in
the German colonies: he neclects no cir
eumstance that has any direct bearing on
the course Of the war. from the Russian
revolution to pre-wdr sentiment In Amer
lea: and he subjects all the events he
describes 10 the light Of a vivid and illumi-
mating criticism. which. while It does not
impress one as invariably accurate vet al
ways has the imprint of individual think
ing. In the beginning the author appears
to have been guilty of a grave omission
when. in discussing the events Immediately
leading up 10 the war he negIects to men,
tion the secret diplomatic agreements.
which are no longer secret: but one can
readily forgive the author this oversight
in view OF the thoroughness with which he
has covered his subject on the whole
And perhaps Mr.. Buchan's work is as
good history of the war as We may ex-
pect for many years To- come. In his
preface the author issues a plea for the
contemporary historian. pointing out that
Thucydides and many another great his