Evening star., 1933-04-15
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C.. BOWERMAN.

MODERN ITALY. BY George B. Nc
Clellan. Princeton: Princeton Uni
versity Press.
The professor of economic history,
emeritus, of Princeton University, with
out attempt at original scholarship,
here tells in informal fashion the story
of the rise Of Italy to position Of i'm
portance in Europe, from her unifica-
ton in 1866 to the present time. The
close Of 1866 found United Italy, at
long last. In being. but with Rome, her
logical capital, still to be won" Ma
poleon was. perhaps, the first to con-
ceive the idea Of united Italy. When
he invaded Italy in 1896 ne found it a
loose group of about dozen states,
with little in common. Austria domi-
mated Northern Italy and Hapsburgs
ruled in most of the duchies there
When the downfall of Napoleon came
Metternich was practically master of
Italy. and the aim Of unification seemed
to have been given its quietus. The
diplomats at the Congress of Vienna
u814-15) partitioned and parceled out
Italy according to the usages of such
postwar congresses. The Austrian yoke
was heavier than ever Then came the
patriotic movement which
centered about Victor Emmanuel and
the House of Savoy and in which
Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour were
leaders. In 1850 the Kingdom of Italy
came into being and in Immediately
succeeding years Sicily, Naples and
Venice were added to the kingdom. In
1870, after the Franco-German War
had compelled France to withdraw her
protectorate of Rome, a plebiscite was
held, which resulted in the union of
Rome with Italy, and Victor Emmanuel
entered the city as his capital. Today
his grandson is King of Italy, some
think a puppet king. with Mussolini as
dictator. Italy and the World War and
the rise of Mussolini to power, with his
government philosophy Of Fascismo, are
treated with brevity and excellent selec-
tiveness The chapter "Fascismo at
Work" presents a compact summary OF
government organization and methods
in Italy today. Prof. Mcclellan bal
ances his judgments and is neither
denunciatory nor enthusiastically SYM
pathetic. For example: "All OF this
it may be said, offends our democratic
sentiments, but Fascismo has never
claimed to be democratic, and has In
sisted that inefficiency Is the price OF
democracy" Education and social well
fare have Jared we'll under Fascismo
and during its decade of life Fascismo
has done more for Italian art than was
accomplished during the preceding hall
century"
LESSONS OF A LIFETIME. BY Lord
Baden-P Powell. New York: Henry
Holt g. Co.
IT didn't want to write this yarn
about myself" says Lord Baden-Powell
of this autobiography, but several dill
ferent people have asked me to Wrlte
some of my experiences because they
might be helpful to some young fel-
lows in aiming their lives" This states
the purpose of the founder of the Boy
Scout and Girl Guide movement. which
has spread to all parts of the world. II
probably sums up also just what the
book accompliShes. 1t is simply writ
ten. without any attemt at literary
quality, with pleasantly didactic mo-
tivation. and many good anecdotes
Lord Baden-Powell has lived two lives
not in any discreditable sense and not
His first was as an
army officer and ended when he was
retired at So, as a major general. Then
began his second life, when he married
and founded the vast family of Boy
Scouts and Girl Guides" He has seen
this movement grow from the ting
acorn of IS boys encamped on Brownsea
Island into a brotherhood and sister,
hood which embraces almost every CIV
ilized country in the world, with a cen
sus, this year, of 100000
GREAT AMERICANS AS SEEN BY
THE POETS. An anthology. B,
Burton Stevenson. Philadelphia: j
B. Lippincott.
"The Home Book of Verse;" prepared
and edited by Burton Stevenson, is the
most comprehensive of anthologies. 1t
is the place where one Is most likely to
find any elusive bit Of verse which haunts
ones mind from the remote or nearer
past. If any verse which has ever had
many readers has escaped Mr.. Steven
son in his different editions of this large
collection 1t is mystery which he. him
self will have to solve. He is also a
writer of many mystery stories and ro-
mances of adventure. Great Ameri-
cans" though smaller anthology than
THE Home Book of Verse" still has
considerable bulk 1t includes modern
verse, as well as that of our older poets
Lowell, Lanier, Whittier, Holmes, Bryant
julia Wdlu I1OWt, IOC dIlO
Whitman. A few English poets appear
"Poca hontas," and Austin Dobson,
whose poem, Henry Wadsworth Long
fellow" is quoted The classification is
by subjects: Great Presidents, great
great soldiers, great sailors,
great writer's, great adventurers and "A
which gives hsrbor to such
poems as Longfellow's Paul Revere S
Ride" Whittiers Barbara Frietchie''
and Thomas Buchanan Reads "Sheri-
dams Ride" There is an excellent in
dex of authors, of titles and of first
lines, as well as the classified table of
contents.
BLUE DAYS AT SEA. BY H. v. Nor
ton. New York: Dodd Mead g. Co.
Mr. Mortons books of travel, though
practical enough for any one not a
technocrat or a technologist, are far
from the ordinary guide-travel books.
They are delightfully."- written essays
about the history, literature, scenery,
people and customs of the countries
which he chooses to write
His four searches, In Search of Eng
land" In Search of Scotland" In
Search of Ireland. ""In Search of Wales, "
can be guaranteed to make any one but
the most inveterate stay-at-home long
to take the next boat for Cobb, Ply
mouth or Southampton. Blue Days
al Sea-" of less size than the four books
is written in the same hap
py, shrewd style. 1t consists of one long
essay, "A Visit to the Navy" about %
short ones on subjects connected with
travel and the people one meets while
while staying at home A
book which is destined to find place
in many suitcase whose owner is
starting off on a trip, if it is only a
trip to New York.
THE BROWNSVILLE MURDERS. BY
B. S. Keirstead and D. Frederick
Campbell. New York: The MacMik-
Ian Co.
Mystery stories come and go-come
In ever increasing torrents and go with
rapidity. The pattern or
shows too plainly through
the padding of most of them, but oc-
casionally one presents riddle less