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clear that allied unity can be worked at directly. In fact, one of the bases of free world diplomacy has been the tendency to escape into a formal unity as a substitute for common action on current issues. In this connection the absence of a further discussion of our dealings with the Soviet bloc and the uncommitted, which may determine the nature and efficacy of allied unity, is particularly striking.

Still to cavil at Mr. Acheson's important book is perhaps no more than to say, what Mr. Acheson would be the first to stress, that the problems of foreign policy permit no final and certainly no dogmatic answer. Mr. Acheson has illuminated important areas of concern; he has woven them into an provocative whole; he has analyzed them carefully and profoundly. If he has not answered all his own questions, this is it self an important service: a period overwhelmed by glibness must from time to time be reminded of fundamentals. One of these is that before we can attempt to give answers, we must learn to ask the right questions.