In 66 The Evolution of Immortality," S. D. McConnell has scored a success by handling so worn a subject in such a manner as to stimulate thought. It is no easy task to restate, in the light of modern knowledge, the grounds for belief in a future life. This task Dr. McConnell set himself. The treatment of the suject is clear, simple, cogent. Starting with the proposition that no doctrine of the resurrection of the dead or of the life of the world to come, formulated even fifty years ago, can be satisfactory to the man of today," the author endeavors to determine wherein formulated doctrine is faulty and to discover a modification of that doctrine which is more convincing. Two assumptions, familiar in this connection, viz. that the soul is essentially immortal and that the same kind and quality of soul attaches to all men, are rejected as unwarranted. The author holds that the dividing line, separating life which may survive death from life which may not, is determined by psychological development rather than by physiological differences. He, therefore, reaches the conclusion that man is "immortable, or potentially immortal. It is shown that this conclusion does violence neither to the findings of science nor to the teachings of the New Testament. S. C. [The Evolution of Immortality. By S. D. McConnell, D. D., D. C. L. $1.25. New York: The Macmillan Co.] The trend of contemporary religious writing diverges more and more from the older lines. Another illustration of this fact is found in the little volume entitled, "The Changing View-points in Religious Thought.' The author, who is a Baptist clergyman, emphasizes the fact that, while the view-point varies, the essentials of religion remain; that it is "our present conception of truth" and not "eternal truth itself which is being modified. He holds that the causes most powerful in their influence upon the minds of men today are: "the idea of evolution, the results of recent biblical criticism, and the idea of a social rather than a doctrinal expression of Christianity." Doctrine or dogma which embodies the religious conception of a single age is not final. The idea that the last word has been spoken on religion cannot fail to be repugnant so long as men constantly come into new environments, have new experiences, and make new discoveries. Realizing these things, the author is able to put his message in a way which Christians generally will be able to read with great profit. Although none of the other chapters is so carefully prepared as the first, yet the treatment of each subject shows an appreciation of existing difficulties and a familiarity with the more enlightened attempts to meet them. S. C. [The Changing View-Point in Religious Thought, and Other Short Studies in Present Religious Problems. By Henry Thomas Colestock, A. M., B. D. $1.00. New York: E. B. Treat & Co.] importance of the movements selected. For example, experimental psychology began to have a place in The American colleges and universities, yet a very consider- [Experimental Psychology. A Manual of Laboratory Practise. By Edward Bradford Titchener. Vol. I., Part I., Instructor's manual, $2.50. Part II., Student's manual, $1.60. New York: The Macmillan Co.] George Wharton James is thoroughly familiar with the scenes he describes in his book, "In and Around the Grand Canyon," having explored the place for nearly ten years. It has been his intention to write a handbook descriptive of its grandeur, that may interest those unfamiliar with the region and serve as a guide to those intending to visit it. Some account is given of early explorations, from the time of the Spaniards, often in the words of the adventurers themselves. A practical discussion of the method of approach, the most advantageous view-points, the first impressions, and a careful description of available trails through the He sees canyon follow. A man's point of view determines to such an extent the importance and significance of events, and the conclusions which he draws from them, that it may be impossible for others to agree with him, since they cannot look out upon the world through his eyes. "Forward Movements of the Last Half Century emphasizes the truth of this statement. The author believes in the possibility and efficacy of personal holiness, which he defines as a life of sevenfold privilege, power, and blessing, that the Holy Spirit is urging upon God's people by many forms of appeal." striking proof of the struggle for holiness in the religious activities of the past fifty years; and he describes certain of these activities, laying stress upon the way in which they are related to his theme. There is a tendency throughout the volume to exaggerate the 66 There is inevitably a certain monotony in descriptions of scenery, particularly of a kind the imagination finds difficult to picture, and interest in the book lags somewhat on this account. However, a region so inaccessible is deprived of the interest that comes from association with human activity. The story of the perilous adventures of the author and his friends in exploring the canyon are the most interesting portions of the book. A large number of beautiful photographs admirably supplement the text. A. H. [In and Around the Grand Canyon. By George Wharton James. $3.00. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.] "A Journey to Nature," by J. P. Mowbray, is really a collection of papers that were originally contributed to the New York Evening Post. It is the story of a Wall Street broker who has an attack of heart failure, and, at his doctor's order, goes into the backwoods for The broker is a widower, and is accompanied by his seven-year-old boy. The account of the first acquaintance with nature which father and son make is exceedingly entertaining, instructive, and humorous. The book is an interesting one. J. M. S. a year. [A Journey to Nature. By J. P. Mowbray. $1.50. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co.] The blending of picturesque effects in the life of Old Albany in the colonial days, when Dutch persistence in national tastes and customs was but slowly yielding to English mastery, unrolls before us in vivid color as we follow the fortunes of the story named "The Black Gown," for the fine-natured Jesuit priest devoted to missionary labors among the Indians. who dies in service to a foe of his religion and his native country. In many a novel of the historical setting love introduces complications that pass unnoted on the pages of the historian's calm summary. "The Black Gown" exception to this general rule, but with a charm all its own depicts action moving swiftly through romantic and tragic episodes. The faithful love of a servant for his master, and of a lover for his lady, is told in a very winning and spirited fashion. [The Black Gown. By Ruth Hall. $1.50. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.] is no A. E. H. Under the title "The Fortune of a Day are gathered a number of charming stories of Italy. They are simply told, centering around incidents small in themselves, but which mirror the Italian peasant life, its isolation and provincial standards, its piety and passion, and the nobility and the baseness that it shares with the common human life of the world. Long descriptions of sky and scene are happily unnecessary to render the atmosphere of the book. The characters are unmistakably Italian in all they say and do. The book is dramatic in quality, the words and acts of the characters tell the story and there is a subtle pleasure in being allowed to trace the undercurrent of feeling beneath the flow of their common talk. A. H. [The Fortune of a Day. By Grace Ellery ChanningStetson. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone & Co.] In "Old Bowen's Legacy" Edwin Asa Dix, author of "Deacon Bradbury," has put forth a story that is strong, true to life, and full of difficult situations which are well met. Old Simeon Bowen, a hermit, dying, leaves a sum of money to be disposed of within a year by three trustees in whatever manner they may choose. Many complications arise, and numerous suggestions are offered by the townspeople as to the disposal of the money, and these incidents make up the story. There is very little humor in the book, and nothing weak or sentimental. In direct contrast to the jovial good nature of "David Harum," "Eben Holden," and other tales of northern farm and village life is the somber atmosphere of this story which dwells upon the darker side of human nature. In spite of this fact, however, the book is one which compels attention, and it is well worth reading. L. E. T. [Old Bowen's Legacy. By Edwin Asa Dix. $1.50. New York: The Century Co.] It so happened that "The Crisis was read for review on the Fourth of July; and let it be said at once that there is no book more apropos to the day. Mr. Winston Churchill of St. Louis has again utilized very successfully historical incident as the chief matter of a very readable novel, and in so doing he has written a book which is a veritable Fourth of July oration, a perfect bath of patriotism. The revelation of the human side of Lincoln and Grant and Sherman are so vivid, and the intensity of the ardor of patriotism is so keenly aroused as to almost submerge the love story that is threaded through the fabric. It is a refreshing lesson in American citizenship, a lesson which shows just where the strength of our country lies. It will be a convenient book to thrust into the hand of the pessimist who would turn the immigrant ship from our shores. As a book with a purpose, and as an exhibition of what a painstaking writer who has no great talent can accomplish, the book is a conspicuous success. But it is unfortunate that the author of a book of over four hundred pages should have such a continuous, unimpassioned style; that there should be a total void of flashes of brilliancy or humor or even grotesqueness T. W. L. to enliven it. [The Crisis. By Winston Churchill. $1.50. New York: The Macmillan Co.] "Miss Pritchard's Wedding Trip" is a simple and interesting story written by Clara Louise Burnham. The principal character is an elderly woman who was disappointed in love early in life. The man she loved dies, but has first asked her to care for his motherless This girl resembles her father so young daughter. journey Miss Pritchard had planned to take with her much that a trip abroad seems quite like the wedding father. Miss Pritchard and her ward spend a year traveling through foreign countries, and have many interesting experiences. A real romance, in which Miss Pritchard adds to the happiness of her ward, closes a story that is replete with instances of unselfish devotion. L. E. T. [Miss Pritchard's Wedding Trip. By Clara Louise Burnham. $1.50. New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.] "A Quaker Scout," by N. P. Runyan, is a mechanical production nowhere instinct with real life. The story is as impersonal as a news paragraph, and as neutral as the Quaker gray of the cover. The plot is laid in the time of the Civil war. The hero assaults his uncle and enlists. His falsely reported death gives his sweetheart to his rival, but the latter's death makes it possible for the author to rush the two through a marriage service in their first meeting after twenty years. There is no character-drawing, no attempt to appreciate human feeling under given conditions. The author marks his characters good or bad, but the labels are changed with arbitrary inconsequence as the plot needs, for example, a cruel and exasperating or a generous and forgiving uncle. The dramatic possibilities which the plot offers are rarely grasped. The story becomes an account merely of incidents, which at the turning-point of the plot are so improbable that one is never unconscious of the author pulling at the threads of his pattern. A. H. [A Quaker Scout. By N. P. Runyan. $1.25. New York: The Abbey Press.] "The Lion's Brood" is a historical novel quite different from the ordinary type. It is a story of life in Italy during the Second Punic war, when Hannibal and his terrible followers-"the lion's brood" - were ravaging the country. Though there are many exciting encounters in the field, the author does not confine |