NEW BOOKS: The Necessary History

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(Political, Economic, Historical, Biographical)

THE NATIONS OF TODAY—Edited by John Buchan—Six Volumes Published: British America, Baltic and Caucasian Republics, France, Italy, Japan, Jugo-slavia—Houghton Mifflin ($5.00 a volume).

Since Homer wrote of the heroic feats of unhappy Achilles and of the exploits of the ingenious Odysseus, history has drawn its heroes from the great. The mere nod of a mighty king was of more account to historians than all the people of his kingdom. The era of democracy in history has just begun, and evidently John Buchan is its prophet.

These histories deal with the life of nations as an organic whole, not merely made up of events and dates, but of personality as expressed, not only by a few individuals, but by the corporate body of the people.

The Authors. On a work such as The Nations of Today, which, when finished, will be a complete history of the world as it is today delimited, it is indispensable to state something about the authors.

John Buchan, as a writer, is a man of enormous power. As the author of adventure stories, such as Mr. Standfast and Greenmantle, he has already won wide recognition as a novelist. As a historian he bids fair to surpass Carlyle, both in the excellence of his style and on the merits of his prose.

With Mr. Buchan are collaborating 120 men—men chosen because of their clear title to authority on the subject on which they write. These men are chosen judiciously. They are representative of learning in both its empirical and theoretical forms. Thus, it must be noted that the very long list contains such men as Hillaire Belloc, probably the greatest authority on military history in England; Professor Charles Seymour of Yale University, one of the foremost historians of the U. S., H. Pirie Gordon, Foreign Editor of The Times, London; Sir James Ren-nell Rodd, British diplomat of great experience; Andre Tardieu, French statesman of acknowledged gifts.

Special mention must be made of Major General Lord Edward Gleichen (former Count Gleichen and son of Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langen-burg), who as a soldier and an author is a man of great distinction. Under his direction the above six volumes have been admirably prepared and set forth. The division of the material has been made wisely and in such a way as to cause the reader a minimum of inconvenience.

Structure. First comes the past history, disposed of in mere outline. Then, on entering the past century, the subject matter becomes more detailed. The pre-War period is dwelt upon with greater emphasis. And the War period, viewed from the standpoint of internal events, is one of real value; for most people, even historians, seem to be either ignorant of or at least hazy with regard to what took place during that era of mighty Armageddon. Finally, the histories end with a fair account of post-War events, which, without questioning their accuracy or usefulness, are inevitably open to controversy. The supplementary matter is composed of essays on economics, the people, finance, etc., besides which each volume contains a miscellaneous section in which much useful and some pertinent information is to be found.