THE LIBRARY LOG

the end of the author's life.   Whimsical and
imaginative. seeing always the humor in any situ-
ation, Mark Twain was yet so alive to the tragedy
of life that at times he makes ns believe that he
''laughed in order that he might not weep".
Mr. Paine has done his work of editing and com-
ment so well that the reader is only conscious of
the smooth, unbroken narrative.   Mark Twain
holds his own peculiar niche in Anerican life
and literature, and there is every reason to wel-
come the "Letters", and to thank Mr. Paine for
their existence in book form.
Hay, Marley F. Secrets of the Submarine.
1917. Dodd, Mead. $1.25          623.825-H41
Mr. Hay is well able to speak with authority
since he has given seventeen years' time to the
design and construction of submarines.    ''He
discusses in clear and simple language the arma-
ment of the submarine and the functions of its
various mechanisms.     .  .   .  He describes
the way in which these craft are maintained,
operated and fought; the special dangers to
which they and their crews are exposed, and the
devices by which it is sought to counteract those
dangers. He indicates many of the problems con-
nected with them which remain to be solved, and
he   analyses  Germany's   building  facilities."
(Nation)
Howe, Frederic C. The High Cost of Liv-
ing. 1917.    Scribner. $1.50      338.5-H85
In the stress of present circumstances, most
people have forgotten that the war is not entirely
responsible for our food situation. Mr. Howe's
)ook is an analysis of the facts which bear on
the food problem--high prices, decreasing pro-
duction, discouragement of farmers, tenant-farm-
ing, exhaustion of the soil, etc. He has much
to recommend in the way of remedy. Among
other reforms he advocates taxation of land value
to end speculation, socialization of credit, amn end
of tenant-farming. farm colonies aided by the
state, and food distribution regulated by the gov-
ernment.
James, George W. Reclaiming the Arid
West. 1917. Dodd, Mead. $3.50
626.8-J27
This is an attractive book telling of the work
of the United States reclamation service. Major
John Wesley Powell, more than twenty-five years
ago, with splendid foresight, planned much of the
work which has since been accomplished. Mr.
James gives a popular account of the various
phases of the work, making clear to the layman
much concerning the difficult engineering proj-
ects and of the resulting benefits to settlers.
The fine illustrations add much to the value of
the text.
Kellogg, Vernon L. Headquarters Nights.
1917. Atlantic Monthly. $1.00
940.91-K293
Mr. Kellogg, a professed pacifist with a sincere
admiration for things German, became envoy of
the Committee for Relief in Helgium. and lived
at German General Headquarters.     For many
months lie had every opportunity to judge of
German ideals. German aims and German military
methods as expounded by Germany's military
masters. Being a true American, it was inevitable
that Mr. Kellogg should become a very much
"converted pacifist''. He makes it very clear
that "Germany must be converted to be a good
Germany or not miuch of any Germany at all".
A  nation nourished upon the doctrine of the
biological necessity of war can only be convinced
of the error of its ways by being met on its own
biological ground and defeated.

O'Shaughnessy, Edith.        Diplomatic    days.
1917. Harper. $2.00             .  972-0 82d
A diplomat's wife, as well as the diplomat him-
self, is always in a position to make interesting
observations with regard to people and politics.
Mrs. O'Shanghnessy was in Mexico during 1911
and 1912 wlen Diaz and  Madero were in power.
In the form of letters addressed to her mother,
the author gives a vivid picture of life in the
Mexican capital at a time when hopes ran high
that Mexico had at last secured some degree of
stability in aiItters of government.  ,'A Diplo-
mat's Wife in Mexico", published in 1916. gives
much of the same kind of interesting informs-
tion with regard to the Huerta rdgim e.
Ravage, M. E. An American in the Making.
1917. 1Harper.    $1.40               92-R252
To those of us "born to the purple," the
struggles of a Roumanian boy to become a real
American. may well arouse sympathY. He tells
its the story of his life from  the time of his
childhood its Roumania to his sophomore year at
tle University of Missouri.   Coming to New
York in 1900, the yonng matt worked in a bar-
room and a sweatshop until he had fitted himself
to enter college. Old world ideas, far more than
any material conditions, he regards as the chief
of the stumbling blocks in the way of tie earnest
foreigner who seeks to become an American. Mr.
Ravage feels that he has at last attained his ob-
ject, that he not only understands America, but
that tie is ant American. America has room and
a welcome for every mati of his kind.
Rogers, Lindsay. America's Case Against
Germany. 1917. Dutton. $1.50
940.91-R727
This book will meet the need of the reader
who wishes to become informed concerning points
of international law violated by Germany in her
conduct of the war. The moral crines of our
adversary are quite self-evident, but the legal
phases of the matter ore less well understood.
Mr. Rogers presents the subject in non-technical
language for the benefit of the average Amierican
citizen.
Sherman, Stuart P. On Contemporary Lit-
erature. 1917. H olt. $1.50           804-S55
Mr. Sherman has collected in this volume a
number of critical essays, originally published in
the 'Nation.'   However much the reader may
differ from  the author in his estimates of the
work of Theodore Dreiser. H. G. Wells. and
others of our present-day literary fraternity, the
book is bound to rouse thought as well as con-
troversy. Mr. Sherman sees in certain phases of
modern literary realism  the same conflict with
tie spiritual forces of the universe which is to-
day being waged on European battlefields. Such
views as the "jungle theory of life" advanced
by Mr. Dreiser. Mr. Sherman regards as closely
allied to the materialistic ideas which have so in-
fluenced modern Germany as to make that na-
tion a menace to the spiritual progress of the
whole world.
Ussher, Clarence D., and Grace H. Knapp.
An American Physician in Turkey. 1917.
Houghton, Miftlin. $1.75            915.6-U87
Dr. Ussher spent fifteen years its a medical
tinssionary in Asiatic Turkey. He has much of
interest to tell us regarding the country and its
people. The doctor witnessed the recent Turkish
massacre of the Armenians and his descriptions
of the horrible scenes are very vivid, though given
with decent restraint. The pitiful flight of the
Armenians and Americans from    the country is
also described.

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