Books Reviewed

Northern Advocate, 31 October 1936, Page 2 (Supplement)

Books Reviewed

“Taken by the Hand,” by O. Douglas,

(Messrs Hodder and Stoughton).

In “Taken by the Hand,” O. Douglas has sent into the world another of those books which have given pleasure and satisfaction to a wide circle of readers. The book will no doubt be regarded as too slow by many present day readers who are satisfied with nothing that is not as artificial and unreal as themselves. It deals with everyday people and everyday experiences in the lives of the average man and woman, and its homely tone and atmosphere will give real pleasure to all who find delight in the joys and sorrows that come to every family. As “Punch” said when reviewing this book, “It is refreshing because Miss O. Douglas never forgets that kindness, in the promotion of happiness, knocks cleverness to back of beyond.” For that reason, “Taken by the Hand” is heartily welcomed.

# * * m “Answer Time on Tower <, Hill,” by Donald Soper (Hodder and Stoughton).

Readers of “Christ and Tower Hill” will welcome “Answer Time on Tower Hill,” in which Donald Soper sets out to state and to answer certain of the intellectual problems which exercise the mind of the average listener, or heckler, in the open air, who makes up the Christian apologist’s crowd. “Whatever merit the book possesses,” says the author in a preface, “lies more in the atmosphere which it seeks to catch, the ‘feeling’ of open-air- discussion about religion, than in the adequacy of the answers it offers. Much of the estrangement between the representative exponent of the Christian faith, in' particular the ‘parson,’ and the average citizen who is

the subject of such exposition, is due to that lack of appreciation on both sides of the general background of thought . out of Which parson or average citiien speaks. That is why, to put it bluntly, many of the heckler’s questions seem to be petulant, and most of the Christianity which we would offer to a distracted world ‘Simply won’t get across.’,. . . These factors help to constitute the psychological environment in which open--air evangelism seeks to live and develop, and I have tried to keep this in mind in the discussions which go to make up this book.” That the author has kept this in mind to good purpose will be admitted by all who read the book.

The Mother Tongue in New Zealand. Messrs A. H. and A. W. Reed, of Dunedin and Wellington, have published under the title “The Mother Tongue in New 'Zealand,” a reprint of a series of most informative articles on the pronunciation and proper use of a great variety of words with which the average individual would wish to be on terms of understanding. The series.of articles, prepared by Professor Arnold Wall, appeared originally in leading metropolitan newspapers of the Dominion, and readers of them will be glad that they have been preserved in the handy booklet issued by the Messrs Reed.

Treatment for Diabetic Patients. Another useful booklet from the publishing house of Messrs A. H. and A. W. Ward is “The Principles of Treatment for Diabetic Patients.” The author of the booklet is Dr. H. Bayldon Ewen,- M. 8., Ch.B., honorary physician, Wellington General Hospital. It is for the use of diabetic patients, and includes a list of food values and recipes to be used in arranging menus. The author was one of the first doctors in New Zealand to use insulin in the treatment of diabetes, and his experience in the intervening years forms the basis of the booklet issued this year. Tables have been completely revised and enlarged and the latest analyses incorporated. A list of grouped, vegetables r and fruits has been printed.