BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13722, 11 April 1908, Page 5 (Supplement)

BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

PaAcnrAii Advertising, 3907-8: ~ : Mather. and Crowtber, Limited, 10-13, > New Bridgestreet, Ludgaie Circus, E.C., . London.— Messrs. Mather and (Wtkri "Practical Advertising" is one of the recognised stundard works of the advertising world. This issue for 1907-8 is the usual, advance upon previous issues, containing in addition to specimens of the modem advertising art, corrected indexes of the press of the British world, with a British hill porters' directory. The heavy binding, fine paper, and excellent printing of this publication convey an impressive idea of tho importance which advertising has attained in the commercial world;.

The Mc.viciP.vr. Year Book or « U.K. for 1908: Edited by Robert Donald. Edward Lloyd, Limited, 'Salisbury Square, London. —-All who are actively interest**! in municipal matters; out find an immense amount of invaluable information in this importa Year Book. That it tills a most necessary place in modern economies in shown by the continuous increase in its »*9. It- has been found necessary <>nce again to enlarge and develop the bock, the present edition containing nearly 300 pages more matter than its immediate predecessor live familiar features have been thoroughly revised, and in many esses t.xteaded. Farther, tiro book Las been rearranged with the object of facilitating its use as a work of reference. The new sections include those devoted to minor local government bodies, such as burial, harbour, dock and pier, port, •sanitary, joint hospital, ana joint water and gas authorities; a digest of leading casjss, and the text of the Acts of Parliament attesting local government that were passed in the session of 1907; the report ot the departmental Committee on local accounts; and n "Labour'' section, which incorporates specimen "fair "clauses in corporation contracts, tables showing the wage and labour conditions of various classes of municipal employees, etc. The " Municipal Tradityjte! sect is considerably extended, and ifffiie housing section is to be found a considerable amount of information as to "Town Planning," which is of especial interest in New Zealand and Auckland at the present time, and makes clear the lines along which British legislation is advancing. ,

The Churches and Modern Thought : By Philip Vivian. Watts and Co., 17, Johnson's Court, Fleet-street, London, E. —This ''enquiry into the grounds of unbelief and an appeal for candour," is a defence of what is termed "Nationalism.'' The process by which "rationalism" is reached is thus explained : "A man may enter, and generally does enter, upon nis enquiry biassed in favour of religious belief of some kind. He approaches the- subject ill a reverent frame of mind. In his private prayers to his God lie does not neglect to ask for heavenly guidance. He evinces precisely the spirit which a divine would consider becoming. But as his injury proceeds there comes a time when his religious bias disappears— he can no longer feel what he could honestly call reverence. He discovers that what he thought was known, and had actually been revealed, is unknown How can he believe in and worship the unknown More than ever he feels hi* own insignificance and ignorance ; but the feeling thus excited, while akin to awe, is divested of reverence. Pursuing his search far enough, he succeeds in extricating himself from a quagmire of demonstrably false sirpcrstiti-tie-ns. Finally he reaches solid ground, and builds his life upon it." Naturally, Mr. Vivian does not suggest that another equally intelligent man may logically reach a different conclusion to ..himself, for he dismisses the emotions as misleading, and concludes that the "religionist" is governed by the emotions, and the " rationalist" by reason. And we all know what happens when the Goddess of Reason is _ set up to be worshipped. As an exposition of modern rationalism, however, "The Churches and Modern Thought" is an able one. ,

The Orchahd Thief : By Mrs. Henry E. Dudeney. William Heinemann, London. The " Orchard Thief" is a Bohemian of literary sorts, who meets and captivates a village girl engaged to the commonplace, but extremely prosperous landlord of a country inn. She breaks off her engagement to become the mistress of this gay Lothario, who brutally abandons her, after which her village lover marries her and is a kindly father to her child. Years later, Lothario appears again, and almost succeeds in. again carrying off the fickle woman, but her Husband's fidelity to bar and her child triumphs, and Lotharia regretfully retires. The scene and characters of this gruesoma story are excellently written up ; the passionate affection of Stephen Fairroanner, content to serve and wait for a love which is never really his, being contrasted forcefully with the selfish and -satisfied temperament of the writer. Julia, the beauty of Penny Pottage, is one of the doll women who snake the tragedies of life ; and she is surrounded in the story by a group of characters who are not only remarkably depicted, but. distinctly individual and* interesting. The book is exceptionally good of its kind—and that its kind is unpleasant will hardly affect those who are interested in that sort of thing.

Commercial Law in- New Zealand By T. G. Russell. Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch.—Mr. Russell tells us that he has written this well-arranged book principally for the mercantile classes, but. that the members of his profession will he the best judges of its actual value. His reputation as a 'writer upon commercial law will, however, justify the acceptance of the work as a book of popular reference; and as such it will be found of great/ assistance in settling the many legal points upon which commercial men are generally ignorant, although they continually come into contact with one or other of them.

Long's Pokcxar Novels: John Long, London.-—The industrious press of Mr. John Long, has supplied novel readers with, another batch of popular stories. The recent cablegram that the little Princess Anne Monica Pia, Duchess of Saxony, lad been returned to her father amid the rejoicings of t's ancient kingdom makes particularly topical Ida Kleiner's M The Struggle for a Royal Child," in which the author narrates her experiences as governess to the child, appointed by the Saxon Court in the house of the divorced Princess. The extraordinary situation has lost nothing in the telling. " One Fv'<: Enemy," by Carlton Da we, is" a story of the Cromweliian campaign in the West of England, where the great Republican comes to the aid of true lovers and happily closes- their sensational and exciting advantures. " A Jacobite Admiral," by R. H. Forster, is a tale of 1815. by the author of "The Arrow of the North," and is equally fidl of local colour and of stirring incidents. "Their Marriage," by Curtis Yorke, tells of a marriage in haste which almost ended in a leisurely repentance, and introduces an ogre-like aunt whose money is the cause of much sorrow, and whose biting tongue is something to be remembered. " flie Top Weight," by Nat Gould, needs no explanation "Mrs. Bnrrington's Atonement, by Violet Tweedale, is of army people, and deals with the usual woman who never becomes a wife." "A New Cinderella," by Fred Wishart, describes the love affairs of three modern sisters, of whom the eldest is the uncomplaining drudge of an ungrateful, but interesting family, and the heroine of a pathetic love story. "Rubira," by James Blyth, is another of the author's famous East Anglian' stories, in which the life, manners, and morals —a lack of moralsof the Fen Country are dealt with in masterly fashion. There are vivid chapters in this unconventional book which will not readily be forgotten, etched as they are with a strength and frankness unusual to English writers.

A Tkxt Book of -Mixing Gf.ol.ocv ■■ '■ By: James Park. Griffin and Company, Limited, Exeter-street, Strand; London.—ln 1906 the Professor of' Mining and Mining Geology in the Otago School of Mines, developed, into beak form a. series of lectures issued in bulletin form in 1802. It was enriched by 78 illustrations and three plate?, and accompanied by new chapters added to comply with the requirements of the new curicullum. for the associate dipIwDU&S in mining, metallurgy,; and geology, The necessity for this revised second edition indicates that the evident merits of the- book have been recognised and appreciated by mining students and miners, not* only in New; Zealand; .but beyond* "' *''