CURRENT LITERATURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17294, 18 October 1919, Page 3 (Supplement)

CURRENT LITERATURE.

SOME NOVELS.

NOTES ON NEW BOOKS. BY CSITIC. In the tragedy of recent years must be written the passing of many great men other than those who actively fought for their country. The nervous tension of war may have been too great for sensitive nature?, taxed greatly by constant work, for many ill spared by the world " went west" when their leadership was sadly needed. Such a one was Theodore Roosevelt, whose death left in America a gap which was felt by all Englishspeaking peoples. THE LITE OF ROOSEVELT. " The Life of Theodore Roosevelt," by Hermann Hagedorn (Harrop. London; Australasian Publishing Company, Sidney).— in the light of all that Theodore Roosevelt did, and of all that he i hoped _to do, this volume becomes a ; pathetic record of a great '"man's perso- ! nality. His own statement, that " aggressive fighting for the Right is the noblest • sport the world affords," i? at once a challenge and a triumph ; and the world knows how aggressively this great President fought the evils of graft and of unclean civic life, and how he longed for his country to enter the arena of war with Germanv many months before she did do so. His life was one long fight, ' and his 'memory must always be honoured. His biographer makes copious use of Roosevelt's diaries, and does not spare illustrations. In some respects one demands a fuller record of this man's activities: but the space given to him allows of an ! excellent sketch. Parti< ularlv good is he : bracing description of his ranch life in the " bad lands." And the all-to<vbrief ! story of his political stand against di.tI honourable practices, and acainst the netj work of intrigue that he had tn contend with is a really rood story, terse and vigorous. This is the real life-work of Theodore Roosevelt: his career as President and statesman is unblemished, and a more detailed account of this will still ba a I welcome book. Hagedorn's " Life" is a j vivid and entertaining one, and from it the reader may see well into the recesses of Roosevelt's personality. It will be read with aviditv by all who followed the robust . career of this great American.

MODERN REFORMS. "A Vision of the Possible," by James W. Barrett (Lewis, London).-- Sir • James Barrett has occupied himself since the strenuous days of his war service in traversing in medical detail the ground covered hv himself and other surgeons in Egypt. The education received by the R.A.M..C. during the war is not to b"« lost, and already medical science, has benefited considerably by the kno\vlede& acquired under exacting conditions. . The author I has epitomised his conclusions, and the. findings of other surgeons of repute, and he makes valuable suggestions for the future. He deals particularly with the need for revision in the matter of staff appointments. His suggestions for im provement will meet with ! he approval of all practical people, for they eliminate th* J red-tape element, and make for summarv I efficiency. His book bears the stamp of 1 zeal for the public good. j "Education for the Heeds of the I People," by I. E. Miller (Macmillan, New : York). — be efficient," remarks this I writer, " education has to know what the needs of life are, under what conditions children normally undertake to meet them, by what processes they are met, what subject matter is suited to meet needs, and what sort of people are best fitted to assist children in meeting their needs. After 1 giving the scientific background upon ! which this functional conception of education rests, the writer applies the idea to the interpretation of the nature and function within the educative process of the aim, the pupil, the curriculum, the method, and the teacher. . . . The rising generation must take over into LlwHr lives all the fundamental values of civilisation that have been acquired in thousands of years of progress. The interests both' of the individual and of society demand the conscious and intelligent guidance and direction of the young in the matter of getting into ri&'ht working relations with the facts and forces of the world in which they live. Education is a fundamental social necessity of the modern world." The treatise is lucidly and most simply written, end analyses with vigour and decision the methods to. be applied to the education of children. " What is the Kingdom of Heaven?" by A. Clutton-Brock (Methpen, Loudon). The writer contend*, that Christ's doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven has been ignored by the Church by reason of its adherence to certain formulated dogmas. " The orthodox," he states, " may get a private comfort from their beliefs. But now we see there has been too much private comfort in the world. . . . The hope of the redemption of mankind has always been confused with the hope of private salvation. . . . Whereas salvation is seeing that the universe is good, and becoming a part of that goodness." " Turning to the Thirty-nine Articles, the reader would find," says this author, " elaborate statements of doctrines about which Christ Himself said nothing at all, and refutations of errors that do not seem to be connected with anything that He taught. The documents of the Church at least prove that that Church has shown no curiosity about the matter •that possessed Christ's own mind and controlled his conduct." By these quotations the reader may perhaps judge the j trend of the author's criticism, which is I a very sound and practical analysis of the j religious situation as developed by the ! repetition through the centuries of texts I and dogmatic conventional utterances that have become valueless.

j " A Life at Stake," by Marcel Berger j (Putnam's, New York). —One feels regret that the translator of this searching French novel should have tripped occasionally in j his idiomatic expressions. But after a , few chapters one grows accustomed to his \ style and discovers a very telling indictment of the French recruiting system, by ! which an artist, with a shortened arm, I caused by wounds, is again drawn into I the net of war service, and mad*? to do I unproductive work. It emphasises the Udire shortage of soldiers in France, hut iit reveals faults in organisation. HumiliaI tion of the men appears to have been the j object of many of the petty officers, and a j sergeant, with more than the usual am- ' men, attributes the whole canker to dis- ' cipline—" the negation of argument— I subordinate can only bow to the decision i of his chief, were the latter tenfold wrong. J You see the risk. What a prize to off to ; the dangerous instincts of man! What ' intoxication for mediocre brain?! And i hence these usual result?—arrogance, in- ■ dolence, dread of responsibility, hatred |of ability, a cynical don't-care- ism. ' Everv time I stand at attention. I lone I for the day when no one will think fit I to inflict such humiliation upon another-' 4 saddening story is this of Berber's, but I one'feels the stark verity of it in every j line. " Hsndley's Comer"—by Kate Horn iSUiilev Paul, London)—a simple story j of a village beautv trifling with bee admirers' affections, and marrying m haste. I the wrong man. But, he being killed in I an aeroplane accident, and the right one j returning in time from the front, things j right themselves in the climax. I "The Road that Binds"—by Ruby M. !Ay res (Cassell, Melbourne)—a cheaper i reprint of an accepted novel. JOHN OXSNHAM'S WOSK. Two little books of John Oxenham's are "All Clear" (Methuen, London), containing verse in his usual encouraging strain, and of uniformly high quality; and " Winds of the Dawn," being a collection / of*articles written on the need of straight, far-seeing men, to guide the nations in the futureand with a leaven of faith through all his words. "la the year 1919 Britain does men to death because they have consciences, while the one overpowering need of the world to-day —conscience." i-- v ; : ~