The Principles of Comparative Sociology. By NICHOLAS PETRESCU, Ph.D. London: Watts & Co., 1924. Pp. xi+191. National differentiations make society unstable; and hence, the socialization of nations is essential-this is Dr. Petrescu's major theme. He develops two categories of motives, the physical and the moral, one corresponding to "conditions" and the other to "conceptions"; one material, the other psychological. It is not clear why these themes should be called "comparative sociology" any more than many other comparative social studies now being conducted. The style is social-philosophical. The author's emphasis on a study of "differences" is well placed, as is his development of the idea of "an identity at the basis of all social manifestations." An interesting discussion is given of the relative meaning of customs, and of the necessity of translating whatever appears as "differences" into terms of their own natural history, of their own social conditions, and in terms "of the social process by which they are produced." UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EMORY S. BOGARDUS The Public Health Service: Its History, Activities, and Organization. By LAWRENCE F. SCHMECKEBIER. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1923. Pp. xiii+298. $2.00. This volume of the "Service Monograph Series," published under the auspices of the Institute for Government Research, describes one of the most highly organized technical staffs of the federal service. In conformity with other volumes in the series the book gives in order an account of the historical development of the service, its activities, its organization, and its personnel. Appendixes contain a list of its publications, a collection of the laws pertaining to its work, financial statements, and a comprehensive bibliography. Among the subjects of special interest which are referred to at some length are the co-operative activities with state and local health authorities and the research functions. Co-operation as a means of social accomplishment and leadership finds many a good illustration in these pages. Reading between the lines one becomes aware also of the growing success of the board in setting standards and in securing uniformity in public sanitation. The historical introduction gives a striking picture of the expansion of a federal service, and its many ramifications both in other branches of the federal service and in state and local health departments. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LEONARD D. WHITE An Introduction to the Psychological Problems of Industry. By FRANK WATTS. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1921. Pp. 240. $5.00. Fundamentals of Vocational Psychology. By CHARLES H. GRIFFITS. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1924. Pp. xiii+372. $2.50. Mr. Griffits' book is designed for a textbook for college courses in vocational psychology, to be given by departments of psychology. So far as the reviewer is qualified to judge, it appears to be an excellent book for the purpose. Being extremely technical in character, it may present difficulties for the sociologist who is not well versed in the particular field. As an exhibit of what psychologists now believe themselves able to accomplish in the way of vocational selection and guidance, it should be interesting to any student of industrial relations. Mr. Watts, who is lecturer in psychology in the University of Manchester, England, has written a much more readable book, the style being less technical, as is suitable for a book of broader scope. Although much of the content will be a repetition for American readers, his account of "industrial unrest," in a fifty-page chapter of that title, should prove helpful to anyone who is interested either in that particular topic or in the general concept of "unrest" as a sociological problem. FLOYD N. HOUSE MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE The Hospital Situation in Greater New York: Report of a Survey of Hospitals in New York City by the Public Health Committe of the New York Academy of Medicine. Prepared by E. H. LEWINSKICORWIN. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1924. Pp. xix+356. The survey revealed the need in the city of an agency which would continually gather and interpret facts about hospitals and which would serve these institutions as well as the public with information concerning community needs and hospital procedures and problems. At the suggestion of the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medicine, such an agency was established by the United Hospital Fund of New York City, known as the Hospital Information Bureau. The Committee was urged to publish the report by many who felt that there is need of a source book of this kind. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO TSI C. WANG Mexico. An Interpretation. By CARLETON BEALS. New York: B. W. Huebsch, Inc., 1923. Pp. 280. $2.50. This volume seeks to present to the ordinary reader a picture of Mexico today, and this it does well. It is in popular form, without bibliography or footnote references. The style is vigorous and the author's conclusions not always cautious, but the book is not sensational. The author drew upon several years of active experience in Mexico and upon the knowledge of intelligent and specially informed Mexican friends. The description of the Mexican people is presented against a historical background, but Mr. Beals is particularly interested in the events of recent years and the development of the national consciousness. There is much interesting material on the agrarian reforms. The chapter on "The Rise of the Mexican Proletariat" contains a discussion of the organization of labor and of labor's relation to politics, and has something to say on the Fascist movement in Mexico. There is a suggestive short chapter on the new middle class. The chapter on "The Condition of the Lower Classes" contains valuable data on the budget and standard of living of the peon. The last part of the book describes recent relations of the United States government with Mexico as a continuous course of inconsistent mistakes inspired by the "Oil Interests." Particularly by reason of the account and interpretation of the events of the last dozen years-of what Mr. Beals calls "The Revindicating Revolution"-this book will be wanted by everyone particularly interested in Mexico. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ROBERT REDFIELD Folk Festivals and the Foreign Community. By DOROTHY GLADYS SPICER. The Woman's Press, 600 Lexington Ave. New York. Pp. 152 with bibliography. $1.50. Folk Festivals and the Foreign Community is a practical handbook, the fruit of actual experience in organizing community festivals among the foreign-born of our American cities. The folk festivals, of which four detailed examples are given in the latter half of the book, consist in the informal organization, largely by the participants themselves, of the traditional and seasonal rites and customs actually practiced in the fatherland and sometimes carried over to the new world by the different foreign populations. This is in contrast with the more elaborate and formal and less democratic pageant. The folk festival is a "means to an end and not an end in itself. It is the method of making possible a more intimate knowledge of foreign people, of bringing together races of diverse customs and beliefs in a united community interest, and of approaching that great store of Old World culture and beauty which remains closed to all but those endowed with sympathy and understanding." An interesting point emphasized by the author, and one on which she had a good deal of information, is the large number of ancient traditional rites still preserved and actually practiced every year by the foreignborn in this country. MARGARET Park RedfielD Principles of Advertising. By DANIEL STARCH, Ph.D. Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University. Chicago, New York: A. W. Shaw Co., 1923. Pp. 998. $5.00. This book seeks to apply scientific methods to what Dr. Starch understands as the five fundamental problems of advertising: (1) To whom may the product be sold? (2) By what appeals may it be sold? (3) How may the appeals be presented most effectively? (4) By what mediums may the appeals be presented so as to reach the class of people to whom the product is to be sold? (5) What is a reasonable expenditure for promoting the sale of the product by the means of printed sales efforts? But while the book seeks to meet the practical problems of the advertiser it contains a great quantity of material, experimental and statistical, which may be of interest to the sociologist. It contains the results of psychological laboratory tests and of field investigations by questionnaires. Particularly it collects and compares a large body of statistics dealing with past and present circulations of magazines and newspapers. The World in Revolt. A Psychological Study of Our Times. By Dr. GUSTAVE LE BON. Translated by Bernard Miall. New York: Macmillan Co., 1921. Pp. 256. $4.00. The world-war, its causes, and immediate and probable results, are discussed in psychological terms from the point of view of a patriotic though not completely biased Frenchman. Dr. Le Bon stresses particularly the perils of "state intervention" as expressed in socialistic or syndicalistic theories and the need for individual initiative, internal discipline, and unity of aim in national development. These qualities are to be attained by education, which is to be a "training of character" rather than of the intellect alone, the possibility for which is illustrated by Prussia in her unification of the minds of Germany. Nature and Human Nature: Essays Metaphysical and Historical. By HARTLEY BURR ALEXANDER. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Co., 1923. Pp. xi+529. $3.00. The beautiful composition and presswork done on this volume would be worthy of a masterpiece. Despite its attractive title, the sociological reader will find little to enlighten his intellect, although he may refresh his spirit with some of the esthetic eulogies of philosophy, truth, beauty, personality, music and poetry, art and democracy contained in its pages. There are also essays on "Religion and Race Progress," "The Socratic Bergson," "Plato's Conception of the Cosmos," and "Hebraism as a Mode of Philosophy," all more or less in the same vein. Truly these are essays which, when properly delivered in the classroom, should thrill to ecstasy the hearts of the undergraduates aflame with a passion for goodness and beauty-on the sidelines. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA L. L. BERNARD Character and the Unconscious: A Critical Exposition of the Psychology of Freud and Jung. By J. H. VAN DER HOOP. Translated by ELIZABETH TREVELYAN. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1923. Pp. viii+223. $3.50. This book is a survey of the psychology of Freud and Jung and as such touches only the high points of psychoanalysis. The author discusses the origins of psychoanalysis, the unconscious in the normal mind, the relation between the conscious and the unconscious, the development of the emotions, and Jung's psychological types. He holds that the analytic and synthetic points of view are not irreconcilable. He maintains that we may look to psychoanalysis for an understanding of many problems of the "mind" but that the amateur must beware. SAMUEL C. KINCHELOE Y.M.C.A. COLLEGE |