BOOK REVIEWS 261 



the parts and reassemble them. There is a scientific use for the 

 imagination. Out of it come the ideals of things as they ought to 

 be — the motive power of man's creation. 



The editor wishes to express his thanks to Mr. Gilbert H. 

 Trafton of Mankato (Minn.) Normal School and to Mr. Ralph 

 E. Wager of the DeKalb (111.) Normal for their care in editing 

 the March and April numbers respectively. 



Book Reviews 



The Wonder of Life, J. Arthur Thomson, p. xxxi + 658. Henry 

 Holt & Co. $3.50. 



Professor Thomson is eminent as the Professor of Natural His- 

 tory in the University of Aberdeen and is one of the most fascinat- 

 ing of English writers on scientific topics. In his preface the 

 author characterizes the book as " an unconventional introduction 

 to Natural History" and expresses the hope "that it may be 

 found useful in 'Nature-Study.' " The alternative chapter titles 

 are the more suggestive: Chap. I, The Drama of Life; or Vital 

 Motives; Chap. II, The Exploitation of the Earth; Chap. Ill, 

 The Circumvention of Space and the Conquest of Time; Chap. 

 IV, Modes of Animal Behavior; Chap. V, The Intricacy of Inter- 

 relations; Chap. VI, From Birth through Love to Death; Chap. 

 VII, The Wonder of Life. 



The book is very readable for it is full of recently discovered 

 facts, carefully digested and stated so as to elucidate questions 

 and suggest new problems. It is a new type of natural history, 

 not conventionally arranged according to a stereotyped classifica- 

 tion but on a basis of the ideas embodied in the chapter titles. 

 It is the book of nature-study of the world. The material is drawn 

 from all over the earth, suggestive facts, pertinent life histories, 

 wonderful harmonies, given with the authority of an eminent 

 critic. It will stimulate many to see the marvels of their own 

 familiar environment and to sec them in forms of some of Life's 

 large problems. 



