REVIEWS. 129 
theory, including radioactivity, seems scarcely adequate in view 
of the remarkable advances made in that field within the last 
few years and especially when one considers its important bear- 
ing on the theory of all electrical phenomena. 
Lists of problems with answers are given at the end of most 
of the chapters. The problems are well chosen and sufficiently 
numerous to give the student the necessary practice in mathe- 
matical physics. Educational experience would seem to show 
that the pedagogical value of the problems would be greater 
without the appended answers. The mathematical formule 
and physical quantities and constants scattered throughout the 
book are well chosen and adequate to meet the demands of the 
ground covered. 
There is a tendency throughout the book to describe pheno- 
mena without seriously attempting to give a clear or adequate 
exposition of the underlying theory, even in those cases where 
the theory is fundamental and easily comprehended by elementary 
students. The authors seem to have accepted Spencer’s defini- 
tion of Science as classified knowledge and consequently over- 
estimated the value of mere subject matter. In many cases the 
exposition is decidedly less satisfactory than that to be found 
in the elementary texts in use to-day in secondary schools and 
any student who has had a thorough first course in physics can 
not help but feel disappointed in a college text which merely 
adds to the subject matter without any corresponding addition 
to the theory of phenomena previously studied. 
The book is well indexed and, for a first edition, remarkably 
free from typographical errors. The illustrations, type, and 
general appearance of the book are good, and teachers searching 
for a satisfactory text in physics will review it with pleasure. 
J. R. W. 
A Text-book of Physics. By Louis Bevier Spinney. Cloth. Illustrated. 
Price $2.75 net. New York. The Macmillan Company. 1911. 
Among the more recent texts of physics, the one by Professor 
Spinney of the University of Iowa deserves especial attention. 
Although designed primarily for use as a text in courses offered 
to engineering and technical students, its field of usefulness 
should not be limited to any particular class of students. The 
clear, concise, and logical method of presentation of the fun- 
damental laws combined with well-chosen illustrations of their 
application to technical work should make the book exceedingly 
popular as the basis of class-room work in general college physics. 
