Who's Who, 1898. Edited by Douglas Sladen. Fiftieth Year. 8vo., 846 pp. London) Adam and Charles Bloc! B/6 net..
A most useful book: of reference, containing nestly seven thousand biographies—mostly autobiographies—of the leading men and women of the day. To give a full. description of the contents of this work, it would be necessary to print the whole of the Index. In addition to the biographies there list of peculiarly pronounced proper names with the correct Pronunciation, many of them being impossible to guess at. A list of some of the chief London newspapers, with their editors, will be useful to advertisers. There are numerous tables giving particulars of learned societies, with names of sect taries, fees, etc.; of steamship companies of universities and colleges. The list of pseudonyms and pen-names will be found useful and interesting, us will the list of members of both Houses of Parliament. There is a table of ships and their commanders, and another of regiments but it is, impossible to enumerate all the information contained in the work. The biographies, in addition to stating the family and' career of the subjects, give also their favourite recreations and other articulars. The Inspector-General of Justoms appears to have no favourite recreations, possibly because he has no time to indulge in them. The work must have a large circulation as the present volume is the fiftieth annual. It certainly represents an enormous amount of work, and is very cheap indeed at 3s. 6d. The book is closely printed, admirably arranged, and tastefully bound in scarlet and gold.
It may be added that this is the second year of the new issue under the entorprising editorship of Mr. Douglas Sladen, in whose hands it has become quite a different book, very much superior to the old Who's Who of our youth.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.