of affairs unable to wade assiduously through mountainous of Blue Books, official dveuments, and fully fledged war diaries, and reluctant to rely on the popular stories of the war, have long.
the need for a compact vulsune giving a concise and readable ai count of the war, free fro dice or any particular pol doctrine. When all the discussion about the war has died down it is often forgotten that there is a. professional aspect deserving atten-Uon, The animosities of nations, the intrigues of politicians, the wranglings on the home freit betveon the various classes of amateur strategists, loom far too larg much of war literature, Again, there are certain campaigns which receive fortuitous attention not beyond their intrinsic merits perhaps, but beyond their actual bearing on the course of the struggle. Captain Liddell Hart is a writer eminently qualified to fulfil these requirements. To begin with. he 8 a most attractive literary style, as those who read his "Greater than Napoleon" will readily agree, Ha has a lucid and economical method of expounding strategy which becomes tu his hands intelligible the lay as well as to the pro er. There are s: mo ascribe to him certain pre dilections, not to say prejudices, But he is so frank and fearless in expressing. them and he is so independent in his judgment that the publishers are to be congratulated fon securing his services for thy presentation of the Great War in the e: mpass of barely 500 Pages. All the qualities to which Fovence has been made are strike illustrated in this book, and in Liddell Hart does not dog insist on blind acceptance of his theories, for he attaches to his work an admirable bibliography nay itself ix of no utile value as a guide to the student of the War.
In proof of the severity and me dependents of Captain Liddell Hart's selection it may be pointed out that he dismisses the Zeebrugge one line, There is no reference made to the despatch of the Indian divisions to France, and his mention of the Indian troops who played so large a part in the successful campaign in Palestine is purely incidental, As example of his admirable conciseness the passage with which he poses of the battle of Coronel and ite avenging successor that of, the Falkland Islands may be quoted: the doatruction of ths in Gri' November 0, the Tndiane Ocean' was finally cleared, ut. this Trapped on December & at the Falkland aes, by his ney conceived surprise, Spee wae un, an wih hint the Isat instrament of naval power upon the oceans.
From this time liber Allies were secured for supplies and for the. conve rooms. But as ty. all-oeeun routs there must be a land. termine, the development of the submarine this y gradually Tess effective than i m the morrow of Sturdee's victory.
The chapter on the origins of the War is exceptionally: well done, although it will not give pleasure to those who are obviously engaged. trying to prove that Germany' nation of forcing the struggle upon the world. The student of events to-day will not be cheered by th thought that the conditions which gradually created "an explosive, Europe," to use Captain Lidd. Hart's expressive phrase, are rapid. ly being rerooted today. Thera ¢xist the same alarms on account of neighbour ly aggression, the sonic doubt "of Russian poliey—in fact, Captain Liddell Hart's onuses of the conflict, editor three words. "fear, hunger pride," are still at work to-Th'five chapters in the book dear ing with the actual operations comprise 27 scenes, and of these are laid in the Western front." Oi"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.