History

THE current craze for the day's news in tabloid has lately invaded the precincts hitherto ruled by scholarship unchallenged, and has given us history, literature, philosophy, and even the sum of man's knowledge packed between the covers of single volumes for the enrichment and delectation of those who wish to become educated in nine days. An examination of the table of contents of Mr. Parsons' book might lead one to believe that it is just another by product of the boiling-down of the elements of the story of the earth. But it is in reality more than that.

Instead of being a mere attempt to cover a vast and familiar ground more rapidly than is predecessors, this book represents rather an interpretation of history. The author conceives of history not as a landscape dominated by a few peaks of great attainments, but as a stream which is flowing constantly onward, running faster, perhaps, at some times than at others. Evolution is the central theme of his book, and he selects for treatment those salient facts which testify to the evolutionary process. This choice limits the range of factual discussion, and the principle governing the choice distinguishes the book from other works which try to compress much into little.

Nowhere in the volume does Mr. Parsons dogmatize on debatable questions. The searcher after facts may find little satisfaction in the fair-minded discussions of divergent leading theories of problems in science, political history, and literature. There are no explanations offered; there is no padding of embarrassing gaps.

Naturally enough, the first half of the book, dealing with the astronomy, geology and biology of the earth's creation, is far more satisfying than the second. The chapters which take the world up to the dawn historic civilization are written convincingly, with graphic power. There is no diminution of strength later, but the mass of fact and conflicting forces which makes up modern history does not lend itself to sketchy treatment. To dismiss the Renaissance and the Reformation in sixty pages is not easy, but with his evolutionary theme supplying the background the author handles the task without smacking too much of the encyclopedia. For study, the book is not adequate; for entertainment and instructive reading, it is as good of its kind as has come.