HEROES OF SCIENCE. An Account of the Lives, Sacrifices, Successes, and Failures of Some of the Greatest Scientists in the World's History. By Charles R. Gibson, S.R.S.E. With 19 illustrations. London: Seeley, Service & Co., Ltd., 1913. Mr. Gibson has written a book in which he reveals to us the romantic and the tragic side of science, an essentially human book, which is frankly intended for popular reading, and which wiJl do much to remove the foolish impression that men of science are bloodless. Among the more conspicuous figures that play a part in this volume are Roger Bacon, Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Franklin, Priestley, Cavendish, William and Caroline Herschel, Dalton, Sir Humphry Davy, Darwin, Kelvin, and Maxwell. THE INFANCY OF ANIMALS. By W. P. Pycraft. Zoological Department of the British Museum, Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, etc. With 64 plates and numerous illustrations in the text. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1913. While purely a descriptive work and written entirely along zoological lines, Mr. Pycraft's volume will be read chiefly by the amateur student of animal life seeking to learn some of the elements of zoology. No attempt is made at a biological interpretation of early animal development nor to fit the facts recorded into current biological theory. For that reason some may be inclined to regard the book as a little old-fashioned. For all that one cannot help feeling that Mr. Pycraft has given us a very well-written, interesting and instructive book on a phase of animal existence on which very little of a popular character is to be found. DIE ELEKTRISCHEN EINRICHTUNGEN DEE EISENBAHNEN. (The Electrical Auxiliary Installations of Railways.) A guide for the self-taught student of the telephone, telegraph and electrical signal installations of railways. By R. Bauer, A. Prasch, and 0. Wehr. Third revised edition. Vienna: A. Hartleben, 1913. 432 pp. Price, 6 marks. The book before us is intended for the use of those who wish to obtain a knowledge of the electrical auxiliary installations employed in railroad service, and who have not a very extensive special training in electricity. But the book really serves more than this purpose, and forms a very useful reference book on a subject on which comprehensive information is not readily obtained in other sources. The book is divided into five sections. The first is introductory, and in 68 pages of text presents the fundamental principles of electricity and magnetism. The second section is devoted to the telegraph, the third to electrical railway signals, the fourth to telephony, and the fifth to the general manipulation of the various forms of apparatus employed and to the discussion of various disorders and breakdowns which are apt to occur. Both authors and publishers have done their work very excellently in the preparation of this book. Works of this character are somewhat scarce, and for this reason particularly valuable. We would like to see an edition of this book in the English language, so that it might be made accessible to a larger number of our readers. THE STOCK EXCHANGE FROM WITHIN. By W. C. Van Antwerp. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1913. 8vo.; 459 pp.; illustrated. Price, $1.50 net. The work is an explanation, and to some extent an exoneration, of the Stock Exchange and its methods, by one of its own members. Inasmuch as the author demonstrates the necessity of a stock exchange, familiarizing the reader with all phases of its utility and with the routine of its transactions and its every-day life, the book fills a distinct hiatus in the literature of American business. NOTES ON SAMPLING AND TESTING. The Handbook of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Testing House and Laboratory. Manchester, England: Mars-den & Co., Ltd., 1913. 8vo.; 90 pp.; illustrated. CHAMP CLARK. By W. L. Webb. New York: The Neale Publishing Company, 1912. 8vo.; 256 pp.; illustrated. Price, $1 net. FIRST YEAR ALGEBRA. By Webster Wells, S.B.. and Walter W. Hart, A.B. New York: D. C. Heath & Co., 1912. DIRECTORY OF CEMENT, GYPSUM AND LIME MANUFACTURERS. Seventh edition. Chicago: The Cement Era, 1913. Price, $1. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY SIMPLY EXPLAINED. By H. T. Davidge, B.Sc, M.I.E.E. New York: Spon & Chamberlain. Price, 25 cents. BUDDHISM. A Study of the Buddhist Norm. By Mrs. Rhys Davids, M.A. New York: Henry Holt & Co. 16mo.; |255 pp. Price, 50 cents net; by mail, 66 cents. BEAUTY OF THE HIGHEST TYPE. A Scientific and an Artistic Aim for a Nobler Beauty. By Caroline Williams LeFavre. New York: The Health Culture Company, 1912. THE OHIGIN AND NATURE OF LIFE. By Benjamin Moore, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. New York: Henry Holt & Co. 16mo.; 256 pp. Price, 50 cents net.