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Socialism in Thought and Action, by Harry W. Laidler (12mo, 546 pages; Macmillan), cannot be dismissed merely on the ground that it is a text-book; for the truth is that it excels in its kind, and ever since Mr. William English Walling turned his back on himself nothing of or near its kind has been produced in English. Dr. Laidler has that discreet receptivity for conflicting opinion and dogma which gives his work, within the limits of socialism, the stamp of a firm, intelligent neutrality. His appraisal of Socialist thought and his description of the international movement are thoroughly adequate. The New York State Board of Regents should make this text required reading for all Albany legislators, established or incipient.

The Army and Religion, a report edited by the Rev. D. S. Cairns (12mo, 447 pages; Association Press), is, as far as one may judge, an uncensored summary of evidence gathered from some hundreds of men serving in, or connected with, the British Army. The investigating committee found thdt the war had created or revealed a widely prevalent theism of the vaguest sort, but that in most cases the men did not connect their religious emotions with Christianity, and were, in fact, farther away from the Church than ever. The suggestions as to Orthodox means of overcoming this difficulty are perhaps less significant than the confession of its existence.

Origin of Government, by Hugh Taylor (12mo, 259 pages; B. H. Blackwell, Oxford), should be dedicated to l'Homme à Cheval. It is an argument for the strong self-imposed ruler who is believed to arise at every period of social crisis to save the body politic from chaos; and by a stroke of mental sleight-of-hand this ruler is identified with the conquering war-lord who creates the social crisis in the communities upon which he inflicts himself! Devoted largely to a criticism of Spencerian ideas, the Origin of Government has that lax unfamiliarity with modern scholarship which makes much minor British thought a hunt for originality through the thickets of crotchetiness. Perhaps Mr. Taylor avoided Holsti's Relation of War to the Origin of the State in order that he might leave to his descendants the task of coping with his contemporaries.