THE PLANS OF MEN

By Leonard W. Doob'29. New Haven. Yale University Press, 1940.Pp. xiii-411. $3.00.

THE GENERAL ARGUMENT is that planning must be geared to the requirements of the man it is to affect. "It is proposed to consider the nature of plans that have been, will be, and that should be attempted in terms of what is known about man"—admitting the difficulties of so doing. "Here is a primer about man and his plans: here is a specific way of viewing and then appraising the problems of a troubled era." While Doob stresses regional planning in the U. S. (especially chapter XII), he specifically warns that "I have not convinced even myself that regionalism is the, short cut to Utopia—it simply appears to me to suggest a very promising way of thinking and acting."

Doob regards the basic problem of planning to be the determination of desirable values, based on an understanding of their relation to past, present, and future possible values, constantly keeping in mind the complexity of the problem and the ever-changing nature of those for whom we plan. (This demands, in turn, three masses of data: knowledge of the people affected, of their physical and social environments, and of a goal to be achieved.) This is no small order. Having stated the issue, Doob next surveys the social sciences and some biological factors, and concludes that "even now the social sciences are important instruments for determining the nature of man and his social environment and therefore contribute to these requirements of planning." Then he is ready (Part II) to discuss various kinds of planning: individual, social, economic, political, and regional. In stressing regional planning, Doob uses the Tennessee Valley Authority as a specific example and points out the social, economic and political advantages of such regionalism. The final section of this book considers some "perplexing problems": the techniques, the difficulties, the need, trends, and ways-and-means of planning.

Mr. Doob's book will be all things to all men. It is provocative of thought and discusion.

Gardening for Fun in California, by Jean Marie Consigny, with Charles A. Palmer '23, illustrated by Lynette Arouni, a book of 249 pages, has been published by George PalmerPutnam Inc., Hollywood, California. Eastern gardeners will undoubtedly enjoy reading this book, but it is primarily intended for Californians. Because of its limited scope it has not seemed best to review this book in detail in this MAGAZINE.

Diseases of the Gallbladder and Bile Ducts, by Waltman Walters '17 and Albert M. Snell, a profusely illustrated book of 645 pages, has been published by the W. B. Saunders Company of Philadelphia. This authoritative book is too technical for a review in this MAGAZINE. Dr. Walters is Head of Section in Division of Surgery, The Mayo Clinic; Professor of Surgery, The Mayo Foundation (University of Minnesota). The College gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1937.

The New Hampshire Historical Society by Professor H. W. Hill appears in the March issue of the New Hampshire Troubadour.

The March issue of the Association ofAmerican Medical Colleges contains an article by Dr. Nathan T. Miliken entitled DartmouthCollege Health Service.

The April issue of Esquire contains an article by Mr. Alexander Laing '25, entitled TheStruggle over Starko-Barko, How HiramPowers Outguessed the Prigs and MadeAmerica Safe for the Sculptured Nude.

Professor Victor Z. Brink is the author of The Need for Single-Purpose Statements which appears in the April issue of The Journal of Accountancy.

The Journal of the Optical Society ofAmerica of April contains two articles by members of the Eye Institute; Aniseikonia, by Professor Gordon H. Gliddon, and InducedSize Effect, by Professor Kenneth N. Ogle.

Some Interesting Mineral OccurrencesWithin the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region, by Professor H. M. Bannerman, appears in the February issue of Echoes from the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region.

The Artist and His Community, an address delivered at the Commencement exercises at the Stuart School of the Creative Arts of Boston, by Professor Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy has been published as a brochure of 16 pages by Edwards Brothers, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Professor Francois Denoeu is the author of Les Horizons de "Maria Chapdelaine," reprinted from the May issue of The FrenchReview.