SINCE 1900 (Rev. Ed.)

By Oscar TheodoreBarck Jr. and Nelson Manfred Blake '50.New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952.X, 90} pp. $5.90.

This is a revised edition of a text first published in 1947 and reviewed in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE for May 1948. It is obvious that theimpelling reason for the new edition was tomake this story of the United States in ourtimes as contemporary as possible. BeforeWorld War I most teachers of history agreedthat teachable history stopped at least half acentury short of the present but now all courses in the recent history of the United States want the text to include the last word, or at least the next to the last word.

This new edition is less than fifty pages longer than the original text and has the same number of chapters. Space for a brand new chapter entitled "Truman and the World Crisis" was found by contracting the story of F.D.R. and the New Deal from four to three chapters. This fact, in itself, reflects the changing emphasis and perspective which is bound to catch those dealing with events so near the present. This is also noticeable in some aspects of the treatment of the struggle over the Treaty of Versailles. Several chapters at the end of the story have been rewritten to include developments since 1947. A paragraph is given to the presidential campaign of 1952 including discussion of probable issues and candidates with both Adlai Stevenson and General Eisenhower given prominent position. Most of the chapters, however, appear exactly as they did in the earlier edition, with the same distinctive illustrative material.

This reviewer had an opportunity to try Since 1900 on two successive summer school classes at Columbia University and can report that from the point of view of both teacher and student it does a good job. It is both clear and readable, and impartial and non-partisan without being dull.