DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY.

Edited by Herbert L. Marx Jr. '43. NewYork: H. W. Wilson, 1955. 192 pp. $1.75.

The fact that we are daily bombarded, not only through books and the press, but also through virtually all media of mass communication, with facts, figures, claims, proposals and rebuttals regarding our policies and programs of national defense makes doubly welcome the latest book edited by Herbert L. Marx Jr. in the H. W. Wilson Company's Reference Shelf series, over and above the unquestioned importance of its subject.

This is not just another salvo in the neverending bombardment. Rather, it is a carefully selected and organized presentation of varying viewpoints regarding this country's over-all defense policies and programs, as these have emerged in new or modified forms during the past year. It thus affords the opportunity to pause and review the recent developments in our defense program with the emotional and psychological distractions inevitable in the initial heat of argument at least somewhat lessened.

Comprising a selection of published speeches and writings of national leaders both in and out of government and the military services, the book is topically arranged, covering our relations with Russia, the dimensions of our defense commitments, our expanding system of defensive alliances and new developments in defensive and offensive weapons. An extensive section is devoted to the debate over the "new look" in foreign and military policy, presenting an interesting chronological study of shifting positions and modifications in arguments both pro and con as more precise definitions and implications gradually emerged.

To round out the usefulness of the volume for the reader, particularly for the student or debater, the selections included are supplemented by an extensive bibliography of additional published materials relating to the topics covered.