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Show THE BOOKSHELF Forty Years in Constantinople. By Sir Edwin Pears New York: D. Appleton & Company. Pp. 39o' Price, $5.00 net. Since 1873, Edwin Pears, knighted in 1909, has been a conspicuous figure among the foreigners at the Porte, where he practiced the legal profession. From the beginning his relations with the British ambassadors, as well as with the representatives of other countries and the leading Turkish officials, were close and at times intimate. He enjoyed unusual facilities for securing accurate and often inside information regarding important political and diplomatic events. The period covered includes Turkish atrocities on Bulgarians and the Turkish revolution in 1876, the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, the British aggression in Egypt, the Armenian massacres, the promulgation of the constitution, the overthrow of Abdul Hamid II, the supremacy of the Committee of Union and Progress, and the present war. Four years ago the author published a book, "Turkey and Its People," and throughout his residence in Turkey he was a constant correspondent for different English papers and reviews. Being a British subject, he was compelled to flee from Constantinople soon after the outbreak of present hostilities. This book is not a history or a connected story, but a collection of personal reminiscences, vivid, often intimate, including a wide range of topics from the most profound questions of international diplomacy to a choice piece of court gossip, and all most charmingly presented. It contains the best characterization of the character of Abdul Hamid that has ever been written. Much inside and first-hand information is given of important international episodes viewed from the British standpoint. The author was a profound admirer of Pres. George Washburn and Professor Long, of Robert College, and also a stanch believer in the work of the American Board in that country. The friends of Dr. Washburn may smile at his characterization as a "devout Presbyterian." However, this slip but demonstrates the little emphasis placed upon denominational differences in the mission field. The author speaks in the highest terms of the services of our Ambassador Morgenthau. On the whole, this is the most timely, instructive, and interesting book on Turkey since Dr. Hamlin's "Life and Times," and it has many of the characteristics that made the latter so universally popular. The book contains sixteen excellent illustrations, mostly of conspicuous personalities, and twenty-five chapters whose headings give little knowledge of their contents. J. L. B. Insurgent Mexico. By John Reed. New York: D. Appleton & Company. Pp. 326. Price. $1.50 net. The object of the book is to present to the American public the true character of the Mexicans and some of the underlying reasons for the revolutions that have devastated the country since the Huerta regime. The author's method is simply to describe what he has seen while following the peons at war. His sketches of both Villa and Carranza are of special interest. A touch here and there betrays the anti-clerical animus of the people. E. F. B. Around the World with Jack and Janet. A Study of Missions. By Norma R. Waterbury. West Medford. Mass.: The Central Committee on the United Study of Foreign Missions. IIlus. Pp. 158. The Evidence in the Case. By James M. Beck. LL.D. Revised edition. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 258. Price, 25 cents net. The Plan of Salvation. Five lectures delivered at Princeton Theological Summer School. By Benjamin B. Warfield. Philadelphia : Presbyterian Board of Publication. Pp. 144. Reapers of His Harvest. By John T. Farvis. Philadelphia : The Westminster Press. Pp. 168, with Bibliography. Christianity's Greatest Peril. By Augustus Conrad Ekholm. Atlantic City, N. J . : Beacon Publishing Company. Pp. 311. Price. $1.00 net. The Pentecost of Calamity. By Owen Wister. New York • The Macmiilan Company. Pp. 148. 45 |