Part 4 suggests readings on questions of the day which relate to American citizenship and to current politics. A study of the articles indicated in this section of the Guide will aid the reader not only to form sound opinions for himself, but also to exercise in private or public life the influence for good which arises from a clear view of the arguments on both sides of controverted questions. It is no exaggeration to say that the Britannica is the only existing work in which such subjects as tariffs, trusts, immigration, labour and the relation between legislative and judiciary powers are treated without partisan bias and with adequate fulness.
Part 5, especially for women, deals with their legal and political status in various parts of the world, their achievements in scholarship, art and science, as well as with home-making, domestic science and kindred subjects. The important part which women, both among the contributors and on the editorial staff of the Britannica, took in the preparation of the work sufficiently indicates that the editor-in-chief made ample provision for the subjects peculiarly within their sphere.
Part 6 is an analysis of the many departments of the Britannica which relate to recreation and vacations, travel at home and abroad, photography, motoring, out-door and indoor games and other forms of relaxation and of exercise. The extent to which the work can be used in planning motoring tours, and the superiority, in such a connection, of its articles to the scant information found in ordinary guide books, are shown in the extracts, included in this Part 6, relating to a trip from New York through the Berkshire Hills to the White Mountains.
It will be seen from this brief survey of the field covered by the Guide that provision has been made for every purpose which can dictate the choice of a course of reading. But as you proceed to examine its contents for yourself, you should remember that the lists it gives name only a fraction of the articles in the Britannica, and that for a fuller summary of the work as a whole you should turn to the Table on pp. 881–947 of Vol. 29.
Finally, the form in which this Guide is printed may call for a word of justification. It is inevitable that chapters, of an analytical character, bespattered with references to the numbers of volumes and of pages, and terminating with lists of the titles of articles, should bear a certain air of formality. There is no danger that the possessor of the Britannica, familiar with the fascination of its pages and the beauty of the illustrations which enhance their charm would permit his impression of the work itself to be affected by the bleak appearance of the Guide. But he may feel that because a list has a forbidding aspect the pleasure he has derived from browsing at will in the Britannica would give place to a sense of constraint if he rigidly pursued a course of reading. It may easily be shown that such a fear would be groundless, for the Britannica articles are all the better reading when one carries forward the interest which one of them has excited to others of related attraction. But to anyone who is firmly determined that he shall not be persuaded to read systematically, the Guide will none the less be useful, for he may flit from one chapter to another, selecting here and there an article merely because the account which is given of it pleases him. Or, better yet, he may find, in one portion only of a selected course, a series of only three or four articles which will, in combination, make the best of occasional reading.
THE EDITORS.
Table of Contents
| Part I | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courses of Reading Especially Useful to Those Engaged in Certain Occupations, or Preparing for Them | ||||
| Page | ||||
| Chapter | 1. | For Farmers | [3] | |
| „ | 2. | For Stock-Raisers | [10] | |
| „ | 3. | For Dairy Farmers | [14] | |
| „ | 4. | For Merchants and Manufacturers, General and Introductory | [19] | |
| „ | 5. | Textiles | [21] | |
| „ | 6. | Machinery | [28] | |
| „ | 7. | Metals, Hardware, Glass and China | [33] | |
| „ | 8. | Furniture | [39] | |
| „ | 9. | Leather and Leather Goods | [44] | |
| „ | 10. | Jewelry, Clocks and Watches | [48] | |
| „ | 11. | Electrical Machinery and Supplies | [55] | |
| „ | 12. | Chemicals and Drugs | [58] | |
| „ | 13. | Food Products | [63] | |
| „ | 14. | For Insurance Men | [69] | |
| „ | 15. | For Architects | [71] | |
| „ | 16. | For Builders and Contractors | [79] | |
| „ | 17. | For Decorators and Designers | [83] | |
| „ | 18. | For Railroad Men | [90] | |
| „ | 19. | For Marine Transportation Men | [94] | |
| „ | 20. | For Engineers | [100] | |
| „ | 21. | For Printers, Binders, Paper-makers and All who Love Books | [109] | |
| „ | 22. | For Journalists and Authors | [117] | |
| „ | 23. | For Teachers | [122] | |
| „ | 24. | For Ministers | [127] | |
| „ | 25. | For Physicians, Surgeons and Dentists | [135] | |
| „ | 26. | For Lawyers | [143] | |
| „ | 27. | For Bankers and Financiers | [151] | |
| „ | 28. | For Civil Service Men | [156] | |
| „ | 29. | For Army Officers | [158] | |
| „ | 30. | For Naval Officers | [168] | |
| Part II | ||||
| Courses of Educational Reading to Supplement or Take the Place of School or University Studies | ||||
| Chapter | 31. | Music | [175] | |
| „ | 32. | The Fine Arts, Introductory and General | [187] | |
| „ | 33. | Painting, Drawing, Etc. | [189] | |
| „ | 34. | Sculpture | [198] | |
| „ | 35. | Language and Writing | [207] | |
| „ | 36. | Literature, Introductory and General | [214] | |
| „ | 37. | American | [218] | |
| „ | 38. | English | [224] | |
| „ | 39. | German | [230] | |
| „ | 40. | Greek | [234] | |
| „ | 41. | Bible Study | [237] | |
| „ | 42. | History, Introductory and General | [246] | |
| „ | 43. | American | [248] | |
| „ | 44. | Canadian | [270] | |
| „ | 45. | English, Scotch and Irish | [272] | |
| „ | 46. | French | [278] | |
| „ | 47. | The Far East: India, China, Japan | [281] | |
| „ | 48. | Economics and Social Science | [288] | |
| „ | 49. | Health and Disease | [294] | |
| „ | 50. | Geography and Exploration | [300] | |
| „ | 51. | Anthropology and Ethnology | [308] | |
| „ | 52. | Mathematics | [316] | |
| „ | 53. | Astronomy | [322] | |
| „ | 54. | Physics | [329] | |
| „ | 55. | Chemistry | [334] | |
| „ | 56. | Geology | [338] | |
| „ | 57. | Biology, General and Introductory | [344] | |
| „ | 58. | Botany | [347] | |
| „ | 59. | Zoology | [353] | |
| „ | 60. | Philosophy and Psychology | [361] | |
| Part III | ||||
| Devoted to the Interests of Children | ||||
| Chapter | 61. | Readings for Parents | [371] | |
| „ | 62. | Readings for School Children | [379] | |
| „ | 63. | Questions Children sometimes ask, and Some Questions to ask Children | [387] | |
| Part IV | ||||
| Readings on Questions of the Day | ||||
| Chapter | 64. | [393] | ||
| Education, Training of Defectives, Psychology | ||||
| Crime, Juvenile Courts, Alcoholism | ||||
| Heredity and Eugenics | ||||
| Wages and Labour, Labour Organization | ||||
| Immigration, The Negro Problem | ||||
| Trusts, Finance, Tariff, Banking, Insurance | ||||
| Socialism and its Tendencies | ||||
| Initiative, Referendum and Recall, Government by Commission | ||||
| Suffrage and the Suffrage Question | ||||
| International Relations, Peace Arbitration | ||||
| The Greater United States | ||||
| Part V | ||||
| For Women | ||||
| Chapter | 65. | [411] | ||
| The many subjects on which Women contributed to the Britannica | ||||
| Accomplishments of Women in Scholarship, Art and Science | ||||
| Women’s Legal Position in the United States and elsewhere | ||||
| Their Disabilities in Great Britain | ||||
| Home-making, Domestic Science, the Table | ||||
| Food Preservation and Food Values | ||||
| Costume and Ornament | ||||
| Women famous in History and Literature, and on the Stage | ||||
| Part VI | ||||
| Readings for Recreation and Vacation | ||||
| Chapter | 66. | [425] | ||
| Motoring, a Specimen Trip: New York to the White Mountains | ||||
| Photography | ||||
| Out-door Games and Athletic Sports | ||||
| Hunting, Fishing and Taxidermy | ||||
| Sailing, Canoeing and Boating | ||||
| Mountaineering and Winter Sports | ||||
| Driving, Riding, Polo and Horse-racing | ||||
| Gardening and Plants | ||||
| In-door Games and Pastimes, Bridge, Needlework | ||||
| Dancing, the Stage | ||||
| Travel at Home and Abroad | ||||