By Paul Leicester Ford. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.
The Nation: “Floods of light on the raison d’être, origin, and methods of the dark figure that directs the destinies of our cities.... So strongly imagined and logically drawn that it satisfies the demand for the appearance of truth in art.... Telling scenes and incidents and descriptions of political organization, all of which are literal transcripts of life and fact—not dry irrelevancies thrown in by way of imparting information, but lively detail, needful for a clear understanding of Stirling’s progress from the humble chairmanship of a primary to the dictator’s throne.... In the use of dramatic possibilities, Mr. Ford is discreet and natural, and without giving Stirling a heroic pose, manages to win for him very hearty sympathy and belief. Stirling’s private and domestic story is well knit with that of his public adventures.... A very good novel.”
The Atlantic Monthly: “Commands our very sincere respect ... there is no glaring improbability about his story ... the highly dramatic crisis of the story.... The tone and manner of the book are noble.... A timely, manly, thoroughbred, and eminently suggestive book.”
The Review of Reviews: “His relations with women were of unconventional sincerity and depth.... Worth reading on several accounts.”
The Dial: “One of the strongest and most vital characters that have appeared in our fiction.... A very charming love-story. To discern the soul of good in so evil a thing as Municipal politics calls for sympathies that are not often united with a sane ethical outlook; but Peter Stirling is possessed of the one without losing his sense of the other, and it is this combination of qualities that make him so impressive and admirable a figure.... Both a readable and an ethically helpful book.”
The New York Tribune: “A portrait which is both alive and easily recognizable.”
New York Times: “Mr. Ford’s able political novel.”
The Literary World: “A fine, tender love-story.... A very unusual but, let us believe, a possible character.... Peter Stirling is a man’s hero.... Very readable and enjoyable.”
The Independent: “Full of life. The interest never flags.... It is long since we have read a better novel or one more thoroughly and naturally American.”
The Boston Advertiser: “Sure to excite attention and win popularity.”