“In ‘Character and opinion in the United States,’ Professor Santayana has written what one is inclined to believe will become the classic essays on William James and Josiah Royce.... What must he think of America? On the whole, his answer to this question is an extraordinarily kindly one. When he is most perceptive, he gives his generalizations amiably rather than scornfully.” Harold Stearns
+ Freeman 2:378 D 29 ’20 3450w
Reviewed by Alvin Johnson
New Repub 24:221 O 27 ’20 1600w
“A compelling, stimulating, and essentially a significant book. The book itself is a unique essay in interpretation, an attempt to evaluate American character under the play of the ideas which it has projected and by which, in turn, it has been influenced.” L. R. Morris
+ Outlook 126:729 D 22 ’20 2450w
“On the whole he is eminently fair, if not more than fair, in his judgments. It is another question whether there is much profit in such an attempt as he has made to analyze the temper of a people.”
+ − Review 3:625 D 22 ’20 400w
“Professor Santayana has written one of the most fascinating books imaginable.”
+ Spec 126:19 Ja 1 ’21 1500w