− Nation 112:86 Ja 19 ’21 160w
“Neither the rhapsodic nor the mocking quality, however, gives the substance of Untermeyer’s work. The roots of his power lie deeper. Upright vigor, wide and healthy curiosity describe his own work excellently.” Babette Deutsch
+ N Y Evening Post p5 N 6 ’20 860w
“One of Mr Untermeyer’s most marked traits is a delightful whimsicality. It crops up again and again throughout the volume, for, strangely enough, this book, which purports to be so revealing, is really extremely reticent. But a dissatisfaction obtrudes itself. Why, oh why, has Mr Untermeyer, master of so many differing forms, chosen to follow Heine in his tight little rhythms and mathematically cut stanzas? In Mr Untermeyer’s case, the effect is not exactly what I imagine he hopes.” Amy Lowell
+ − N Y Times p8 O 10 ’20 3500w Springf’d Republican p8 Jl 10 ’20 70w
USHER, ABBOTT PAYSON. Introduction to the industrial history of England. il *$2.50 Houghton 330.942
20–5634
The book is a narrative of all the historical facts in the industrial development from the earliest beginnings to the present time, which presumably explains the word introduction in the title. The ground covered is shown in the contents: Forms of industrial organization; The rise of the crafts in antiquity; Crafts and craft gilds in medieval France; The population of England: 1086–1700; Village and manor; The traders and the towns; The development of gilds in England; The woolen industries: 1450–1750; The enclosure movement and land reform; The industrial revolution; The East India company and the vested interests; The new cotton industry; The reorganization of the metal trades; The rise of the modern factory system; The rise of collective bargaining; The protection of health and welfare by the state; The development of the railway; The government and the railways; Combinations and monopolies; Incomes, wages, and social unrest; Selected references; Index, maps, figures, and graphs.
“His exposition is generally clear. The balance of general statement and of particular fact is in most chapters good. The author is usually a trustworthy guide. The most serious weakness of the work, when it is appraised as a manual for college undergraduates, lies in its plan rather than in its execution. I think, however, that few teachers who examine the book will dissent from the conclusion that it would be greatly improved if a large part, almost one third of the whole, were cut out, and if the space saved were used for the consideration of the topics now omitted.” Clive Day