WELLS, HERBERT GEORGE. Outline of history. 2v il *$10.50 Macmillan 909
20–19599
Mr Wells’ “plain history of life and mankind” (Sub-title) is in two volumes, composed of nine books, as follows: The making of our world; The making of man; The dawn of history; Judea, Greece and India; Rise and collapse of the Roman Empire; Christianity and Islam; The great Mongol empire of the land ways and the new empires of the sea ways; The age of the great powers; The next stage in history. The work has been written with the advice and editorial help of Mr Ernest Barker, Sir H. H. Johnston, Sir E. Ray Lankester, and Professor Gilbert Murray. It is illustrated with maps, time diagrams and drawings by J. F. Horrabin.
“A history of this kind is just what is wanted at the present day. There are now sufficient scientific and historical data to make the attempt possible; it is time we had a glimpse of the wood: we have had innumerable examinations of the separate trees.”
+ Ath p1256 N 28 ’19 400w
“In praising so large a work, one must presumably begin with its arrangement. Arrangement is a negative quality, but a great one: it is the faculty of not muddling the reader, and Wells possesses it in a high degree. Selection is of course a more controversial topic, and here the critics can get going if they think it worth while. A third merit is the style. The surface of Wells’ English is poor, and he does not improve its effect when he tints it purple. But it does do its job. Arrangement, selection, style; so these make up the case for his ‘Outline,’ and it is an overwhelming case.” E. M. F.
+ Ath p8 Jl 2 ’20 1100w
“Now for the defects, and the first of them is a serious one. Wells’ lucidity, so satisfying when applied to peoples and periods, is somehow inadequate when individuals are thrown on to the screen. The outlines are as clear as ever, but they are not the outlines of living men. He seldom has created a character who lives and a similar failure attends his historical evocations.... Such are the defects of the book; but, as the previous article indicated, they are entirely outweighed by its great merits.” E. M. F.
+ − Ath p42 Jl 9 ’20 1950w