“The quickness of the argument, the mental agility of some of the talkers and the interesting character touches give a delightful lightness to this presentation of serious problems.”
+ Booklist 16:311 Je ’20
“Rolls the present world unrest up into a cheerful and conservative package, with the strings tied a bit too neatly.”
− Dial 68:804 Je ’20 70w
“As a matter of fact, characterization is the authors’ weakest point. Their style is too fluent, too uniform. Opinions are well contrasted, but the individualities of the speakers are lost in the monotony, in the rhythm and vocabulary of their utterance.” R. F. A. H.
+ − New Repub 24:222 O 27 ’20 700w
“It is rather hard for an American to account for the admiration which the book is said to have won in England. There is not, as a rule, anything particularly novel in the content or exceptionally striking in the form.”
+ − N Y Times 25:224 My 2 ’20 430w
“When the reader finishes it, he may be inclined to think first, that although done by a master hand, it is a rather slight contribution to the great post-war discussion. But the more he thinks about it the more the reader begins to perceive that ‘The island of sheep’ is a microcosm of the present mental and physical state of the world, certainly of the English-speaking world.”
+ Outlook 125:28 My 5 ’20 900w