“Not worth telling in its bare outlines, it is made into a masterpiece of Mrs. Freeman’s method.”
+ + Pub. Opin. 40: 217. F. 17, ’06. 430w.
“This is the most unconventional story that Mrs. Freeman has written ... the dénouement is at once artistically and ethically satisfying.”
+ + Reader. 7: 227. Ja. ’06. 430w.
“The book is full of little vignettes of village life charmingly depicted, and the story is well put together.”
+ Spec. 95: 1129. D. 30, ’05. 280w.
Freer, William Bowen. Philippine experiences of an American teacher; a narrative of work and travel in the Philippine islands. **$1.50. Scribner.
“This is a narrative of three years of teaching and travel in the Philippines.... It is particularly interesting for the light it throws on many phases of life and character not noticed to any extent in other books; and the testimony it furnishes of the real progress of American educational work in the island is extremely gratifying.... The book is illustrated with reproductions of photographs of scenery and life.” (Critic.) The author hopes that his book “will result in a better appreciation of some desirable traits of Filipino character, in a stronger conviction of the unwisdom of granting at this time, any greater degree of self-government than the Filipinos already possess, and in a fuller understanding of the work that is being done in the public schools in the attempt to fit the people for the eventual exercise of complete autonomy.”
“The book is especially valuable for the near views that it gives of the everyday life of the islanders, their manners and customs, and their personal characteristics.”