COAST ARTILLERY, JOURNAL - Air Defense Artillery

578 THE COAST ARTILLERY JOURNAL
tional chapters cover aerial photography, aircraft in exploration, aeronautical
education, American airships, technical development, and other allied subjects.
The volume is more than an annual report. It is written in an interesting
style and is profusely illustrated with photographs of the most modem commercial
and military planes. A few photographs show some of the municipal
hangers. For the reviewer it WllS a pleasant surprise.-C. S. H.
Rhode Island Privateers in King George's War, 1739-1748. By Howard M. Chapin.
Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence. 1926. 5%,"x 9". 225 pp. Ill.
With the passing of time there is apparent in America an ever-increasing interest
in the events of the earlier years of our history, and it is therefore important
that all source material be preserved, collated, and made available to the public.
In his present work the author has taken up one of the most romantic phases of a
romantic period in our history-privateering near the middl~f the eighteenth century.
His sources are mainly the manuscript Admiralty Court records of Providence,
Boston, New York, and Bermuda; contemporaneous newspapers; and manuscripts
in the Rhode Island State Archives, Massachusetts Archives, Rhode Island Historical
Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, and Providence Town Records.
After an introductory chapter on privateers in King George's War, the ~ ';"IT
recounts the voyages of many famous privateering vessels, as the Three Si~Ltrs,
Revenge, Charming Betty, Tarter, Prince Charles, and others. Writing as a historian,
without special thought of his readers his meticulous attention to detail imparts
a somewhat statistical cast to the book for the general reader. Nevertheless, the
exploits of the privateers make interesting reading, the work has been thoroughly
and painstakingly done, and the book, besides being a valuable historical record,
is well worth while.
Matter, Man, and Mind. By W. F. F. Shearcroft. MacMillan Company, New
York. 1926. 5%"x 8%". 191 pp.
Herein the author presents a modem interpretation of the known universe,
with man as the center and the mind of man as the crowning product of creation.
His field is broad and he talks of many things, but not entirely of cabbages and
kings. Mr. Shearcroft's philosophy is based on science--not on metaphysics. He
reviews rapidly the progress made in various scientific fields, touching such subjects
as electricity, biological chemistry, cosmology, relativity, and evolution,
pointing out truths unearthed and emphasizing methods employed. In this review,
however, he is not attempting to present an outline of science. Rather his main
effort is directed toward the study of man-his potentialities and possibilities--in
his relation to the universe in the light of scientific learning. The author's ideas
are couched in simple language, and while the subject matter is not always easy,
it is well adapted to the capabilities of the college graduate, and within the comprehension
of the non-graduate. The author advertises the fact that the book is
not written to "fill a long felt want." Be that as it may, the average reader will
find the subject matter stimulating.-C. S. H.