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GOOD NEIGHBORS: ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE AND SEVENTEEN OTHER COUNTRIES. By Hubert Herring, New Haven: Yale University Press. 1941. 381 pages, 2 illustrations, 4 maps. $3.00. Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Charles R. Pratt, U. S. Navy
Hubert Herring wrote Good Neighbors under date of May 1, 1941, assisted by his wife, Helen Baldwin Herring, and their daughter, Virginia Herring. He is exceptionally well qualified to write about Latin America, having spent almost 20 years journeying through the various countries, and having been for 15 years the Director of the Committee on Cultural Relations with Latin America.
As the subtitle suggests, the author has conveniently divided his book into sections, devoting 94 pages to Argentina, 64 to Brazil, 78 to Chile, 80 to the 17 other countries, and, of particular interest, the final 27 pages summing up the relations of the 20 countries with the United States.
As Mr. Herring states in his foreword, he has devoted his book chiefly to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, not because the other lands are less worthy of cultivation by us, but rather because he has chosen to give more attention to three important countries, instead of spreading his attention and that of the reader over 20 nations.
Particularly valuable to the reader, are the concise and vital data regarding conditions in the various countries today, presented by a man so well informed through personal experience and knowledge. He has analyzed with clarity and understanding, why the people are as they are today, with respect to race, religion, and social, economic, and political conditions.
This book definitely leaves one better informed regarding the twenty “Good Neighbors”; leads to a more intelligent conception of what transpired at the Third Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, held in Rio de Janeiro in January, 1941; and gives us a fuller understanding of the events taking place today, in the Latin American countries—particularly in Argentina and Chile.
A TREATISE ON COMPASS COMPENSATION. By Captain L. V. Kielhom, U. S. Coast Guard. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. 195 pages. 1942. $2.25.
Reviewed by Commander K. J.
Christoph, U. S. Navy
In this treatise the author, a former instructor in navigation and surveying at the
United States Coast Guard Academy, ably covers the subject of magnetic compass compensation from both the theoretical and practical viewpoints.
Its contents are divided into two parts and an appendix. The first part deals with the physical representation of the theory. It covers the various causes acting in combination to produce deviations of the compass, with some discussion of the methods for obtaining their relative effects, both graphically and mathematically. Then follows an analysis showing the computation of coefficients and the construction of the dygogram.
The second part covers the application of theory to practice, including a discussion of deviation, variation, and compass error, with rules for applying errors and the methods of mechanical corrections. The appendix contains the mathematical theory.
While there is nothing unusual in the compilation, those phases which treat the subject from the mathematical standpoint are for the more advanced students. The application of the theory is of more interest to the practical student.
The book is printed by the offset process without prefatory remarks. It would be easier to follow the discussions involving the red and blue magnetic illustrations if they were printed in those two colors.
MANUAL OF CELESTIAL NAVIGATION. By Commander Arthur A. Ageton, U.S.N. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. 1942. $1.85.
Reviewed by Commander J. L. Woodruff, U. S. Naval Reserve
This manual combines in one compact volume tables for a short solution of the astronomical triangle by both assumed and D. R. position methods.
The solution for assumed position resembles closely that of several earlier methods, using a spherical traverse table for unknown values of the “time triangle,” and log secant and cosecant tables for computed altitude and remainder of azimuth angle.
The solution for D. R. position is identical with that previously published by this author in H. 0. 211.
The author claims no originality in methods. The new feature is the rearrangement of the spherical traverse table in columns for all latitudes. Thus all observations at one twilight may be solved with one opening of Table I. This retabulation also makes possible a convenient short solution for azimuth, and facilitates determination of “time of sun on prime vertical,” reduction to meridian, and the determination of co-ordinates of points on the great-circle track.
Other improvements are: Elimination of special cases; tabulation of Table I to 180° of ‘t,’ avoiding supplementary or explemen- tary values; no interpolation; and improved illustrations and explanation.
To navigators accustomed to using H. O. 211 or H. 0. 208, particularly the latter, this manual will be a convenience. It should appeal also to the student who would master both assumed and D. R. position methods without acquiring an assortment of books or tables.
LETTERS TO A SOLDIER. By George Whiting Seaton. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1942. 93 pages. $1.00.
Reviewed by J. R. Fredland, Instructor, U. S. Naval Academy
By anyone educated in the What-Price- Glory tradition of the 1920’s and early 1930’s, a book titled Letters to a Soldier is bound to be opened for the first time with profound reservations. It is not that the military generation of today grudges its service and sacrifice; it is only that it has an inbred distaste for moralizing and patriotism at a dollar a copy.
Book Reviews
1942]
The fact is, however, that G. W. Seaton’s book is an exception. It really answers some of the questions a draftee, for instance, would like to ask. There is nothing in the letters about “Your Place in the Destiny of Nations,” and quite a lot about homesickness, promotion, and all the other little personal problems which for the private soldier transcend all the larger issues.
Mr. Seaton, himself a veteran of World War I, is sufficiently wise and sufficiently articulate to have wanted to give his newly inducted foster-son what seemed most significant in his own experience. The foreword implies the letters were not written originally for publication. The personal note and the unstudied sincerity one finds in them makes this seem most probable.
This is not a great book. Lord Chesterfield’s laurels are likely to remain undisturbed. Yet one must recognize the common sense and wisdom in this slim volume. The many soldiers who will receive copies of it in their packages from home will, I believe, value it for what it is—a well- informed effort to cushion the “induction shock” that separates the two worlds, civilian life and the Army, and an attempt to give point to the often apparent aimlessness of the early weeks of training. There’s a good deal of point to this kind of book at this time.
INTIMATE VIRGINIANA: A CENTURY OF MAURY TRAVELS BY LAND AND SEA. Edited by Anne Fontaine Maury. Richmond: The Dietz Press. 336 pages. Illustrations. 1941. $3.50.
Reviewed by Professor Charles Lee Lewis, U. S. Naval Academy
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About a thousand letters, 1791 to 1876, which had been preserved in a little old black trunk, furnished Anne Fontaine Maury a wealth of varied material for her fascinating Intimate Virginiana. The letters were penned by the family of James Maury, uncle of the naval officer, Matthew Fontaine Maury, and first American Consul at Liverpool. This post he filled for forty years.
Acquaintance with prominent people in the United States and abroad and varied travels by land and sea are mirrored in the letters. For example, the daughter, Ann Maury, records a conversation between her father and Madison who declared, “Some of us were dead against having a Navy—but Jefferson said it would be unwise not to have vessels of war, for hereafter they might be needed to bring a refractory state to order” (p. 3). Of Lafayette she writes in 1827, “He seems a kind hearted good man but not a man of talent; at least a Phrenologist would say so” (p. 137). There is much of interest about ships and shipping, from the point of view of Consul Maury. His son Matthew, after visiting the frigate United States at Norfolk in 1819, writes, “A Ship of War in fine order is one of the finest sights there are” (p. 90). The exploits of Captain William Lewis Maury, commander of the Confederate raider Florida, appear in the chapter, “Rebels and Refugees.” There are no letters from the Consul’s nephew, Matthew Fontaine Maury, though he corresponded frequently with his cousins, Ann and Rutson Maury. But the end papers reproduce one of Maury’s Wind and Current Charts of the North Atlantic.