Book Reviews and Notices : China, The Far East and the Future. BY GEORGE W. KEETON. (London: Stevens and Sons. 1949. 2nd edition. Pp. xi, 511. 21s.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591294900200336 |
| Author | Paul H. Clyde |
| Date | 01 September 1949 |
| Published date | 01 September 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
454
China,
The
Far
East
and
the
Future
.
BY
GEORGE
W.
KEETON.
(London:
Stevens
and
Sons.
1949.
2nd
edition.
Pp.
xi,
511.
21s.)
Professor
Keeton
is
well
known
to
students
of
far
eastern
affairs
by
reason
of
his
earlier
and
basic
work,
The
Development
of
Extraterritoriality
in
China,
which
appeared
in
1928.
The
more
recent
study,
here
under
review,
is
a
broad
survey
of
modern
far
eastern
history
and
politics.
China
occupies
the
center
of
the
stage,
but
there
are
also
chapters
on
the
coun-
tries
of
Southeast
Asia,
on
Korea,
and
on
the
contemporary
policies
of
the
great
powers
in
the
Pacific
area.
The
present
edition
presents
a re-
vision
and
an
expansion
of
the
book
first
published
in
1943.
Perhaps
it
should
be
said
at
once
that
the
rather
alarming
title
appears
to
be
the
work
of
the
publisher
rather
than
the
author,
for
in
reality
Professor
Keeton
has
refrained
in
general
from
writing
us
a
history
of
the
future.
The
first
two
sections
of
the
book,
dealing
with
the
rise
of
Chinese
nationalism
and
with
the
growth
of
Russo-Japanese
rivalries
in
Asia
are
essentially
historical
and
provide
a
readable
and
sound
introduction
to
these
subjects.
Part
III,
Japan’s
bid
for
mastery
of
the
Pacific,
is
hardly
as
commendable,
giving
as
it
does
some
evidence
of
the
emotions
of
war-time
writing.
While
the
later
chapters
dealing
with
contemporaneous
events
are
useful
for
reference,
the
general
reader
will
see
so
many
trees
that
his
perspective
on
the
forest
as
a
whole
is
likely
to
be
blurred.
A
rather
well-selected
bibliography
which
includes
no
annotation,
but
which
does
include
some
errors
in
proper
names,
titles,
etc.,
completes
the
work.
Duke
University.
PAUL
H.
CLYDE.
Comments,
1944,1948.
BY
HAROLD
NICOLSON.
(London:
Constable
&
Co.
1948.
Pp.
x,
305.
8s
6d.)
The
present
volume
is
a
collection
of
sixty-one
articles
contributed
by
Mr.
Harold
Nicolson
to
his
weekly
column
in
the
Spectator
between
1944
and
1948.
It
is
pleasant
to
be
reminded
in
this
way
of
the
weekly
incidents
that
were
interesting
during
those
years,
but
it
is
surprising
how
few
of
those
Comments
have
retained
any
topical
relevance.
Mr.
Nicol-
son
writes
good
English,
and
it
is
entertaining
to
read
of
the
sentiments
felt
by
an
old
Oxford
man
when
Oxford
won
the
boat
race
in
1946,
and
one
can
sympathize
with
a
person
who
enjoys
the
circus,
but
being
an
animal
lover
dislikes
seeing
animals
perform.
Such
incidents,
however,
only
provide
material
for
interesting
essays,
and
convey
nothing
of
Mr.
Nicolson’s
power
as
a
political
commentator.
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