Book Reviews and Notices : Twentieth Century Europe. By C. E. BLACK AND E. C. HEIMREICH. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1950. Pp. xxiv, 910, xviii. $7.50.)

• Published date: 01 March 1951
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400141
• Author: Harland Downum
• Date: 01 March 1951
• Subject Matter: Articles

163

A

balanced

study

of

occupational

versus

proportional

representa-

tion

has

been

made

by

Senator

Paul

H.

Douglas

who

observes

that

the

basic

fallacy

of

occupational

representation

(revived

by

the

Bolshevists

in

their

seizure

of

power)

is

the

assumption

that

the

only

ultimate

reality

of

politics

is

the

source

from

which

men

derive

their

income.

Douglas

also

observes

that

proportional

representation

would

permit

voters

to

be

repre-

sented

by

occupations

if

they

wished

to

be,

but

would

not

force

them

to

be

so

represented

if

other

interests

or

desires

were

dominant.

Denver

Colorado.

HOMER

TALBOT.

Twentieth

Century

Europe.

By

C.

E.

BLACK

AND

E.

C.

HEIMREICH.

(New

York:

Alfred

A.

Knopf,

Inc.

1950.

Pp.

xxiv,

910,

xviii.

$7.50.)

Bulk

and

emphasis

strike

one

in

examining

this

large

book

of

over

nine

hundred

pages

with

its

detailed

Table

of

Contents,

highly

useful

Appendix

of

statistics

and

documents,

extensive,

annotated

Bibliography,

and

impressive

Index.

The

volume

is

notable

alike

for

its

emphasis

on

central

European

affairs

and

for

its

coverage

of

nearly

every

significant

phase

of

European

civilization.

The

settlements

of

World

War

I,

for

example,

cover

four

chapters,

only

one

of

which

deals

with

Germany.

In

the

account

of

the

1930’s,

Italy,

France,

and

Britain

get

less

space

than

do

the

countries

of

central

Europe

and

the

Balkans.

To

be

sure,

we

have

been

altogether

too

negligent

in

writing

and

teaching

about

Europe

east

of

Germany;

yet

the

authors

have

over-corrected

in

the

sense

that,

except

for

Russia,

they

have

given

the

great

powers

relatively

short

shrift.

De-

spite

the

advantages

of

a

pithy

style

closely

packed

with

facts

and

ideas,

the

authors,

in

aiming

to

do

too

much,

actually

do

too

little.

Many

of

these

separate

accounts

are

sketches.

The

authors

have

the

merit

of

looking

for

trends,

continuities,

and

the

Zeitgeist.

They

examine

with

competence

subjects

as

varied

as

atomic

power

and

political

philosophy.

The

quality

of

their

bibliographies

and

the

abundance

of

their

footnotes

build

a

reader’s

confidence.

Their

judgments,

such

as

their

evaluations

of

the

Treaty

of

Versailles

and

of

the

Nuremberg

trials,

are

judicious

and

seasoned.

The

range

and

size

of

this

book

enable

a

teacher

to

pick

the

content

of

his

course

with

great

freedom.

For

a

text-dependent

teacher,

or

for

a

school

with

library

fa~

cilities

limited

in

relation

to

class

size,

Ta,ventieth

Century

Europe

is

highly

appropriate.

Some,

however,

may

fear

to

adopt

this

text

because

of

its

very

excellencies,

for

students

might

become

too

text-centered

and

pass

by

the

riches

in

the

college

library.

Arizona

State

College.

HARLAND

DOWNUM.