Book Reviews : The English Utilitarians. By JOHN PLAMENATZ. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1949. Pp. 228. $2.25.)

• Author: Charles R. Nixon
• Published date: 01 September 1951
• Date: 01 September 1951
• DOI: 10.1177/106591295100400314
• Subject Matter: Articles

496
States on the libertarian movement and reforms in Russia from the very
beginning.&dquo; This impact would have been much greater, he argues again
and again, if only American diplomats had been better informed about
Russia-if, for example, instead of sending conservative Elihu Root as
special representative, President Wilson had sent someone more in tune
with and better informed about the political aspirations of the Provisional
Government.
Professor Laserson writes for the informed reader. His book is filled
with fascinating side comments and interpretations of events in Russia
but, except as they bear directly on his main theme, he does not describe
fully the events on which he comments. This, of course, is as it should
be in a professional volume written for a professional audience. Neverthe-
less these encyclopedic side comments make the book slow, though re-
warding, reading for those who are only generally informed about the
subject. A full treatment of the ancillary events mentioned by Professor
Laserson would require a multivolumed history.
The author’s profound scholarship shows throughout the book. His
citations come from many languages and cultures, and he has combed
through the literature of his subject with exceeding care, picking out the
small as well as the large events. All of these he has admirably fitted into
his picture of Russian-American relations. For those who want to know
more about the background of the present-day relations, this book will
provide abundant information, as well as stimulating interpretations.
EDWARD G. LEWIS.
The University of Illinois.
The English Utilitarians. By JOHN PLAMENATZ. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
1949. Pp. 228. $2.25.)
Students of political theory and philosophy will welcome this new
study of the English Utilitarians. Although we have several extensive
studies of the utilitarian movement, especially those of Elie Hal6vy and
Leslie Stephen, what has been lacking is a relatively short, concise, critical
analysis...