Book Reviews : The Memoirs of Ray Lyman Wilbur, 1875-1949. Edited by EDGAR EUGENE RoB- INSON and PAUL CARROLL EDWARDS. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1960. Pp. xiv, 687. $10.00.)

• Author: William Carroll Bark
• DOI: 10.1177/106591296101400336
• Date: 01 September 1961
• Published date: 01 September 1961
• Subject Matter: Articles

797

Never

before

has

a

leading

German

historian,

trained

in

the

pre-World

War

I

period

and

possessing

&dquo;conservative

respectability,&dquo;

more

poignantly

recog-

nized,

revealed,

and

regretted

the

weaknesses

of

the

Bismarkian

Constitution.

It

fitted

a

strong

Chancellor

able

to

cope

with

the

military,

but

faltered

when

vacillating

chancellors

and

a

bragging

yet

weak

monarch

(Wilhelm

II)

were

con.-

fronted

by

strong-willed

men,

navalists

and

militarists

of

the

Tirpitz

and

Schlieffen

type,

who

had

the

strong

backing

of

the

leading

elements

of

German

society.

It

could

also

be

added

that

German

trust

in

the

army

and

pride

in

the

navy

in

the

last

years

before

the

outbreak

of

World

War

I

was

re-enforced

by

the

expectation

of

superiority

in

the

air,

where

the

achievement

of

Count

Zeppelin,

himself

a

former

general,

had

made

a

deep

impression.

Ritter

writes

with

a

complete

mastery

of

an

immense

amount

of

printed

literature,

German

as

well

as

foreign.

He

also

presents,

especially

in

his

chapter

on

the

role

of

the

German

and

Austrian

General

staffs

in

1914,

the

results

of

original

research

in

Vienna

archives.

He

stresses

General

Conrad’s

preference

for

&dquo;preventive&dquo;

wars

against

Italy

and

Serbia

and

Ritter’s

comment

on

numerous

statements

made

by

Luigi

Albertini

in

his

Origins

o

the

War

o

1914

(1953):

this

significantly

adds

to

the

clarification

of

details

in

a

field

which

has

been

more

exhaustively

explored

than

any

other

historical

phenomenon.

For

a

work

of

superb

craftsmanship,

political

and

military

historians

are

likewise

indebted

to

Professor

Ritter.

When

brought

to

its

conclusion

by

a

third

volume

dealing

with

the

period

of

the

two

world

wars,

Ritter’s

triology

will

neither

be

a

eulogy

nor

a

doctrinaire

condemnation.

It

will

stand

as

the

most

comprehensive,

deeply

penetrating,

and

well-balanced

evaluation

of

Prussian-

German

militarism,

viewed

both

ideologically

and

as

a

concrete

political

force.

It

is

a

major

contribution

to

the

understanding

of

the

rise

and

fall

of

Germany

as

a

world

power.

Bonn,

Germany

FRITZ

T.

EPSTEIN

The

Memoirs

of

Ray

Lyman

Wilbur,

1875-1949.

Edited

by

EDGAR

EUGENE

RoB-

INSON

and

PAUL

CARROLL

EDWARDS.

(Stanford:

Stanford

University

Press,

1960.

Pp.

xiv,

687.

$10.00.)

This

book

is

absorbing,

provocative,

and

heartening.

The

account

ranges

from

Dr.

Wilbur’s

early

years,

to

his

medical

work

and

the

Stanford

presidency,

through

his

tenure

as

Secretary

of

the

Interior

in

the

Hoover

Administration,

his

return

to

Stanford,

and

all

along

the

way

a

vast

amount

of

public

service

in

amazingly

varied

fields.

Some

indication

of

his

activitiy

may

be

obtained

by

observing

that

in

the

last

five

years

of

his

life

and

after

he

had

suffered

a

heart

attack

he

accomplished

more

of

solid

worth

to

his

country

than

many

men

of

similar

gifts

do

in

a

lifetime.

He

was

always

and

above

all

an

educator,

but

most

broadly

defined.

The

brilliant

diagnostician

taught

the

university

president,

who

instructed

the

statesman,

and

all

three

continued

to

learn

together.

Dr.

Wilbur’s

education

truly

went

on

all

his

life,

in

large

part

deliberately,

as

a

matter

of

recognized

duty.