HISTORY.
Ancient Man. By Hendrik Willem Van Loon. (Harrap. 5s. net.) Dr. Van Loon was much praised and much abused for his book, The Story of Mankind ; and his new publication will probably stir up the old controversy. It is certainly true that his sense of humour seems often crude and childish ; but that is no very grave objection to a children's book. Adults are sometimes pained to hear the jokes at which children laugh ; and more pained still to see the stolidity with which they will suffer remarks of a subtler wit. Though we should never advocate " speaking down " to children, a man who spontaneously makes jokes of the type which children enjoy most is worthy of encouragement. It is true also that Dr. Van Loon has been convicted of one or two minor inaccuracies ; but a man who gets every date .correct is not always the best historian, and, in fact, there has never been a good historian who was not accused of inaccuracy. In Ancient Man Dr. Van Loon traces, in short, vivid and imaginative phrases, the rise of man from something better than an animal to a civilized and social being. He describes the life of men at each stage and illustrates it profusely with drawings from his own pen. For all its instructive value, we count the book too interesting to be degraded to a school-text. Children too often have drilled into their heads books they would normally read with avidity themselves.
Previous page
