School Geography

Abstract

(1) BY the teaching of the geography of the Empire apart from its world setting, there is always a danger of giving a distorted view, but with this reservation we have seldom seen a better or more educative book than that of these two authors. It is full of ideas, ably expounded, and the geographical treatment is never lost sight of among the many aspects touched on, nor are the causal relations ever allowed to become vague and speculative. The use of an atlas is insisted on throughout, and there are numerous questions, well devised and full of suggestion. They alone make the book of considerable value. Communications and questions of distance and comparative areas are treated in a full and original manner, which obviates to some extent the usual drawbacks attendant on a geographical study of Empire. Presuming, however, that this book is not intended for beginners, we think that the brief physiographical introduction might have been omitted. A few points call for revision in a future edition. “A map is a picture of the earth's surface or any part of it” is not a happy definition, nor is that of isotherms as “contours of heat.” The term fjord is several times used in a sense that includes ria. The Falkland Islands merit more than a casual reference, and Antarctica should be mentioned as one of the continents. There are many excellent sketch maps and a number of well-chosen pictorial illustrations. The book is a sound one, and deserves wide use.

(1) A Geography of the British Empire.

By W. L. Bunting H. L. Collen. Pp. v + 159. (Cambridge: University Press, 1913.) Price 3s. 6d. net.

(2) Preliminary Geography.

By E. G. Hodgkison. Pp. xvi + 225. (London: W. B. Clive, 1913.) Price 1s. 6d.

(3) History of Geography.

By Dr. J. Scott Keltie O. J. R. Howarth. Pp. ix + 154. (London: Watts and Co., 1913.) Price 1s. net.

(4) Principles and Methods of Teaching Geography.

By F. L. Holtz. Pp. xii + 359. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Mac-millan and Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 5s. net.

(5) Das Mittelmeergebiet; seine Geographische und Kulturelle Eigenart.

By A. Philippson. Dritte Auflage. Pp. x+ 256 + 15 plates. (Leipzig and Berlin: B. G. Teubner, 1914.) Price 6 marks.