The Life and Work of Sir Hiram Maxim. By P.
Fleury Mottelay. (Lane. 7s. 6d. net.)—This little book contains a brief Memoir, an appreciative Introduction by Lord Moulton, and chapters of a technical nature on Sir Hiram Maxim's• researches and inventions, given for the most part in his own words. He is best known for his quick-firing guns, but Lord Moulton says that the Maxim incandescent lamp was also a noteworthy achievement, and that his study of explosives and of aviation showed great fertility of mind. We are reminded that Sir Hiram Maxim's automatic three-pounder gun was ridiculed by the " experts " until the Boers used the " pom- pom " against us with considerable effect. According to the inventor, it was another military " expert " who prevented his firm from manufacturing a field gun with a hydraulic buffer to absorb the recoil, on the ground that the buffer would destroy the " neat and graceful shape " of the gun. It seems to be the fate of every inventor to encounter obstructive " experts " of this kind.
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