The Reconstruction of Europe. By Harold Murdock. With an Introduction
by John Fiske. (Longmans, Green, and Co.)—This book, which purports to be a sketch of the diplomatic and military history of Continental Europe from the rise to the fall of the Second Empire, is the work of an American writer, and contains a very clear and accurate statement of the various steps which resulted in the liberation of Italy and the unification of Germany. With regard to the former, the author rather ignores the part which English diplomacy, as directed by Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston, had in promoting Italian Unity. He is also too much inclined to worship success, and does not always do justice to the vanquished. Emile 011ivier has enough to answer for, but there is no use repeating the garbled quotation from his speech, which represents him as saying that the Government accepted the responsibility of the war "with a light heart." The author's descriptions of the various military operations are based on wide reading, and are both clear and vivid. There is a good index, and the book will be found to contain a useful epitome of the events by which the face of Europe was changed.
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