STRATEGY WHILE YOU WAIT.*
THis is avowedly a "cram" book and a short cut to know- ledge for officers about to undergo examination. As the author states in his preface, existing text-books on strategy make a large demand on a student's time; and we consider, therefore, that any effort to render the study of this subject easier and simpler is worthy of praise, whether it be written for the purpose of " flooring " an examiner or with a higher motive. Captain Boyd has certainly succeeded in producing a short book in a handy form, but its value, even as a "cram" book, would have been greatly increased by more careful pre- paration. Some of his explanations, intended to assist, can only have the result -of adding to the reader's mystification. For example, his explanation of the "Lines of Communication" is scarcely sense, while the definition —"Interior Lines means that when one of the combatants is operating by two or more lines, and his forces are so disposed on those lines that he can much more rapidly con- centrate his superiority of force on any given line than can his adversary, he is then said to be acting on interior lines would confuse a master of strategy. Again, "The great dis- advantage of the defensive is that it will usually entail great dispersion, not knowing where the enemy will strike," is a sentence worthy of a schoolboy's essay, not a text-book. There are many errors in grammar, a few in spelling, and some confusion between the " advantages " and " disadvantages " of courses of action under consideration, all of which tend to distract the reader from the actual subject-matter of the • Strat.ill Nutshell. By Captain P,11% Boyd, late The Queen's Begimeet. London's sad toldon. 6d, net.1 - - - . . •
book, which is on the whole good. Definition is proverbially a difficult art, and we think the author of this pamphlet has attempted to assist his brothers-in-arme somewhat too light-heartedly.
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