Book Review: Central-Eastern Europe: Crucible of World Wars
| Author | George W. Simpson |
| Date | 01 October 1946 |
| Published date | 01 October 1946 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204600100416 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Book
Reviews
Japan,
as
in America,
science,
liberalism,
communism,
and
Christianity
compete
for
men's
minds
and
hearts.
Japanese
leaders worthy
of
the
name
long
ago
rejected
Shinto
as
inadequate
for
the
modern
world,
and
though
their
numbers
are not
great,
it
is
their
thinking
which
points
the
way
out
of
the
valley
for
Japan.
Doubtless
Sect
Shinto
will
exist
in
a
modified
form
for
a
long time,
and should
be
tolerated,
but
that
is
quite different from
encouraging
a
Shinto
reformation.
Shinto
is
essen-
tially
a
polytheistic,
nationalistic
nature
worship
and ancestor
worship,
and
to
suggest
that
it
can
be
made
a
vital
and
progressive
religious
force
in the
new
Japan
is
fantastic.
In
all
religions
the
nature
of
the
deities
worshipped tend
to
determine
the
ethic
of
religion.
The
second
and
major
portion
of
Dr.
Ballou's
is
an
anthology
of
Japanese
texts illustrating
the
Shinto
ideology
from
the
earliest
myths
found
in
the
Kojiki and
Nihongi
down to
post-surrender
statements
by
the
emperor,
well-known
military
leaders,
and
editors.
The
final
sec-
tion
of
this
part
is
comprised
of
selections
from the
teachings
of
Sect
Shinto.
The
selection
is
excellent,
and
will
long
remain
a
reference
for
students
of
things
Japanese.
Vancouver,
August
1946.
W.
H. H.
Norman
CENTRAL-EASTERN
EUROPE:
CRUCIBLE
OF
W
0
R
L
D
WARS.
By
J.
S.
Roucek
(ed.)
and
associates.
1946.
(New
York:
Prentice-Hall.
XII,
679
pp.
$5.00
U.S.)
The
word
"crucible"
may
be
defined
as
a
chemical
vessel
or
melting
pot
so
tempered
and
baked
as
to
endure extreme
heat
without
fusing.
It
is
therefore not
a
badly
chosen
word
to
indicate
a
region
of
Europe
in
which the
two
great
world
wars
began.
It
is of
course,
a
simplification
to
regard
the
causes
of
those
wars
as
being
brewed
exclusively
in
that
region.
The
book
consists
of
thirty-two
chapters
dealing
with
different
historical
periods,
though
focusing
on
modern
and
contemporary
history,
and
explaining
the
different
groups,
units,
or
states
which make
up
the
part
of
Europe
that
lies
east
of
a
line
which
runs
roughly
from
Trieste
to
Stettin.
The
preface
and
eleven
-of
the
chapters
are
written
by
the
editor,
J.
S.
Roucek,
and
the
remaining
by
associates
in
America
who
have
some
claim
to
special
knowledge
of
the
regions
which
they
discuss.
The
editor
expresses
the
view
that
English
and
American
historians,
following
to
some
extent
German,
French,
and
Italian
historiography
have
written
European
history
in
terms
of
Western Europe,
and
claims
that
the
broad
central
and
eastern
belt,
mostly
inhabited
by
Slavic-
speaking
peoples
has been
neglected,
alluded
to
in
sketchy
fashion,
or
viewed
by
those
in.
the
habit
of
looking
into
the
sunset
rather
than
into
the sunrise.
This
has
been
true.
The
English
transliteration
of
Slavic
names
found
in
general
European
histories
up
to
fairly
recent
times
is
a
curiously
interesting
indication
of
the
sources
of
those
histories.
How-
ever
a
change
has
come
about
in
recent years.
English
and
American
historians,
as
well
as
the
public,
are
eager
for information
and
illumina-
379
To continue reading
Request your trial