Book Review: The Voice of Dafoe
| Published date | 01 July 1946 |
| Date | 01 July 1946 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070204600100310 |
| Author | E. J. Tarr |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
International
Journal
BRITAIN: PARTNER
FOR
PEACE.
By
Percy
E.
Corbett.
1946.
(New
York:
Harcourt
Brace.
Toronto:
McLeod.
Yale
Institute
of
International
Studies.
177pp.
$3.25)
Like
parallel
studies
by
Crane
Brinton
and
George
Soule,
this
mono-
graph
is
primarily
addressed
to
American
readers.
Its
aim
is
to
explain
the
"power
position
of
Britain
after
two
wars"
in
an
attempt
to
clarify
American
thinking
on
the
relations
of
the
United
States
and
Britain,
"an
intricate
mixture
of
partnership
and
rivalry"
as
the
author
admits.
It
is
Dr.
Corbett's
belief
that
"no
part
of
the
democratic
world
can
afford
-to
stand
passive in
the
presence
of
a
threat
to
the
security
of
Great
Bri-
tain,"
arid
his
contention,
reiterated
in
varying
fashion
is
that
Britain
is
no
longer
in
the
highest
rank
of
power
and
must
be
bracketed
below
the
United
States and
the
U.S.S.R.
In them
he detects
an
"exuberant
new
rise
of
power"
(U.S.S.R.)
and an
"almost
rueful
realization
of
un-
precedented
might
and
commensurate responsibility"
(U.S.A.).
In
the
pursuit
of
his
argument
the author
has
striven for
"detached
calculation"
and,
in
this
reviewer's
opinion,
has
succeeded.
For
pithi-
ness
'and
pungency
BRITAIN:
PARTNER
FOR
PEACE
takes
high
rank
in
its
field,
which
will not
come
as
a
surprise
to
readers
of Dr.
Corbett's
previous
writings.
The
title
of
the
book
does
not
do
full
justice
to
its contents, for
it
contains
not
only
a
study
of
Britain's
changed
economic
position
and
her
relation
to
world
organization
(on
which
there
is
an excellent
chapter),
Europe,
and
the
United
States,
but
also
a
concise
account
of Common-
wealth
associations
on
which
subject
the
author
remarks
with cheerful
pessimism,
respecting the
average
British
subject:
"If
he ponders
the
matter
at
all,
he adopts
his own
rough
idea,
usually
inaccurate,
and'
settles
down
comfortably with
it
for
the
rest
of
his
life."
As
the
manuscript
was completed
by
December,
1945,
Dr.
Corbett
has
had
no
opportunity
to
examine the
rather
uncertain
record
of
Anglo-
American
relations,
official
or
otherwise,
that
problems
such
as
Food,
the
Loan,
and
Palestine
have
helped
to
bedevil.
It
is
to
be
hoped
that
some
day
he will
apply
his
powers
of
analysis
and
exposition
to
the United
States
as
a
partner
for
peace.
Ottawa,
May
1946.
F.
H.
Soward
THE
VOICE OF
DAFOE.
A
Selection
of
Editorials
on
Collective
Security,
1931-1944.
By
John
W.
Dafoe.
Edited
by
W.
L.
Morton.
1945.
(Toronto:
Macmillan.
293pp.
$3.00)
We
are
indebted
to
W.
L.
Morton
for
a
careful
selection
from
innumerable editorials, and an
arrangement
in
groups
which
has much
merit.
However,
this arrangement,
which
is
not
chronological,
makes
it
more
difficult
for
the
reader
constantly
to
bear
in
mind the
circum-
stances
of
the
moment
when
an
editorial
was
written,
and
this
is
essential
if
one
is
to
appreciate the
effectiveness
and consistent'
develop-
ment
of
the
advocacy
of
the
author.
Mr.
Morton
has,
happily,
minimized
the
difficulty by
inserting
many
useful
references
and
numerous notes
270
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