Books in Brief

William Shakespeare, a Biography, by A. L. Rowse (Harper, $6.95). This is almost a life of Shakespeare as written by Falstaff—by an overbearing, effervescent hater of Puritans and pedants; a witty defender of the popular legends, (poached deer, schoolmaster-days and all); one who, even when not scholarly himself, is a great cause of scholarship in others. (Rowse the Elizabethan historian is a scholar, of course; but, in the field of literature, he is only a scholar in the sense that Falstaff was a knight.) This man does his babbling of green fields at the beginning (in a chapter on Warwickshire geography) rather than the end, and he seems to have picked up some of Pistol’s bluster (he has things spring “fully grown from the brain of Athene”); but, like Falstaff, he claims that “the laws of England are at my command,” that he will be intimate as no other with the Monarch. More sedate guardians of Shakespeare are trying to get him out of this rather wild, if winning, fellow’s hands; and they will, in the end, succeed. But no one should regret the Prince of Poetry’s days of notoriety spent in the company of Rowse. The future rule of Shakespeare in the court of scholars will be the better for these tavern episodes. G. WILLS

National Security, ed. by David M. Abshire and Richard V. Allen (Praeger, $10). This massive chrestomathy of political and economic lore bearing upon the successful conduct of the Cold War is the result of a conference held in Washington last year by the Georgetown Center for Strategic Studies. In its more than 1,000 pages, virtually every aspect of the struggle between East and West is authoritatively construed. Issues covered include the technological and strategic imperatives of victory over Communism, the critical role of nuclear weapons, first and second strikes and the mysteries of “escalation,” foreign aid and the Alliance for Progress, “world opinion,” disarmament, “growth,” Sino-Soviet relations, etc. Examining these matters are the Director of the Center, Admiral Arleigh Burke, who introduces the discussion; Robert Strausz-Hupe; Kurt London; Richard Walker; Warren Nutter; Gerhart Niemeyer; Henry Kissinger; William Stokes; William Kintner; Herman Kahn; Stefan Possony; Edward Teller; Oskar Morgenstern; Karl Brandt; Roger Freeman; Gottfried Haberler; Glenn Campbell; and many others. From this regiment of scholars America’s walkdown with Communism receives an analysis unparalleled in thoroughness and insight. The contents can hardly be suggested in so brief a compass, but Gerhart Niemeyer’s discussion of Communist strategy— the best single essay on the subject this reviewer has ever seen—may be suggested as an example of the quality of thought and clarity of expression which prevail throughout. The book should be a standard work of reference for every student of Communism.

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William Shakespeare, a Biography, by A. L. Rowse (Harper, $6.95). This is almost a life of Shakespeare as written by Falstaff—by an overbearing, effervescent hater of Puritans and pedants; a witty defender of the popular legends, (poached deer, schoolmaster-days and all); one who, even when not scholarly himself, is a great cause of scholarship in others. (Rowse the Elizabethan historian is a scholar, of course; but, in the field of literature, he is only a scholar in the sense that Falstaff was a knight.) This man does his babbling of green fields at the beginning (in a chapter on Warwickshire geography) rather than the end, and he seems to have picked up some of Pistol’s bluster (he has things spring “fully grown from the brain of Athene”); but, like Falstaff, he claims that “the laws of England are at my command,” that he will be intimate as no other with the Monarch. More sedate guardians of Shakespeare are trying to get him out of this rather wild, if winning, fellow’s hands; and they will, in the end, succeed. But no one should regret the Prince of Poetry’s days of notoriety spent in the company of Rowse. The future rule of Shakespeare in the court of scholars will be the better for these tavern episodes. G. WILLS

National Security, ed. by David M. Abshire and Richard V. Allen (Praeger, $10). This massive chrestomathy of political and economic lore bearing upon the successful conduct of the Cold War is the result of a conference held in Washington last year by the Georgetown Center for Strategic Studies. In its more than 1,000 pages, virtually every aspect of the struggle between East and West is authoritatively construed. Issues covered include the technological and strategic imperatives of victory over Communism, the critical role of nuclear weapons, first and second strikes and the mysteries of “escalation,” foreign aid and the Alliance for Progress, “world opinion,” disarmament, “growth,” Sino-Soviet relations, etc. Examining these matters are the Director of the Center, Admiral Arleigh Burke, who introduces the discussion; Robert Strausz-Hupe; Kurt London; Richard Walker; Warren Nutter; Gerhart Niemeyer; Henry Kissinger; William Stokes; William Kintner; Herman Kahn; Stefan Possony; Edward Teller; Oskar Morgenstern; Karl Brandt; Roger Freeman; Gottfried Haberler; Glenn Campbell; and many others. From this regiment of scholars America’s walkdown with Communism receives an analysis unparalleled in thoroughness and insight. The contents can hardly be suggested in so brief a compass, but Gerhart Niemeyer’s discussion of Communist strategy— the best single essay on the subject this reviewer has ever seen—may be suggested as an example of the quality of thought and clarity of expression which prevail throughout. The book should be a standard work of reference for every student of Communism.