commission—that have beennthe salient features of child-rearingnfor decades. It stresses thenfundamental wisdom of thenadult rather than the child, withnthe former’s privilege to put thenmarriage, rather than the child,nfirst. Since the marriage is thenFoul PlaynGlenn N. Schram: Toward anResponse to the AmericannCrisis; University Press of America;nWashington, D.C.nDon’t expect Glenn Schramnto win any awards from thenAmerican Political Science Association.nProfessor Schram simplynhas not played the game correctly;nhe has violated all the rules bynwhich political scientists conductnthemselves. For starters, Towardna Response to the AmericannCrisis contains none of the opinionnpolls, statistical analyses ornpseudoscientific jargon thatnmake the tweed-clad hearts ofnacademicians throb with joy.nWorse, Professor Schram proceedsnblandly along in his discussionnof American society withoutnthe rapturous paeans to egalitarianismnand Utopian chimerasnIn the Mailncore of the family, if the needs ofnthe marriage are fulfilled, thenchildren’s needs will be realized.nIt has been a long time since thisnproposition has been asserted,nand it goes a long way in assuagingnthe doubts of beleaguerednparents. (MEF) Dnthat one routinely finds in suchnbooks. Worst of all—and surelynthis excludes him from the companynof respectable politicalnscientists—Professor Schramnblasphemes in the temple ofnsecularity: such terms as “sin,”n”God” and “religious reawakening”ndot his pages with alarmingnfrequency. ProfessornSchram’s problem lies in his inabilitynto accept the well-knownnfact that man is the measure ofnall things and that if we passnenough laws and enlightennenough people we can find blissnand perfect justice in the herenand now. His obstinate refusalnto bow to the idols of contemporarynideology encourages onento think that political sciencenmay not be irreclaimably lost tonthose who use the discipline asnan ax with which to hack theirnway through to Utopia. Dn”Education, Character, and American Schools” by Gerald Grant; Ethicsnand Public Policy Center; Washington, D.C. An examination of thenmyriad factors, from home life to dollars spent, which affect the qualitynof our children’s education.nThe Church, the State and Society in the Thought of John Paul U bynJames V. Schall, S.J.; Franciscan Herald Press; Chicago. An explorationnof the Pope’s thought in terms of philosophy and theology.nTax Tacts 3: The Canadian Consumer Tax Index and You by Sally Pipes andnMichael Walker with David Gill; The Eraser Institute; Vancouver, BritishnColumbia, Canada. An analysis of the hidden costs of the Canadianntax system.nHoover Essays; The Hoover Institution; Stanford, California. A collection ofnessays by Hoover fellows, visiting scholars and authors covering awidevarietynof subjects, both domestic and international in scope, by such scholars asnThomas Sowell, Edward Teller and others.nChronicles of CulturenIN FOCUSnRomanticism of SurvivalnRene Dubos: Celebrations ofnLife; McGraw-Hill Book Co.; New York.nby Jeff WoodnIn his later years Mark Twainncynically referred to mankind asn”That Damned Human Race.”nBeset by Darwin’s theory of evolutionnand a world united only innits propensity toward war, hencompared man, unfavorably, tonbrutes. In his last work. ThenMysterious Stranger, Twainnwrote that man differed fromnthe animals in that he possessedna “Moral Sense,” which onlyncreated greed, corruption, destructionnand a Pandora’s boxnfull of evils. In short, the essentialnquestion that Twain faced,nand that Rene Dubos faces innCelebrations of Life, concernsnthe nature of man. Man is anmoral being. Twain thought,nwho is caught up in the eternalnconflict between good and evil.nDubos disagrees, and he controvertsnTwain’s legendary cynicismnby ignoring this fundamentalnhuman struggle. His centralnthesis is that man is blessed withnthe freedom of social evolution,nwhich creates tremendous potentialnfor social growth. Dubosnevokes an optimistic outlook fornmankind, rejecting both modern-daynMalthusian propheciesnof doom and environmentalists’nfears of world destruction.nThis rambling, multidisciplinarynwork exhibits a heavy sociologicalnfocus. It chronicles thenprogress of, and theories generatednby, sociology in this centurynand, as such, is worthwhile. It isnMr. Wood is a law student atnNorthwestern University.nnnmildly reminiscent of a collegenfreshman’s course in the subject:nit piesents a host of ideas aboutnwhich one never really thoughtnbut which one always knew existed.nThe perceptive studentnrealized that the best way to excelnon the exam was to pitch backnthe professor’s theories in ratificationnof their perfection andnutility. In the process, studentsnoften neglected to questionnthose theories. They made sensenanyway—or did they? They werenstrings of ideas—based on thenprofessor’s collection of presumedntruths—presented asnfact. Such professors hoped tonspend their entire lives supplementingntheir thesis until a completenpicture came to view. Thenoctogenarian Dubos exemplifiednthis type of modern academician.nHis book portrays anlifetime of experiment, thoughtnand intuition, an autobiographicalnpaean to optimism and faithnin the ability of social man tonadapt to environment. Dubosncenters his theory on an unshakennbelief in man’s freedomnof choice. Beyond this, he believesnthat 20th-century societynin particular is dominated bynconstant and pervasive change:n”Wherever human beings areninvolved, trend is never destinynbecause life starts anew, fornthem, with each sunrise.”nDubos is somewhat of a romantic.nHe likes to speak of then”richness of the human encounter.”nHe clings to doggednbelief in human survival. Celebrationsnof Life is full of ideasnwithout logic, facts withoutnfoundation, syllogisms withoutncohesion. It holds no centraln