A NEW PATTERN FOR A TIRED WORLD

Mr. Bromfield in the role of mender of political fences is not at his best. One has- in reading this book ( and this whether one is in agreement or disagreement)- an uncomfortable sense that this is a random collection of pieces written at different times, and not reread at the moment of bringing them together. There is what seems unintentional repetition not only of thought but of phrase, so that he seems to be plagiarizing himself. His thesis in final analysis seems to boil down to these major points:-Europe is kaput, we are pouring vast sums down a drain seeking to resuscitate an area that can survive only on our aid... We have made such horrible mistakes in Asia that it is beyond our power to cure...The world must ultimately gravitate to the great land mass powers, and these he feels decreed by fate and circumstances are the United States and Canada; Russia; and potentially Brazil. And our role should be redirected towards insuring the survival of the Western Hemisphere. Broad gauged isolationism, if that is not a contradiction in terms -is what it seems, though Mr. Bromfield hastens to deny the appelation, claiming he is being only a realist, internationally speaking. The reader may agree with many of his case histories, his arguments, and still fail to go along with his conclusions. His conviction that military preparedness is unwarranted and unnecessary; that militarism is still in the saddle; that our danger is more from internal upheaval in political philosophy than military threat from ""the enemy"" -- these and other viewpoints will arouse plenty of controversy. Mr. Bromfield has much to say that probably needs to be said, but somehow he does not prove his point -- that his solution will solve the maladjustments of an ailing world.