152
BOOK REVIEWS
The only revision of these volumes since their publication in 1959 is the deletion of a postscript, which the author regards as premature at that time, on the communes.
The volume is attractively printed on good paper, with a sturdy binding. The paperback edition of these two works will be welcomed by the specialist who may have missed them in their first printing, and by the general reader who wishes a scholarly, jargon-free work on the impact on the family and village of the early years of Communist rule in China. Students will find here a model of sociological analysis, enhanced by the author's clarity of expression.
United College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
JAMES A. BEAUDRY
A GUIDE TO THE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS OF PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE BRITISH ISLES TO CHINA 1796 - 1914. Leslie R. Marchant. University of Western Australia Press, 1966. 134 pages. 35s.
This exceedingly handy and invaluable book has three main purposes. First, it provides a comprehensive guide to those Protestant missionary societies in the United Kingdom and Ireland which supported active mission work in China from 1796 until 1914. This in itself is a distinctive service, for these have never previously been listed together satisfactorily in a single publication.
Secondly, the book gives a detailed list of the archives and records of the societies that have them. These collections are fully described in the entry of the particular societies having custody of them. In the case of transferred archives, the reader is referred from the donating or absorbed society to the appropriate present-time repository. This arrangement enables the researcher both to locate easily each society's records and to see the total list of holdings in each repository.
Thirdly, the book presents a “definitive list" of the publications of each society. Again, this is a welcome service, for there has not previously been a complete index of missionary journals and periodicals published in the United Kingdom. This is useful for the researcher because certain gaps found in the archives can often be filled by these publications.
152
BOOK REVIEWS
The only revision of these volumes since their publication in 1959 is the deletion of a postscript, which the author regards as premature at that time, on the communes.
The volume is attractively printed on good paper, with a sturdy binding. The paperback edition of these two works will be welcomed by the specialist who may have missed them in their first printing, and by the general reader who wishes a scholarly, jargon-free work on the impact on the family and village of the early years of Communist rule in China. Students will find here a model of sociological analysis, enhanced by the author's clarity of expression.
United College
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
JAMES A. BEAUDRY
A GUIDE TO THE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS OF PRO- TESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS FROM THE BRITISH ISLES TO CHINA 1796 - 1914. Leslie R. Marchant. University of Western Australia Press, 1966. 134 pages. 35s.
This exceedingly handy and invaluable book has three main purposes. First, it provides a comprehensive guide to those Protestant missionary societies in the United Kingdom and Erie which supported active mission work in China from 1796 until 1914. This in itself is a distinctive service, for these have never previously been listed together satisfactorily in a single publica- tion.
Secondly, the book gives a detailed list of the archives and records of the societies that have them. These collections are fully described in the entry of the particular societies having custody of them. In the case of transferred archives, the reader is referred from the donating or absorbed society to the appro- priate present-time repository. This arrangement enables the researcher both to locate easily each society's records and to see the total list of holdings in each repository.
Thirdly, the book presents a “definitive list" of the publications of each society. Again, this is a welcome service, for there has not previously been a complete index of missionary journals and periodicals published in the United Kingdom. This is useful for the researcher because certain gaps found in the archives can often be filled by these publications.
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