that urged him to join in the movement to beautify his home community
of Merion and that caused his activity in the raising of an endowment
fund of almost two million dollars for the Philadelphia Orchestra is
what we would expect of the idealist who sets out to observe the wise
precept of his Dutch grandparents: "Make you the world a bit more
beautiful and better because you have been in it."

Throughout the book the observant reader will note the author's pride
in his Dutch ancestry and his consciousness of the fact that he owes so
much to the splendid qualities of his forbears. Such pride may be
shared by every other progressive American of foreign birth or
parentage who feels that he is bringing into our social and industrial
life certain commendable traits that characterize the best sons and
daughters of his fatherland, whatever that fatherland may be.

The admirable dedication that Mr. Bok has prepared for this little
volume is addressed to American schoolboys and schoolgirls, but its
message is just as vital for the older reader. In the prime of life
and on the threshold of his Third Period, Mr. Bok has begun to give
practical demonstration of the kind of service that is possible for
those who are sincerely ready to serve. He is alive to the fact that
as a nation we are still young and eager to learn. We have made
serious mistakes in the past and our institutions are as yet far from
perfect, but with more of our intellectual leaders accepting the
watchword of altruistic service in the spirit of Mr. Bok's conception,
there can be virtually no limitations to the part that America seems
destined to play in the future.

JOHN L. HANEY