FAMED in the scientific world as one of the few men, if not the only man, who could understand the intricate mathematics of Harvard's most famous higher mathematician, Benjamin Pierce, Thomas Hill is equally famed in the educational world as being not only an able scholar, but a sensible and efficient administrator. This life of Harvard's Twentieth President, Mr. Land has designed "to be merely an introduction of Dr. Hill to the world he left forty-two years ago." Few today are left who could expound the educational and mathematical theories of this man who, at the age of forty-four, was called to head Harvard in a times when changing educational trends played as important a part as they do today. And therefore this book is more of an introduction than an interpretation of the man.

As much of it is drawn from letters and diaries that Hill kept, its accuracy cannot be questioned and actual quotations from these make the biography as readable as one may desire. Few first-band accounts of college life in the early forties and late thirties of the past century remain for public view today, but with the help of personal files this book contains an exceedingly fine contemporary account, written by Hill, of the Harvard of that time. This generation, brought up to understand that the boys of a century ago were polite little drones spending all of their time at the few books the country boasted, will receive an enjoyable shock at Hill's account of the antics of his confreres. He writes "there is a scandal-here, I don't care who says to the contrary . . . There is nothing but mischief in their heads from morn to night. . . Our windows were broken almost every night and at last we moved to the third story of Massachusetts. Here we were at peace until last Friday night, when two or three more lights were broken."

In 1860 Hill was called to the Presidency of Antioch College of Yellow Springs, Ohio, to continue the great work of Horace Mann. This period of only two years is portrayed in the biography by many personal letters from and to the President. His troubles with the financial and sectarian situation, eventually leading to his decision to resign, are told in a manner which brings out his great ability and the exceedingly trying conditions under which he had to work. The letters from Hill gave in a way which no amount of second-hand writing can, the true character and nature of this man. And yet one does not have the impression that the book is a collection of letters, they are included as supplementary facts in a way which redounds to the credit of the author.

To Hill's administration at Harvard belongs perhaps the most important part of the volume. Here are told the difficult he had with the changing ideas of education of the day. It was a time when the elective system and the high standards of the University were under fire and the way with which the President handled his tasks is extremely interesting reading to those who today are involved in the changing swirl of education.

One wonders throughout the book if perhaps this man was not a cold-blooded scientist and administrator who cared little for his family and friends, for it is not until the latter half of the book that much is told of his personal and unofficial affairs. The story of his life as head of Harvard is limited to his academic struggles, and not until a later chapter is the other side of his life revealed. At first one may question this manner of narration, but had the details of his non-official life been included in the saga of his official duties, an extremely interesting story of education would have been impeded by irrelevancy.

To the person who will shy away from this book for fear that the life of one of the lesser known Harvard Presidents will be drudgery and a boring tale, may this review by a caveat. Here is an interesting story of an unusual life, and a tale of educational changes and problems which, in a time like the present, should not fail to interest anyone in a university community.