"WE SEE with great concern the position in which Great Britain is placed, and should be sincerely afflicted were any disaster to deprive mankind of the benefit of such a bulwark against the torrent which has for some time been bearing down all before it." These words, from which Earle takes his title, were not uttered in 1941, but in 1803. Even more remarkable, they are not the words of a fervent interventionist, but one of America's most uncompromining pacifists--Thomas Jefferson.

It is by such quotations that Earle seeks to show present day isolationists that their arguments are without basis from the standpoint of American history. In a brief but forceful review of our diplomatic and political treatment of European affairs, he demonstrates how we have been dependent on four factors for our isolation. "Almost from the beginning it was recognized that our security depended not merely upon relative geographical remoteness, but equally upon the European balance of power, the maintenance of the British Navy, and the existence of a universal concept of international order."

Earle is not content to let this statement go unproven, however; he buttresses his argument with numerous incidents in our history as well as statements by our political leaders. For example, he returns to Jefferson, favorite prototype of contemporary isolationists, to show that even he was willing "to marry our selves to the British fleet and nation" in order to prevent Napoleon from occupying Louisiana.

This book cannot fail to be disconcerting to all isolationists, and provides an arsenal of historical munition in favor of the interventionist point of view. Brief though it is, "Against This Torrent" is a forceful argument against "the wave of the future." As a refreshing departure from the recent flood of dollar books that are all form and no substance, this volume should be read by everyone who is interested in the future of our nation.