Diary of a Washington Correspondent

DAVID LAWRENCE’S diary of Washington under the New Deal suggests Gouverneur Morris’s diary of the French Revolution. Mr. Lawrence is of the old regime and sees nothing good in the new. But like the earlier diarist he has his bright moments when he forgets the revolution. In this diary, which is only in part made up of his newspaper columns, the international scene receives a large share of his attention.

In his shrewd analysis of the progress of the war and his comment on problems of diplomacy, he draws upon an exceptional background of experience as a Washington correspondent in the Wilson era and as a reporter of World War I and the muffed peace. He limits his diary selections to the twenty-four months from May, 1940, to May, 1942. So his book begins with the diplomatic panic caused by the fall of the Low Countries and runs through the several stages of our approach to war. Some of his most adequate comments are those on the developing crisis with Japan up to Pearl Harbor. L. M. L.