The Nation, reviewing "A Half Century of Conflict," termed the work "the completion of a memorable undertaking. The task was one of the most important to which an American historian could devote his pen. Mr. Parkman's painstaking research has earned him a permanent place in the front rank of American writers of history, while the brilliancy of the style in which his thought is clothed imparts a charm to his narrative unsurpassed by that of Prescott or Motley. He may well look back with satisfaction on the stately series of volumes in which he has narrated the great attempt to plant on American soil the civilization and institutions of royal France,--a drama heroic and tragic enough to claim the admiration of those who most sincerely rejoice that it ended in essential failure." "If we have objected to nothing in these histories," wrote Mr. W. D. Howells, in a review of Parkman's finished works, "it is because we have no fault to find with them. They appear to us the fruit of an altogether admirable motive directing indefatigable industry, and they present the evidence of thorough research and thoughtful philosophization.... Whatever may be added to his labors, they will remain undisturbed as thorough, beautiful, and true." Constantly engaged as Mr. Parkman was in the examination of documents, letters, and archives bearing on the subject of his works, new material not at hand when the histories were first penned was at various times discovered, necessitating 11 new editions of several of his works with important revisions and additions. The new edition of "The Conspiracy of Pontiac and the Indian War after the Conquest of Canada," published in 1870, was enlarged to two volumes, a large amount of additional material having come to light, notably the Bouquet and Haldimand papers added to the manuscript collections of the British Museum. Although originally published prior to "France and England in North America," this work forms a sequel to that series. The edition of "Pioneers of France in the New World" published in 1885 included the results of new documentary evidence, and a more exact knowledge of the localities connected with the French occupation of Florida, acquired from a special visit made by Mr. Parkman to that region. A new edition of "La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West" appeared in 1878 with very important additions, derived from the Margry collection of documents relating to La Salle and the narrative of his companion Joutel. Although the new material confirmed nearly every statement made in the first edition, it added new facts and threw new light on the character of La Salle, so that the author found it desirable to rewrite the work and to add a map of the country traversed by the explorers.