As a whole, and so far as published, the work purports to give an accurate account of what took place in all quarters of the theatre of war, and is generally successful. It never errs on the side of partisanship, but occasionally through ignorance or misapplication of facts. From first to last, it is an honest and straightforward narrative, at times eloquent and at times vivacious. The reader is bored by no flights of rhetoric; but students will always lament a lack of philosophical tone and _critical_ appreciation of men and events. The maps and plans, which are numerous and are furnished from official sources, are all that could be desired. REMINISCENCES OF FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE IN 1860-61. By Abner Doubleday, Brevet Major General, U.S.A. 1 vol. 12mo pp. 184. New York, Harper & Brothers. The author bore an honorable and responsible part in the actual outbreak of hostilities between the national government and the revolted states, and in this book he gives a simple and faithful recital of some of the more important facts. Though so misrepresented by certain critics, the book is _not_ an attack on Major Anderson's character; on the contrary, it clearly shows, and attempts to show, that that commander firmly subdued all considerations and devices which seemed inconsistent with his duty as a soldier of the United States, and held himself ready to be sacrificed to the trust given him. General (then Captain, 1st artillery U.S.A.) Doubleday was at Fort Sumter during the bombardment, and, as might be expected, his volume gives many incidents of the life of the little besieged band, and of the siege itself, which appear here for the first time, and which throw fresh light upon the conduct and principles of both parties to the conflict. As a personal narrative, it is one of the most charming and instructive relating to the war. The book was published in 1876. * * * * * ASSESSMENT INSURANCE. By G.A. Litchfield. It is the purpose of this article to fairly treat the subject under consideration and to set forth such claims only as can be sustained to the satisfaction of candid and unprejudiced minds. It will not be assumed that the science of Assessment Insurance is perfected; on the contrary, our most advanced thinkers upon the subject are those who see most clearly its defects, and are laboring most assiduously to correct them. Grave obstacles have been encountered in their endeavors to perfect the system. Those who have written upon the subject in the public press have been largely such as have given it but a cursory study, or such as have been totally unfit to discuss it from an impartial standpoint by reason of preconceived notions or prejudices in favor of the level premium system of insurance, if, indeed, they have not been retained for a consideration by that gigantic moneyed monopoly.