In Praise of Short Books

For some of us, the pleasure of reading lies not just in the insights of the authors, but even more so in the thoughts they inspire in our wandering minds. For this latter purpose, a thought-provoking short book may, all in all, be more satisfactory than a long one offering too many intellectual tangents.

Both Michael Small’s The Forgotten Peace: Mediation at Niagara Falls, 1914 and George Anderson’s Fiscal Federalism: A Comparative Introduction do a masterly job of provoking thought, much more than might seem likely on first appraisal of their slight (if handsome) appearance. Each has been published by a university press in Canada, and very stylishly so, particularly Small’s volume. Both feature that indispensable adjunct to a scholarly text, even a short one: a useful index. They both seek to illuminate the policy implications of every paragraph they propose.

Small’s book deals with a completely forgotten international conference held...