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Mechanotransduction
This page intentionally left blank
Mechanotransduction
Cell Signaling to Cell Response

PAUL A. SUNDARAM
University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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Publisher (other than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and
experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or
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Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
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Dedication

My wife, Fabiola, who is my perfect complement,

my true companion, without whom I would be incomplete.
My children, Paola Alejandra and Julian Patrick, who are my crown
and joy and hopefully will carry the torch forward.
My parents, Chandran and Vimala, who taught me the important
things in life.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents

Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Foreword xv

1. Introduction 1

2. Cell signaling: An overview 7

2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Modes of cell communication 7
2.3 Phases in cell signaling 9
2.3.1 Reception 9
2.3.2 Transduction 13
2.4 Response 18
2.5 Mechanical signaling in cells 20
2.5.1 Cell structural elements that are important in mechanical signaling 20
2.5.2 Mechanosensing or mechanoreception 24
2.5.3 Signal transmission 24
2.5.4 Target activation 25
2.5.5 Gene expression 25

3. Cell signaling under mechanical stimulus in specific cell types 29

3.1 Introduction 29
3.2 Forces acting on cells 29
3.3 Modes of mechanosensing 30
3.4 Factors affecting general cell response 33
3.4.1 Stress state of the cell 33
3.4.2 Substrate characteristics 34
3.4.3 Temporal response of cells to applied mechanical stimulus 35
3.5 Cell mechanotransduction in musculoskeletal tissue 37
3.5.1 Types of cells in bone tissue 37
3.5.2 The mechanosensory environment of bone cells 38
3.5.3 The mechanoreceptors in bone cells 39
3.5.4 Signaling pathways in bone cells 40
3.5.5 The response of bone cells to applied mechanical stimulus 43
3.6 Cell mechanotransduction in cartilage 43
3.6.1 Mechanical environment of cartilaginous cells 43
3.6.2 Mechanisms of mechanotransduction in chondrocytes 43

vii
viii Contents

3.7 Cellular mechanotransduction in pulmonary tissue 44

3.7.1 Types of cells in lung tissue 44
3.7.2 Mechanical environment in the lung 45
3.7.3 Mechanisms of mechanotransduction in the lung 46
3.8 Cell mechanotransduction is the cardiovascular system 48
3.8.1 Types of cells in the cardiovascular system 48
3.8.2 Mechanical environment for cardiovascular cells 48
3.8.3 Mechanisms of mechanotransduction in cardiovascular cells 49
3.9 Cell mechanotransduction in nerve tissue 52
3.9.1 Types of cells in the nervous system 52
3.9.2 Mechanical environment for nerve cells 53
3.9.3 Mechanisms of mechanotransduction in the nerve cells 54

4. Cell characteristics resulting from mechanical stimulus 57

4.1 Introduction 57
4.2 Effect of mechanical stimuli on normal cells 57
4.2.1 Types of mechanical stimuli 57
4.2.2 Influence of mechanical factors 58
4.2.3 Effect of substrate characteristics 59
4.2.4 Effect of scaffold properties 60
4.2.5 Mechanotransduction at the molecular level 61
4.3 Effect of mechanical stimuli on stem cells 67
4.3.1 Incongruency in cell response 67
4.3.2 Types of mechanical stimuli 68
4.3.3 Stem cell response to mechanical stimuli 69
4.4 Effect of mechanical stimuli on cancer cells 74
4.5 The role of cell adhesion molecules in mechanosensing 80
4.6 Cellular proliferation 82
4.7 Extracellular matrix remodeling 84

5. Tissue mechanotransduction 91
5.1 Introduction 91
5.2 Signal characteristics 93
5.3 Signal control: Structural and secretory factors 95
5.3.1 Adherens junctions 95
5.3.2 Gap junctions 95
5.3.3 Secretory factors 96
5.4 Musculoskeletal system 97
5.4.1 Mechanophysiological environment 97
5.4.2 Mechanotransduction in musculoskeletal tissue 102
 Contents ix

5.5 Pulmonary system 104

5.5.1 Mechanophysiological environment 104
5.5.2 Mechanotransduction in pulmonary tissue 107
5.6 Cardiovascular system 108
5.6.1 Mechanophysiological environment 108
5.6.2 Mechanotransduction in cardiovascular tissue 111
5.7 Nervous system 112
5.7.1 Mechanophysiological environment 112
5.7.2 Mechanotransduction in nerve tissue 113

6. Mechanotherapy 117
6.1 Introduction 117
6.2 Mechanotransduction and disease 118
6.3 Mechanotherapy: Molecular scale 124
6.4 Mechanotherapy: Tissue level 125
6.5 Emerging trends in mechanotherapy 126
6.6 Cancer therapy and mechanotransduction 127
6.7 Other therapeutic effects of mechanical stimulus 127

7. Future thrusts in the field of mechanotransduction 129

Bibliography 133
Index 139
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

Mechanotransduction is a complex topic which involves a lot of biology but also

mechanical forces and deformations. A concise textbook dedicated to this topic is
unavailable which could bring together complex topics such as cell signaling and cell
response for the engineering student and assemble it with the concepts of mechanical
stress and strain which would be difficult to grasp for students in biology. Of course,
the field of mechanotransduction is rife with research articles which are challenging for
early graduate students in engineering who have little or no background in biology. It
dawned on me that a textbook on mechanotransduction if written in a simple manner
would be a valuable tool for students in both engineering and biology. This book will
be a starting point for students to grasp the basic concepts of mechanotransduction and
focus on specific review articles to get a more in-depth knowledge.
The book is written is such a fashion so as to introduce the concept of mechano-
transduction in Chapter 1, Introduction as well as some of its practical implications in
the human body. This is followed by the fundamental principles of signal transduction
in cells including signal reception, transduction, and response in Chapter 2, Cell sig-
naling: an overview. Chapter 3, Cell signaling under mechanical stimulus in specific
cell types delves into the effect of mechanical stimulus on various cell types. Attention
is paid to some specific cell types which have been studied in some detail in literature.
Chapter 4, Cell characteristics resulting from mechanical stimulus deals with changes
in cell characteristics under the influence of mechanical stimulus including the effect
on stem cells, cancer cells, cell proliferation, and remodeling of the extracellular
matrix. Mechanotransduction in tissues is described in Chapter 5, Tissue mechano-
transduction with the goal of understanding the influence of mechanical stimulus in
larger groups of cells or tissues. The practical applications of mechanotransduction in
actual clinical treatments through mechanotherapy are presented in the Chapter 6.
Chapter 7, Future thrusts in the field of mechanotransduction suggests some
topics which are worth researching in further understanding the broad theme of
mechanotransduction.
Each chapter is written in a form that it can be treated independently but there is a
connection between the chapters also. At the end of most of the chapters there are a
few questions under “review and project” to enable the student to research and think
further about some of these topics. It is my hope that this book brings the concepts of
mechanotransduction in a clear and simple manner to the student to build a firm
foundation upon which more complex concepts can be constructed.
Paul A. Sundaram

xi
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgments

The desire to write a textbook that would be accessible to students motivated me after
I first taught a graduate course in cell mechanics in 2012. To teach the course, I had
to use material from a variety of sources including books, research articles, and
reviews. I decided to write a book on mechanotransduction since a textbook on this
topic is currently unavailable. Writing this book was a major project and many persons
were directly or indirectly involved from conceptualizing it to its birthing. When
Elsevier approached me with the idea of writing a book, I took the bait, never for a
moment imagining the many challenges that this project would bring along. I was
convinced to come up with a title and a table of contents. When I first produced the
table of contents, the book began to take shape. The Elsevier Publishing team quickly
tied me into a contract from which there was no turning back. During the course of
writing the sample chapter, the publishing editor Fiona Geraghty passed the baton on
to Fernanda Oliveira who has been instrumental in getting this book out. The
Elsevier team worked with me, hand in hand, to ensure timely delivery. The book in
finally a reality for which I am grateful to Elsevier.
Of course, the impetus to write on this topic definitely came from my graduate
students at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. Each one of them, through their
painstaking, forward-thinking research have somehow made me think more pro-
foundly about the phenomenon of mechanotransduction and how to succinctly relay
complex concepts to students with clarity and simplicity. It would not be superfluous
to emphasize that my students were the drivers for this output. I am, of course, grate-
ful to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at
Mayaguez for always providing me the space and support throughout my career.
Finally, the writing of this book became a family project. I am grateful to my wife
and children for their patience when I was absorbed and sometimes obsessed with
writing to produce a textbook palatable for the student. My wife and daughter cre-
ated, designed, and produced many of the illustrations in the manuscript, without
which this book would not have been finished. I cannot but be grateful to the King
of kings and Lord of lords to whom all glory is due.

xiii
This page intentionally left blank
Foreword

Have you ever stopped to ponder how the body works? More specifically, how, as a
complex machine, does the body develop and sustain integrated form and function of
all its working tissue and organ components? To address such questions, one must
embrace mechanobiology, a field that operates at the interface of biology, engineering,
and physics to describe how physical forces at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels
guide tissue development, physiology, and disease. Fundamental to mechanobiology is
mechanotransduction, the process by which cells sense and respond to physical stimuli
by converting them to downstream biochemical signals. Paul A. Sundaram’s book,
Mechanotransduction: Cell Signaling to Cell Response, brings together the latest develop-
ments in the field of mechanobiology, providing a rich foundation on the fundamental
cell machinery and associated mechanotransduction processes involved in health and
disease. This includes definition of the underlying mechanisms by which various cell
types modulate their characteristics and behaviors in response to (1) physical forces
(e.g., fluid shear, tension), (2) stiffness of the surrounding extracellular scaffold, and
(3) connectivity with other cells, with referenced applications specific to tissue and
organ systems, including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and nervous.
The latter chapters, focus on how fundamental mechanobiology and mechanotrans-
duction principles are inspiring design and development of engineered therapeutics,
devices, and computational simulations, with applications in medicine. This book
is designed for readers from all relevant fields, including engineering, life sciences,
physical sciences, and computational sciences. It provides an excellent reference and
current update for those new to or currently working within the mechanobiology
arena. This book represents a timely production and is highly recommended to all.

Sherry L. Harbin
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Purdue University,
West Lafayette, IN, United States

xv
This page intentionally left blank
CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The trillion or so cells in the human body are divided into functional groups, which act syn-
chronously and in a highly coordinated manner in performing the body’s physiological func-
tions. All these cells are controlled by means of signals, which are stimuli of various types,
which provide the specific impetus necessary to elicit the corresponding function. Many of
these stimulators are chemical in nature although the wide impact and the role of physical
parameters, including mechanical forces and factors in realizing routine functions, cannot be
denied. In biological terms, simply put, in all if not most processes, there is a reception of
the signal, an appropriate transduction, which is many times unknown, and a resulting
action, which brings about a response from the target whether it is an organ or a tissue or a
cell. For example, clearly, there is some chemical signaling occurring through neurotransmis-
sion, which causes both voluntary and involuntary muscle movement. The obvious physical
movement of our limbs and other parts of the body is accomplished by a complex set of sig-
nals and transduction. However, when we look at more subtle mechanical stimuli as initia-
tors of normal physiological function, there is no denying the added involvement of the
mechanical forces exerted by the cardiac pump in circulating the large volume of blood
throughout the body. The flow of blood exerts a mechanical force on the blood vessels
whose cells are constantly subjected to a stretching and relaxing force variations. Peristalsis is
the undulating movement of the muscles and involves the transport of food from the mouth
to the stomach through mechanical forces. The absorption of nutrients at the intestines along
this trajectory and finally excretion accomplished through bowel movement is also very
much a mechanical aspect of our bodily functions. Normal breathing is yet another example
where a cyclic force is imposed on cells that line the lung tissue with precision and consis-
tency. Mechanical forces become especially important in embryonic development during
the gastrulation phase. The sensitivity of most, if not all, cells in the human body to physical
or mechanical forces is undeniable. We will look at more specific examples about individual
cells and cell groups or tissues and understand the particular roleplay of mechanical stimuli
and the corresponding transduction to accomplish physiological functions in greater detail in
the chapters that follow.
While gross physiological functions such as kinesis or cardiac function are obvious
facts in relating and appreciating the importance of mechanical forces in the human
body, there are many more subtle effects that escape our attention. Protein expression
and conformation are very much controlled by mechanical factors at the cellular level.
In fact, the absence or deficiency of physical parameters in cellular functions has

Mechanotransduction r 2021 Elsevier Inc.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817882-9.00002-1 All rights reserved. 1
2 Mechanotransduction

resulted in a number of pathological conditions, disease, and dysfunction. The role of

mechanical forces in organogenesis is increasingly evident, and scientists have slowly
realized the utmost significance of the mechanical interaction between a cell and its
microenvironment, including neighboring cells as well as the extracellular matrix.
While the interest in the effect of mechanical factors on cells, tissues, and organs is
undeniable, only in recent years has there been an uptrend in the interest in under-
standing these phenomena. The effects of mechanical stimuli have been reported in
the literature for quite a while, but their critical roles in the proliferation of cells, cell
differentiation, motility, protein synthesis, etc. are only being recently researched. The
mechanisms underlying the positive and adverse effects on cells are being looked at
from the fundamental perspective; ideas on these are proposed based on experimental
evidence and reported. From the early publication of D’Arcy Thompson, scientists
have reported various efforts to understand the effects of the mechanical manipulation
of cells. However, a firm reference regarding the influence of mechanical forces at the
cellular level gained strength only in the 50s. Since then, our understanding of the
interplay between biological events influenced by mechanical forces has steadily
increased with critical discoveries resulting from the development of innovative
experimental techniques. This concept of mechanochemical transduction (mechanical
stimuli producing biochemical responses) and its role in a number of physiological and
pathological conditions gave further impetus to the study of this phenomenon.
From the early discovery that cancer cells could become adherent and spread on soft
agar to the mechanosensing capability of the plasma membrane, it has become evident
that physical forces play an important role in cell physiology. The tension differential
between the inner and outer cell membrane layers in erythrocytes, which leads to
changes in cell shape, was an important step in understanding cell migration. Armed
with the experimental data and techniques to report evidence of ion channel activation
by shear stress and the discovery of the integrin family of proteins, the 1980s opened the
field of mechanotransduction to a new level. With the development of sophisticated
experimental techniques, the understanding of the mechanisms such as integrin-
mediated mechanotransduction became more accessible. The innovative technique of
Traction Force Microscopy enabled the measurement of small-scale forces that cells
apply on their substrates, and the use of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to research
the unfolding of proteins followed by the ability over the years to delve even deeper
into miniscule structures such as the response of talin to mechanical stimuli has given us
a more profound understanding of the effect of mechanical stimuli on biological
responses in cells. AFM was skillfully utilized to stretch proteins and uncover domains
that heretofore unknown. More recent techniques that have enabled the researcher to
obtain nanoscale resolution to track the stretcharelaxation cycles of proteins. Novel
fluorescence techniques exposed the presence of molecules such as paxillin, talin, focal
adhesion kinase, etc. in the focal adhesion complexes. With such advances, it is
 Introduction 3

completely feasible to quantify cell-scale forces to a high level of precision and study this
parameter at different scales. In the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century, the
first fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based protein stretch sensor was developed.
In vivo techniques gained popularity, as live-cell imaging of talin, vinculin, and other
connectors helped our understanding of mechanosensors. Somewhere in this historical
time frame, the term mechanotransduction was introduced to describe the cell physiology
process whereby cells convert mechanical stimuli into biological responses. Innovative
experimentation and newly developed techniques have greatly helped us to understand
the essence of mechanical stimuli on cells, tissues, and organs in that hierarchical order.
Thus, it has become possible to understand the effect of mechanical forces and the cor-
responding cell response in an even more profound manner. Fig. 1.1 is a historical time-
line of the development of the study of mechanotransduction and the significant milestones
reached in this process. The recent development of sophisticated instrumentation has
enabled discovery and observation, identification, and description of several intracellular
molecular mechanisms. Substrates with submicron post-like structures were fabricated to
allow for the measurement of cell stress. More recently, cell division has been hypothe-
sized to be controlled by molecular motors, which operate in conjunction with the
microtubule-organizing centers to bring about this function. Also, a report about con-
stant communication between the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria through
local transport was recently highlighted.

Figure 1.1 A timeline of important milestones including discoveries and development of instru-
mentation, which has led to the phenomenal growth of the field of mechanotransduction in the
last few decades. AFM, Atomic Force Microscopy; FRET, Förster Resonance Energy Transfer or
Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; TFM Traction Force Microscopy; RPTP; Receptor Protein
Tyrosine Phosphatase. Data taken from Iskratsch T, Wolfenson H, Sheetz MP. Appreciating force and
shape-the rise of mechanotransduction in cell biology. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2014;15(12):825 33.
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‘Overland for gold’ will probably please the boy readers for whom it
is intended.”

+ − N Y Times 25:27 Je 27 ’20 360w

“The valuable part of the book is the description of gold mining in

the Rockies.”

+ Springf’d Republican p11a Ag 22 ’20

100w

CHELEY, FRANK HOBART. Stories for talks to

boys. *$2 Assn. press 808.8

20–4120

A collection of brief stories, “brought together here for the

convenience of Sunday school teachers, boys’ club leaders, Young
men’s Christian association secretaries, Boy scoutmasters, and any
others who are called upon to talk to boys informally or even
formally to address them.... They have been selected from the four
winds, ... clipped from books, magazines, and even dally papers, ...
gathered from sermons, personal conversations, and other sources....
They have been arranged under abstract headings for convenience in
finding what is wanted.” (Preface) Some of these headings are as
follows: Appreciation; Cigarettes; Convictions; Diligence; Health;
Ideals; Influence; Mother; Procrastination; Use of time; Vision, etc.
The author is connected with the boys’ work department,
International committee of Young men’s Christian associations, and
is author also of “Told by the camp fire,” “Camping with Henry,” etc.

“Just the kind of anecdotes which preachers, Sunday school

teachers and other speakers like to use to adorn the tale which points
a moral.”

+ Booklist 16:257 My ’20

CHELLEW, HENRY. Human and industrial

efficiency; preface by Lord Sydenham. *$2 (9c)
Putnam 658.7

20–21085

The book aims to map out the broad outlines of the problem of
human efficiency and lays no claim to academic or scientific
treatment. “Today as never before we are called upon to mobilize all
our thoughts, acts and emotions in the name of efficiency” but
“efficiency is not a mechanical thing; it is the science of life itself”
and scientific management and welfare work have only taken the
first steps towards humanizing the life of the worker. Contents:
Introductory; Human efficiency; What is fatigue? Applied
psychology; Selecting employees; Scientific management and the
welfare of the worker; Appendix: Handling the human factor;
Training executives for efficiency; How to establish an efficiency
club.
 “There is nothing very new in the matter or treatment; there are
the usual generalities and assumptions, but the book is clearly
written.”

+ Ath p1272 N 28 ’19 60w

“The volume fortunately is short, for it contains little particularly

worth reading that has not been much better said by others.” E. R.
Burton

− Survey 45:515 Ja 1 ’21 150w

CHENG, SIH-GUNG. Modern China, a political

study. (Histories of the nations) *$3.25 Oxford 951

(Eng ed 19–19083)

“Mr Cheng’s book is the work of a serious student of the troubles of

his native land, who has taken great pains to equip himself by an
academic training in this country [England]. He gives us a useful
analysis of the differences between north and south, which is the
crux of the situation at the moment; and the conclusion one comes to
is that there is a number of military gentlemen concerned who have a
profound suspicion of each other, and who for that reason maintain
semi-private armies somehow to maintain themselves in their rickety
positions. The struggle is said not to be territorial, and both sides pay
little attention to the rights or sufferings of the patient people.
Naturally the Far eastern policy of Japan fills a large space in the
book.... Mr Cheng would call upon the European powers to discard
the balance of power theory and stop extra-territorialism, and he
would like to see America, Great Britain, and France combine to set
China on her legs.”—The Times [London] Lit Sup

“Mr Cheng’s survey is admirable as an introduction to the study of

a great subject. As a plain statement of political conditions by one
who speaks for China his little volume is the most satisfactory
contribution to our understanding of her problem that has appeared
since the revolution.” F: W. Williams

+ Nation 110:858 Je 26 ’20 850w

“In part 1 which deals with constitutional developments in China,

he has presented a new and valuable account of recent political
events in his country.” W. W. Willoughby

+ Review 2:281 Mr 20 ’20 2100w

“There is a moderation in his description of existing conditions

which is not too common amongst Chinese politicians, and it is plain
throughout that he has tried to submit the welter to a detached and
impartial examination.”

+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p34 Ja 15

’20 360W

CHESTERTON, GILBERT KEITH. Irish

impressions. *$1.50 (3½c) Lane 914.15

20–1624
 In this collection of papers the author, in his characteristically
discursive fashion, gives his impressions of the Irish character as an
almost paradoxical combination of visionary dreamer and practical
peasant. He emphasizes the fundamental differences between the
English and the Irish out of which arise many if not all the tragic
mistakes made on both sides. The contents are: Two stones in a
square; The root of reality; The family and the feud; The paradox of
labour; The Englishman in Ireland; The mistake of England; The
mistake of Ireland; An example and a question; Belfast and the
religious problem.

“Neither his book nor his visit indicates any real appreciation of
the almost agonizing seriousness of the issue between his country
and Ireland.” E. A. Boyd

− Ath p1397 D 26 ’19 400w

Booklist 16:198 Mr ’20

“The title of Mr Chesterton’s book, ‘Irish impressions,’ is apt; the

author gives the temper of Ireland rather than direct information, yet
his conclusions agree closely with those reached by historians, such
as, for example, Professor Ernest Barker and Edward R. Turner. Mr
Chesterton has caught the spirit of the Irish. His entertaining volume
should be read not by itself but in connection with others.” N. J. O’C.

+ − Boston Transcript p6 F 25 ’20 1150w

“The Chesterton of ‘Orthodoxy’ and ‘Heretics’ has indeed suffered

a war-change. His recent ‘Short history of England,’ however, gave us
a glimmer of hope for him which this latest book confirms. There is,
however, little that is new or valuable said here about the eternal
Irish question, little that has not been said as well or almost as well
by others before.”

+ − Cath World 111:540 Jl ’20 180w

Ind 104:66 O 9 ’20 340w

Reviewed by Preserved Smith

+ − Nation 110:556 Ap 24 ’20 500w

“He proves in this book that even the most patriotic of Englishmen
can treat another patriotism with magnanimity.” F. H.

+ − New Repub 21:298 F 4 ’20 1500w

+ N Y Times 25:225 My 2 ’20 550w

“The defect in Mr Chesterton’s consideration of the Irish problem

is not that he is superficial, but that he is in a certain sense too
profound. He sees certain simple, but profound, truths so clearly and
so exclusively that he ignores other truths that may possibly be as
deeply rooted, and pays too little attention to superficial facts lying
outside the categories that he thinks in.”

+ − No Am 211:426 Mr ’20 1050w

“Mr Chesterton does not write for the man in the street; his style is
full of brilliant paradox, subtle allusion, and pages in which one must
read between the lines for their meaning. But the game is worth the
candle.”
 + Outlook 124:291 F 18 ’20 100w

“We know what to expect from Mr Chesterton: vividness, color,

wit, epigrams often a little strained but not seldom such as make one
catch one’s breath and wonder; clear-cut antitheses—sometimes cut
too clear to correspond accurately with situations that are complex
and confused, but always a stimulant to thought, and not least
arousing when they are most provoking. And it is the true
Chestertonian humor that greets us in these ‘Irish impressions.’” H.
L. Stewart

+ Review 2:284 Mr 20 ’20 500w

R of Rs 61:446 Ap ’20 80w

“This volume is a most notable contribution to the whole subject

and one of the most important achievements of Mr Chesterton’s long
and brilliant career.”

+ R of Rs 62:111 Jl ’20 220w

“No work of Mr Chesterton’s could be altogether dull, for even the

monotonous uniformity of his style is insufficient to conceal his
genuine humour and alertness of mind; indeed, his latest volume
takes rank amongst his most brilliant works of fiction; but as a
contribution towards the solution of the Irish problem, it is a fond
thing vainly invented.”

− + Spec 122:15 Ja 3 ’20 1600w

 “Throughout Mr Chesterton writes as an Englishman, but as an
extremely liberal Englishman.”

+ Springf’d Republican p6 Ja 27 ’20 800w

“His observations have, of course, value, and they are presented in

the form which has made Mr Chesterton a very popular writer; but
the reader of his ‘Irish impressions’ is left to wonder whether a less
facile pen and less nimble brain might not, if impelled by a humbler
spirit, have produced a still more valuable work.”

+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p661 N 20

’19 650w

“The volume has both the virtues and the defects to be expected
from one whose writing is almost entirely a succession of figures.
‘Irish impressions’ contains an amazing amount of true comment.”
N. J. O’Conor

+ − Yale R n s 10:209 O ’20 220w

CHESTERTON, GILBERT KEITH.

Superstition of divorce. *$1.50 (6c) Lane 173

20–5411

The book is a collection of five articles first printed in the New

Witness, apropos of a press controversy on divorce, with an added
conclusion. Throughout the characteristically epigrammatic and
brilliantly sketchy discourses the biological implications of marriage
stand out as the incontrovertible facts and the “common sense” that
has “age after age sought refuge in the high sanity of a sacrament.”
The much ado about divorce, the writer concludes, is due to the fact
that men expect the impossible from life and do not realize their
natural limitations. Contents: The superstition of divorce; The story
of the family; The story of the vow; The tragedies of marriage; The
vista of divorce; Conclusion.

“Though Mr Chesterton hardly adds anything new to the

controversy, his book is an interesting study in style.”

+ Ath p192 F 6 ’20 120w

“Mr Chesterton’s position is not very easy to grasp because he has,

to an unusual degree, indulged his propensity to break his argument
in order to comment on anything that occurs to him, and we are not
yet clear on some fundamental points. So far as we can see, Mr
Chesterton does not deal with the real case for divorce, and his book
leaves the question exactly where it was before.” J. W. N. S.

− Ath p235 F 20 ’20 1600w

Booklist 16:296 Je ’20

“One can agree perfectly with Mr Chesterton in his plea for greater
care in marriage partnerships and in hoping that the sanctity of the
family may be preserved. But his arguments seem often rather
strained, especially when coupled with his zeal in pumping up the
wildest and most extravagant and often frivolous fireworks of style.”
N. H. D.

− + Boston Transcript p6 Je 16 ’20 850w

 Dial 70:233 F ’21 60w

“It is at no point a serious or searching analysis of the present

situation in England as regards divorce.” R. D.

− Freeman 1:382 Je 30 ’20 330w

Ind 102:370 Je 12 ’20 240w
Lit D p116 S 18 ’20 1550w

“Mr Chesterton seems to imagine that divorce is now being

advocated for its own sake. To forbid divorce and remarriage
altogether, as a desperate remedy for extreme cases, is no more
rational or humane than it would be to forbid surgery to all because
most do not stand in present need of it.” Preserved Smith

− + Nation 110:827 Je 19 ’20 670w

“Mr Chesterton’s book is, like most of his work, delightfully

amusing, and incidentally contains much good sense. But it is a far
better treatise on marriage than on divorce. I object to divorce in the
same sense as I object to surgery. But if we are to have surgery let us
have it up to date and not as it was in 1800.” E. S. P. Haynes

− + Nation [London] 26:684 F 14 ’20 850w

Review 3:132 Ag 11 ’20 320w
Sat R 129:140 F 7 ’20 600w
 “Save in a sort of dreadful desert which the reader enters about the
middle of the book when he is taken through dreary tracts of guild
socialism and over a waste marked ‘Superior attractions of the
middle ages,’ the book is extraordinarily lively reading.”

+ − Spec 124:391 Mr 20 ’20 800w

“Mr Chesterton is cheerfully disinclined to subject his arguments

to empirical tests. He starts with a number of definitions and then,
having proved all the ramifications of his thought to be in accord
with those definitions, regards the case as closed. Satisfied with his
own logic Mr Chesterton conceivably may be; the reader’s
satisfaction comes from the skill and surprise of the dialectic, from
the ever-recurring paradox, from the humanity and good nature and
good sense that often glint through the subtile fabric of wit.”

+ − Springf’d Republican p8 Je 7 ’20 750w

“As is often the case with his writings, it hits mainly into the air
and does not meet the arguments of his opponents where they are
strongest. Also, one gets tired of the perpetual punning which once
gave this writer the reputation of being a great wit but which really is
quite easy to imitate.”

− + Survey 44:450 Je 26 ’20 260w

The Times [London] Lit Sup p91 F 5
’20 180w

CHEVREUIL, L. Proofs of the spirit world; tr. by

Agnes Kendrick Gray. il *$3 Dutton 134
 20–6884

“M. Chevreuil, whose ‘On ne meurt pas,’ here translated as ‘Proofs

of the spirit world,’ was awarded the prize for 1919 by the French
Academy of sciences, has brought together and discussed with
judicial penetration the evidence presented for the continued
existence of discarnate spirits by telepathy, abnormal psychology,
apparitions, materializations and similar phenomena. The book is
written in the scientific spirit and the author carefully examines the
evidence and the arguments presented by other investigators,
sometimes rejecting it altogether and sometimes coming to different
conclusions. One of the chapters makes an interesting discussion of
reincarnation.”—N Y Times

+ N Y Times 25:18 Jl 4 ’20 170w

Reviewed by Joseph Jastrow

− Review 3:42 Jl 14 ’20 350w

“It is no exaggeration to say that out of the multitude of the

psychical books which have appeared within these last few months,
‘thick as leaves in Vallambrosa,’ this one volume stands out in its
luminous clearness, its scholarly selection of scientific data, its
penetration into the realms beyond the senses, its sane exaltation of
feeling, and its remarkable comprehensiveness of the relation
between phenomena and spiritual philosophy.” Lilian Whiting
 + Springf’d Republican p11a Je 20 ’20
500w

CHILD, RICHARD WASHBURN. Vanishing

men. *$2 Dutton

20–7298

“The psychology of terror is the outstanding theme of ‘The

vanishing men.’ Indeed, the sense of terror communicates itself to
the reader, for the disappearance of two men and the portentous fate
hanging over the heroine are apparently insoluble mysteries. One
man plans an elopement with her but fails to appear and is not heard
from again. Afterwards she marries a wealthy man some years her
senior. He is attacked by a mania of fear, and eventually vanishes,
too. Then a wealthy young man falls in love with her, and she warns
him of the fate visited upon her previous lovers. But he is courageous
and optimistic and refuses to be deterred by such fantasies of the
imagination. He starts an investigation, and eventually presents a
simple solution of what happens previously.”—Springf’d Republican

“So ingenious a mystery that devotees will forgive the loose plot
structure and the improbable characterization.”

+ − Booklist 16:346 Jl ’20

“The whole problem is put and solved in an original way, and some
readers will be grateful for a mystery story without the old properties
and machinery.” H. W. Boynton
 + Bookm 51:584 Jl ’20 250w

“The story would greatly profit by a general tightening up. Its

charm lies entirely in the formulation of the mystery, and with its
solution the charm vanishes into incredibly thin air.” D. L. M.

+ − Boston Transcript p4 My 26 ’20 900w

Cleveland p107 D ’20 50w

“In ‘The vanishing men’ it is easy enough to pick flaws, but over
and above them all remains the great fact that the story interests the
reader from the beginning, holds his attention and brings up with a
smashing climax at the end.”

+ N Y Times 25:27 Je 27 ’20 310w

“Ingenious but over-melodramatic in its grisly conclusion.”

+ − Outlook 125:223 Je 2 ’20 60w

“The reader is thoroughly thrilled, Mr Child is able to hold the

atmosphere of mystery and terror.”

+ Springf’d Republican p11a Jl 18 ’20

170w

CHILDREN’S story garden. il *$1.50 (2c)

Lippincott