In the introduction by Pearl S. Buck she pointed out how the Chinese had "viewed with interest and sometimes with satisfaction the world war, the depression, the breakdown of prosperity and the failure of scientific men to prevent these disasters."
這一年，羅斯福方任美國總統，希特勒自任終身總理，居禮夫人逝世；這時候，「中國人好像狠著勁兒地欣賞世界大戰爆發，企業崩潰、失業不景氣，以及科學家嘗試挽救此等厄運的失敗」。