A MOTORING NATURALIST.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 2

A MOTORING NATURALIST.

Modern methods of locomotion are not • supposed to be conducive to nature study, but Mr. Oliver Pike has proved to the contrary. "The Great Winding Road" (Herbert Jenkins), is the record of some of his observations while motoring over the roads of England and is one of the most charming books of ; the kind. While on his journeys ho ; finds time to study the wild life around < him, especially on the by roads where ■ birds and beasts are little disturbed by . the scorching motorist. The book does i not set out to be scientific, but it is full . of information based on accurate obser- : vation and is written in a simple, [ straightforward way which is sufficient | i to whet the appetite of the reader for i further knowledge. Despite changes, • England still retains a large number of ; wild birds and beasts all over her countryside and some of the birds even \ pentra'te into busy towns and adapt i themselves to the changed conditions. . Mr. Pike emphasises the point that where a pair of birds do so adapt themselves their progeny and also others <of i the same species will follow their lead and do things in exactly the same way. | He also thinks that wild animals not only act oil instinct but. do actually think for themselves when they have to meet a new situation or difficulty. 1

The "Publishers' Circular" (London) records that the number of new books and new editions in 102S was 14,399, an increase of SSO over the figures of 1927. New New Year. Books. Editions. Totals. 1925 0,977 3,225 13,202 1020 .... 9,050 2.510 12,709* 1027 10,334 3,471 i 13,810 192S ~.. 10,012 3,787 14,390 ♦The year of the general strike The number of novels issued was 3r»20, and after fiction comes "juvenile" with 1439 and "religion" with 981 books. The months of the year during which therewas the heaviest publication were October, 1547; November, 1511, and March, 1440. Mr. Houston Peterson has written and Allen and Unwin havo published a long "biographical portrait" of llavelock Ellis, the distinguished English philosopher, scientist and critic. The subtitle of the book is "Philosopher of Love," and the reason for this is that Mr. Ellis' main work lias been the study of sex. His work in psychology of sex has given him an international reputation, hut he had to submit to a stupid prosecution for publishing in England a book on a subject that had a purely scientific interest. Though a great deal of his work is not for the average reader—and it may be questioned whether all his elaborate study has been entirely profitable to himself or the public—much of what he has written on many subjects has been read and enjoyed by a wide circle. Mr. Ellis is ono of the most learned of English writers and he writes very well. Mr. Peterson has produced an enthusiastic biography of a remarkable man. Without being particularly distinguished, Mr. John Cournos' "A Modern Plutarch" (Thornton Butter worth), is a readable collection of studies of modern ■ celebrities. Mr. Cournos' title is chosen because he groups his subjects in the Plutarch manner. Thus lie takes Mark Twain, "a tragic American," and Anatole France, and compares them; John Brown, the forerunner of the American Civil War, and Garibaldi; George Sand and George Eliot; Robert E. Lee and Simon Bolivar; Cecil Rhodes and Ferdinand de Lesseps. There is much sound observation in these biographies and after tho deliberate idol-corroding of the new school of biography—headed by Lytton Strachey and Philip Guedalla— it is refreshing to meet Mr. Cournos' enthusiasm. He himself deplores the tendency to depreciate the great by exposing their human qualities.