NEW BOOKS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16323, 21 September 1918, Page 7

NEW BOOKS.

"WINGED WARFARE." Under this title, Major Bishop, V.C., 0.5.0. M.C., one of the most distinguished British airmen, gives what is perhaps tho best account yet published of an airman's fighting experiences in the present war, and the tactics whic>i lave been fouud to be mewt successful jn hunting the Huns in tho air. Majnr Bishop, who is a Canadian, thinks it was the mud that made him tako to fljing. He had gone over as an officer of the Missisauga Horse, of Toronto, but had no difficulty in getting a transfer. He give 9an interesting account of his training, and incidentally tells us that observers tako enormous risks, and seldom get any of the glory. Men in the Corps recoguiso and appreciate the qua'ity of their work, but the public at largo rarely hears of thcr.». Tho feats of the fighting planes form the spectacular and fascinating side of flying, but in a sense tho daily drudgery of bombers, photographers, and observers is of even greater value to the fightin" men or. the ground "The British infantryman," he tells us, "takes rt as a serious : nsult to have a Hun mat-rune flving ever bini. 'It shouldn't b e done, ho says, and be grouses about it for weeks. How different with the German infantryman- Our planes are on top of them most of the time. Tlie Hun 1 ' used to write wrathful letters home about it." "It is great fun,' says tho author, "to fly very low along tho German tronches and give them ft burst oi machine-gun bullets as a greeting in tho morning, or a good-night salute in tho evening. They don t it a bit. But wo love it; wo love to seo the Kaiser's proud Prussians running for cover like so many rats. ' One seldom, if ever, sees any detailed account of tho hand-to-hand combats which take place on land during the present war. Possibly they would soon become monotonous reading, seeing that even the genius of Homer did not succeed in preserving similar descriptions from the charge of dullness. There is something especially thrilling, however, about tho description of a fight in tho air. No two encounters are exactly alike, and every stage of the combat seems full of dramatic surprises. Major Bishop gives a vivid account of his first victory, whon he had a very narrow escape from ending up as a prisoner 'n German hands. After his opponent had "crashcd," Major Bishop discovered to his dismay that his own engine had filled up with lubricating oil, and had stopped dead, still. Thero was nothing for tt but to land. Fortunately he found that he had just barely crossed over into his own country—the last 150 yards of his gli3e had landed him clear of the It was after ho got the Victoria Cross that he fell into a very nn6ty enemy trap. He had suddenly seen a single machine of the enemy in front- of him, and 6lightly below. He writes: —

- "It seemed. too good to be true, and I should have known that there was something funny about it; however, down I went on top of him. but somehow missed with my first ourst of fire. He dived away a bit and I l;ept on after him, but by continually diving he kept just out of my reach. This started at 10,000 feet down., and -I finally found myself at 2000 feet, and well in the enemy territory. Then, at last, I suspected a trap, and looked about to see ,wHat was likely to happen. Sure enough, from above enemy macliinos were coming down, after me, bo I .turned towards my own lines. There in front of me were twelve more of the Huns. This left nothing to do but turn back and fly farther into enemy territory. This I did, losing height so as to increase my speed. Along I went, with the whole swarm be- . hind. It was lucky for me that my machine was so much faster than theirs. I had to zigzag in my course until I was at least 400 j;ards in the lead of their first machine, then I flew straight?. Dusk was coming on, and I was late , and worried as to what to do. However, there was no advantage in giving in, so I went on as fast as I could tear. I was terrified that I would meet another patrol, but after I had gone about twenty miles straight east, I realised the chance for that was very slight, and this comforted me a great deal. But I was still worried as to how I was to get home, as I knew they •would wait higher up for me if I climbed. As dusk settled down I managed to. shake off the pack and get completely out of their sight. Then I climbed steadily and turned back towards our own.lines. It was light in the upper sky, but quite dark near the ground, and I was at 'least thirty miles over the German lines. I was never so mad in my ' 'life, the annoying part bjmng; that such a simple little trick had fooled me into getting into such a nasty position. I had to fly by compass in .the. approximate direction of home, .and just as I reached the lines sighted a lighthouse which I knew, flashing in the dusk. I was happy then and able to' land in the' . last five minutes of. light. If I had been just that much later, it would have meant a bad crash landing, for I would have - had l no idea as to the exact spot where the aerodrome was; but luck was with me still, and I came down without even straining a wire of my machine. I was disgusted with myself,, as it was a bas snow, taken all around, and so mad that I would not hand in a report to tell the shameful tale•. on me;" There is very little in this book of the German chivalry in the air of which wo* have-occasionally heard. Ope of the first warnings which v Major Bishop received was to be on his guard against the German "head-hunters." These are German machines that fly very, high .and avoid combat with anything like an equal nnmber, but are quick to pounce down upon a straggler or- an Allied machine that been damaged, and is bravely.; struggling to get home. "Fine sportniansliip"thatl" as the author remarks. (London: Hodder and Stoughton.) . MORE NAVAL SKETCHES. We cannot hear .too much about our. gallant Navy, and we welcome abotber volume of sketches of life in the Grand Fleet by the author of "Tn the Northem Mists," "Grand Fleet-Days," etc. The present volume is entitled "Naval. Intelligence," and is fully as humorous and -entertaining as its predecessors One delightful little sketch "The Three Squeakers,'" describes the arrival of three little "naval cadets on board H.M.S. Fearnaught, looking more like small. schoolboys rigged out for a fancy dress ball, than naval officers. "All of them were pink.faced, and all had thick hair growing well down over the temples towards their bright eyes, and springing luxuriantly from the crown of their foreheads. Indeed, had this hair been allowed to grow a little longer, they could very well have passed themselves off as girls—yes, and quite pretty girls." Under the discipline of his ' Majesty's N-avy "th« squeakers" grew both bodily and mentally with amazing rapidity, and we are shown how little by little they, learned their trade. We get an intimate picture of the good-natured chaffing and chipping that goes on in wardroom circles. We are told that it is very much on the same lines as when a fond mother calls her "liUle Ugly," taring exhausted

all the words in her vocabulary to erprosß handsomeness and beauty,, or when a schoolboy addresses his chum as "you silly rotter," meaning that he is the finest fellow in existence. The writer goo 3 on to say:— "So you will understand p?rfpt'tlr what is meant when p.n executive lieutenant addresses an engineering ditto in such terms as these:— "'Lwk here you! Who care you permission to sit on the same settoe as me? Get down to your stokehole —proper place for the likes of you!' To which the correct retort is— 'And wh-r oron't you up on deck, or on the bridge? What's the use of mv keeping the ship in tho state of high efficiency down below, if you | .lust slack about here and are too tired to stroll about on the bridge while the quartermaster dee's the ■work?' " 'On the bridge?' comes the Retort Courteous. 'Why, have'nt I been up thore the whole blessed forenoon, fretting half-blinded by the disgustinp fimbko yoi; have been chucking up j through the foremost funnel? Ba.l • stoking, that's what it is! I can seo | I shall have to come below myself j nnrl teach you your job.' "Or, with special reference to one I of the 'Halfbrosds' sitting quietly in ! the rorner of tho wardroom—'-veil within earshot, of course —'Well, I must sny it's pretty hard on the Chief, having to put up" with these engineering stiffs from the bench. Oh, there you nre. Carburet! Sorry, I didn't know you were anywhere near!' (Which Is. of course, obviously and openly untrue!) "To tnis, the countercheck-not-at-all-TjUi'iprisons may take the form of bodily assault; "and. as Mr Carburet is frequently a hefty specimen well exercised in a strenuous life ashore." the result i 9 not always to tho advantage of tho R.N." Incidentally, we get an insight into somo of the secrets of journalism. It was on the occasion of the King visiting tho Fleot, and the writer, meeting one of the newspaper correspondents, asked him among other questions how much space he expected to fill in his newspaper with his description of tho King's visit to the Fleet. " 'That dcponds,' ho said. 'I cannot eay definitely just yet; some other news might happen to come in, and my account might have to be exit down. For instance, on the last occasion, when the King visited the Fleet a yep,'" ago, the account was completely spoiled by the battle of Jutland!'" (London: Hodder and Stoughton.) AFTER THE WAR. The public are only just beginning to realise that noxt to winning the war the most difficult task in, front of us is the necessary re-organising of society on a working basis after peace is declared. Every phase of the important subject should be thought out beforehand, so that the necessary measures may be taken in hand in a systematic fashion when the time comes, instead of trusting to hasty improvisation. In •'Labour and "Capital After 'tho War" we have a collection of essays dealing with various phases of the problems to be grappled with. The_ contributors include many high authorities on the subjects dealt with, amongst whom may be mentioned the Bishop of Birmingham, Mr J. R. Clynes, the new Food Controller, and President of the i National Union of General Workers, Lord Loverhulme, Sir Hugh Bell, A. Susan Lawrence, Assistant Secretary of the Women's Trades' Union. League, etc., etc. The Right Hon. J. H. "Whitley, M.P., I>eputy-Sr>eaker of the House -of Commons, contributes an introduction, in which he commends this book to attention of all thoughtful and patriotic men and women. • Ho mentions that Mr Clynes, Miss Laiwrence, Mr Button, and" Professor man, who are among the writers or these essays, were his colleagues on a Reconstruction Committee, which has made proposals for tho setting up of joint industrial councils and works committees, of employera and employed in each industry and factoiy. The report of the committee embodying these proposals is printed as an appendix; (London: John Murray, Albemarle street W. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs. Ltd.) RECENT FICTION. Edith Ayrton Zangwill, already favourably known by her two good novels, "Teresa" and "The First Mrs Mollivar," has now produced an excellent story of theatrioal life, "The Riso of a Star." This introduces first a highly successful actress, Miss Frances West, otherwise Mrs Lennox, who has to leave the stage in the height of her triumphs because her daughter becomes engaged to an American millionaire who dislikes the idea of an actress mother-in-law. But the "star" who "rises" during the pleasant progress of the novel is Miss West's granddaughter, Joan, a delightful chila, born with an' irrepressible tendency to tread the boards. In spite of all prohibitions, she discovers her gift for dramatic work; and then occurs the amußing episode, quite new in fiction, of a struck girl not only renouncing her father's millions, but proceeding to elope with her grandmother! After twenty years of dull luxury, Miss West is prevailed upon to return to the old precarious life of an acti ess upon tour; while her young companion onderstudies, learns her business, has experiences painful and pleasant, and finally wins to the height of her dosire. Joan captures even her father's approval, as well as tho heart of the American public, when she stars as Juliet, the faithful grandmother playing Nurse. "The Rise of a Star" will add to Mrs Zangwill's reputation for interesting and individual work. (London: John Murray.) "The Cross of Heart's Desire" is an American story by Gertrude Pahlow. Its aim is to associate the mystic with the everyday, something after the manner'of ''The Passing of tho Third Floor, Back." Marcia, a self-centred aimless young woman, is saved from suicide, and won to all sorts of generous efforts for others, by the strange power of a cross, which conveys to any wearer a promise of "the heart's desire." Whether she continues to, wear it, or nobly, passes it on to a girl yet mora in need, the beneficent influence Btill prevails. The idea o'f the book is quite good, but it should have. been worked out more briefly, and by: a more poetical pen. (London: Metnuen and Oo.) "Little Miss Muffet" is described by the author, Elizabeth Kir by. as "a whimsical invention." Her efforts to be "whimsical" are unceasing, but her literary style i 6 atrocious, her taste bad, and the result is a very poor novel. (London: Duckworth and Co. Christchurch:. Simpson and Williams, Ltd.) Mre Victor Rickard's title "The Fire of Green Boughs," has a pathetic meaning. It is the fire of war consrummg England's youth, whilo the elder men, or the drv wood, are far off from tnet furnace. "Mrs Rickard's vision of England in tho early days of the wa r shows her a multitude of smug, complacent people, afraid of nothing but air raids, who were piling up war profits while the young men died. "The mdiff renc« and callousnete of old age, Bhe beheld ruling the land. "The Fire of Green Boughs" is not great as a butt it contains much clever though pessimistic, thinking; and the story has a decidedly unusual heroine in by.via Truer a voung woman who at one time steals'her dead aunt's jewels, and at another tends a wounded German, spy, out of pure charity, and. at her own personal risk. (London: Duckworth JaTd Co. Chrifitchurch: Simpson andi Williams.)