MISCELLANY

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26396, 14 April 1951, Page 3

MISCELLANY

Great Mistakes of the War. By Hanson W. Baldwin, military expert for the “New York Times.” Peter Huston Pty., Ltd.,' Sydney. 105 PP.

Hanson W. Baldwin is a distinguished military correspondent for a distinguished newspaper. His views, stated bluntly and clearly of what he considers cardinal military blunders of World War 11, will surprise many people. The United States, he claims, fought the war with one object only —to win. Its experts failed to take into account, he says, the probable effect oh the post-war world, and the prospect of a lasting peace in the policy decisions they made. He lists as major blunders the demand for the unconditional surrender, the belief that the Russians were nice people with whom the Americans could somehow get along friendily, the conduct by General MacArthur and others of the early defence of the Philippines, appeasement of the Communists in Asia, and the dropping of the atomic bomb. No one is spared, and the book pays surprising tributes to the skill in foreseeing the future of the British planners, notably Mr Churchill. The book will do no good to very many high reputations in the United States; and probably the Americans would tolerate such criticism from no one save an American. Yet Mr Baldwin makes his points convincingly and well.

The Velpke Baby Home Trial. Edited by George Brand, LL.B. War Crimes Trials, Vol. VII. William Hodge and Co. 356 pp.

The German war economy depended on slave labour which was drawn from every country into which the Nazis advanced. Many women were sent to forced work on German farms where their labour was pitilessly exploited. Children born to slave-lab-ourers were taken from their mothers so that they did not spend their time on their care, but could work for their masters. These children were sent to murder-homes. The Nazis responsible for setting up such a murder-home, and its staff were brought to trial before a British War Crimes Court, and m the present volume an official account of such a trial, that concerning the Volpke murder-home, is given in full. It was shown that from May to December. 1944, some 90 babies of Polish mothers were killed by neglect in that one place alone. The trial was conducted with a fairness standing in impressive contrast to the crimes of the accused of which only two were condemned to death. Th’s volume in the War Crimes Trials series is probably the most harrowing yet to be published. Students of history who want to understand the opposition of European peoples to German rearmament should not fail to read it.

Settlers. Edited and introduced by John Hale. Faber & Faber Ltd., 24 Rusell Sq, London. 392 pp..

One of the most interesting features marking the completion of the first hundred years of settlement in Canterbury has been the glimpses provided of the arrival, ‘early struggles and achievements of the pioneers. Some of these have been made possible by intimate and striking accounts of their lives preserved through private letters to friends and relatives who remained behind. A collection of such letters covering a broader canvas has been introduced and edited by Mr John Hale. Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, under the title ot “ Settlers.” The letters and journals are from early colonists who went to Canada. South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. M’- Hale has wisely set aside accounts of those who merely parsed through. His emphasis has been on those who stayed, cut down the forests and established the farms. Thus he has provided the beginnings of a domestic history of early colonial life. The choice from New Zealand includes Henry Weekes, William and John Deans. Charlotte Godley and Samuel Butler. As an introduction to each colony, Mr. Hale provides a brief historical sketch.

The Spirit of London. By Paul CohenPortheim. Revised by 'Raymond Mortimer. Batsford. 144 pp. Illustrated.

London has experienced a war that destroyed many of the landmarks which Mr Cohen-Portheim described when this book was first published in 1935. The spirit of London, though, remained unchanged in essentials despite the austerity of the last decade, and as it is more the spirit of the city than its actual buildings which Mr Cohen-Portheim is concerned with, this book is still an excellent description of the life of a great capital city. Revisions have been made by Mr Mortimer who, however, has never interfered with the original text except where bomb-damage blasted the author’s contentions, and war-time trends led to modifications in the habits of Londoners. That such a book can be re-issued after 15 years without significant changes shows how perceptive Mr Cohen-Portheim had been, and how unbroken remained the continuity of London life. This book give 4 the best introduction one knows of to London as the focal point of the Empire. Nearly a hundred excellent photographs illustrate the text.

Just as it Happened. By Newman Flower. Cassell. 274 pp.

In this book a publisher looks back over fifty years in the literary world. Sir Newman Flower, author of three books on musicians and of other works on subjects of varied and general interest, began his literary apprenticeship on a London penny weekly and eventually rose to be owner and active head of Cassell & Company Limited. Recently retired, he has now had time to collect together his valuable reminiscences. He has known some of the century’s most remarkable men and, women—his Dorset neighbour Thomas Hardy; Rudyard Kipling; H. G. Wells; D. H. Lawrence; Stefan Zweig; Sir Henry Irving; Lloyd George; Lily Langtry, and many others. He provides the reader with some new material on Robert Louis Stevenson, Oscar Wilde and W. E. Henley. His book is full of anecdotes and fascinating details of the intimate lives of the great. His accounts of his own life are no less interesting—particularly such attractive passages as that in which he describes his fondness for the Swedish countryside. Any reader of this book can be sure of both a laugh and some new piece of information on every page. And, needless to add, the book is very well written.

Yorkshire West Riding. By Lettice Cooper. Robert Hale Ltd. 285 pp.

Here is a welcome addition to “The County Books,” written by an accomplished novelist who was born in Lancashire but of Yorkshire parents, and was brought up mostly in the West Riding. Painstakingly written, this work never borders on the tedious, and of its kind it would be difficult to excel. It is an impression of the county as a whole and is brimful of fascinating studies of peoples and places. The historical section is particularly colourful. The book. too. is a picture of society in transition, half-way through the twentieth centufy. showing how the contemporary life is built up on the’ inheritance of the past. The work is highly descriptive and Miss Cooper reveals herself as a master of the subject to which she has applied herself. A Yorkshire classic, it should have a wide appeal and doubtless will be added to many a family collection of books worth reading—and re-reading. A Doctor in Siam. By Jacques M. May 224 pp. Jonathan Cape, London.

Many doctors in recent years have found the pen even more profitable than the scalpel, interest in other people’s medical worries being as keen as it is. • Dr. May’s new book, covering his eight years’ experience as a surgeon in Siam, should be both profitable and popular. The French Foreign Office sent him to Indo-China in 1932. and his life and list of patients and ailments in that interesting country make a readable and curious tale. He writes well, and his material, from the royal princess whose body was too sacred to be examined by a doctor to the English exile who in secret was smoking opium for years, is good fare for those who like an ineision-by-i incision account of a surgeon's work.