A Miscellany

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31345, 15 April 1967, Page 4

A Miscellany

The Emergence of Greek Democracy. By W. G. Forrest. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 247 pp. Index. In the eighth century B.C, the average Greek was wholly dependent on an aristocratic master. Three hundred years later, in Athens at least, men had come to realise they were autonomous human beings and that each had an equal claim to a voice in running society. Mr Forrest’s book traces the steps by which the Greeks acquired this realisation. He examines the expansion of the Greek world, the revolution which broke the aristocrats* absolute political control, and the idea of a defined constitution which confirmed the laws aa something with a sanction higher than that of any men who might be administering them. Although tiie period covered moves from Homer to Plato, the emphasis is on ordinary citizens rather than the famous leading figures. The result is an unusual picture of early Greece, enhanced by 80 illustrations and six maps. "Greek Democracy” is one of the paperback series, the World University Library. Travis V.C. By James Gaston. A H. and A W. Reed. 128 pp. Mr Gasson’s interest in Dick Travis, the soldier who, in the 1914-18 War, won great fame in New Zealand military history, is of long standing. His book is the result of many year’s research end correspondence during his leisure time. The author tells, simply and factually, the story of Travis, whose real name was Savage. He makes no attempt to speculate where details are necessarily unknown, as for example in the early quarrel between father and son which led to Savage disappearing from Opotiki and Travis appearing in Southland. When the author comes to discuss Travis in France, where his fame was chiefly earned, Mr Gasson brings out vividly, yet without elaboration, the individual courage and independence of this man. The main movements of the war in France are sketched in very briefly, yet sufficiently to form a background for Travis’s extraordinary exploits and character. The writing throughout is simple and unadorned if a trifle given to short anecdotes and some of the many illustrations are all too vivid. One Man’s Log. By Edwin Ferdon. Allen and Unwin. 194 pp. and Index. The many readers of Thor Heyerdahl’s “Aku-Aku” will be delighted to discover "One Man’s Log” which is in effect exactly what the title indicates. Edwin Ferdon, a scientist who accompanied the expedition to Easter Island, gives here his personal observations of and reactions to the voyage round the South Pacific Islands. Mr Ferdon has taken part in several archaeological and geographical expeditions, mainly in South America, but tithough he has frequently written articles for scientific publications “One Man’s Log” is his first venture into general writing. One wishes he had made the venture sooner, or at

lease that he will make it again. The writing is clear, concise and pleasing; his observation is, as one would expect, accurate and sympathetic and the result is some very readable accounts of the customs of the islanders on Pitcairn and Easter Islands. There is too an interesting revelation of the day to day life of the expedition with the weeks of weary painstaking work and the aching loneliness of separation from one’s family recorded as faithfully as the high spots of discovery and celebration. This is a book well worth reading for the material it contains and for the way that material is presented. Rock and Rope. By Showell Styles. Faber. 174 pp. The appeal of this book to a reader not familiar with the climbing areas of Britain is limited, for Mr Styles describes his rock-climbing there in meticulous detail; he recalls, with a thoroughness that soon becomes tedious, each hand and foot-hold, each lay-back and chimney on most of the classic routes. Even for mountaineering readers, such exhaustive reminiscing soon pails. There are also chapters on the author’s climbs in the European Alps, Norway, and wartime Palestine and Malta. Another thing which robs the book of flavour is the absence of real names. He climbs with “Alton,” with "Dick,” with "Jacko.” No surnames are given, and we are deprived of any personal knowledge of his companions and their place in the mountaineering fraternity of the day. There is, unfortunately, little to distinguish the anecdotes in the book, from those that might be told by any climber in Mr Styles's position. We look, in vain, for the poetic felicities of a Frank Smythe or the down-to-earth realism of a Edmund Hillary. An occasional phrase of merit catches our eye—he describes the memory of mountain days as, “treasure that cannot be lost or stolen while memory endures,” but such plums are dotted all too sparsely throughout this rather stodgy pudding. Animals that Changed the World. By P. D. C. Davis and A A Dent Phoenix House. 119 pp. and index. This book is adapted from the “History of Domesticated Animals,” by Professor F. E. Zeuner, and is said to be for young readers. Certainly it would be suitable for school libraries, but there is plenty of absorbing material for anyone with an interest in either animals or early history. After introductory chapters on the general process of domestication, each domestic animal is described separately in terms of the world species from which it was developed, and the archaeological evidence for its domestication. It is not surprising to And that the first domesticated animals were dogs. As for cats, the authors may say that they were the tost creatures to be domesticated because they were not needed till stored grain attracted mice, but anyone who knows the nature of cats will suspect that they chose to stay wild until there was enough furni-

to sharpen their daws on. There are one or two errors of fact, surprising in so authoritative a work. The last few wild specimens of Prjewalski’s horse are certainly not being deliberately harned to extinction, and as for the footnote on pigs which says “The Maoris brought them across th e Pacific to New Zealand.” . . Dear oh dear.

Sea-Cockles of the Manukau. By Mavis Brambley. Reed. 131 pp.

Young Mavis was a practical, healthy fanner’s daughter when she met Bill Brambley over thirty years ago. So she settled down very willingly to life in one of the most isolated parts of New Zealand, Tipitai, where for years the only access was by boat or beach. For the Brambleys, fishing and farming went hand in hand, and meant both fun and profit. Mavis’s smoked snspper became famous as far south as Wellington, and when occasionally she and Bill landed an extra large shark, the event would hit the headlines of the Auckland newspapers. Lster, a stranger introduced them to the excitement of archaeological exploration, for on their land was the site of a Moa-hunter settlement. The Brambleys have a family of five children, who have shared the unusual and satisfying way of life which Mrs Brambley describes in this book.

Your Wonderful Bsby. By Willis J. Potto. Allen and Unwin. 262 pp.

In this English edition of his book Dr. Willis J. Potts, the American originator of the “blue baby” heart operation, gives advice on child care from birth to the teen-age years. With warmth and humour, he recognises that children are individuals who cannot be brought up "by the book”—even his own. He also acknowledges that the most conscientious parents occasionally lose their tempers and emphasises that in loving, secure homes this does no harm to child or parent

As well as information on the caloric requirements of infants and children (including a reducing diet for teen-agers) toilet training, sleep requirements and similar subjects usually covered in child-care books, the author has included chapters on mongol babies—should they be placed in institutions or remain at home? —heart disease in children, leukaemia and other topics, often not dealt with in books of this kind. White the comments are necessarily generalised, the advice is wellbalanced and Dr. Potts has made use of information supplied by thousands of parents during his many years in private practice and from tetters in response to the newspaper column he writes. His final words of advice are to those often forgotten parents of the past—the grandparents. Razor Edge; the story of a Youth Club. By Mary Blandy. Gollancz. 207 pp. The Youth Club to question is in an amorphous unlovely English town, and the story of its establishment and development only a step removed from reality. The author has been personally involved to the frustration and satisfaction that is youth work, and presents her story competently, and with evidence of patiently-acquired tolerance. The names of places and people have been, the author states, merely "disguised.” Mrs Blandy makes it dear that youth workers, like most normal social workers, cannot always manage to be all sweetness and light After a particular Christmas with the Youth Club, involvings house-to-house collection backed by “canned carols,” and a dance and buffet for the members put on by the staff, most of the youth-workers Mrs Blandy felt, if asked how they liked young people, would have replied “Parboiled.” One fact comes through dearly—Mrs Blandy and her helpers fulfilled a need in the community, and through tact, enterprise and sheer hard work, profoundly influenced the lives of their charges, and in most cases won their friendship.