VINCENT SHEEAN IN CHANGED MOOD

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 258, 29 July 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

VINCENT SHEEAN IN CHANGED MOOD

Personal Experiences In Europe

“Tlie Eleventh Hour,” by Vincent Sheean (London, Hamilton).

Something has happened to Mr. Sheean since he wrote "In Search of History.” In fact, a great deal lisrs obviously happened to him during the last 12 months, as his most recent book, “The Eleventh Hour,” tells, and it has definitely affected his writing. He is now the seasoned foreign correspondent, qualified to speali upon almost any international topic, but his recent experiences in Europe appear to have taken their toll of his vitality. He has lost his buoyancy. . No doubt the present state of affairs in Europe is such as to depress every thinking.person, but while po one can see what the end of it all will be, even Mr. Sheean does not seem to have got far by writing of the last 12 months. As foreign correspondent of the New York “Herald-Tribune,” he visited all the focal points in Europe. He begins his book with a bus ride through London .which leads him to reflect upon many British institutions in a thought-provoking manner. Thence he journeys to the Ebro, Barcelona and Madrid. He visits battalions of tin.' Internationales, wanders backward and forward to the Republican front lines, and is often bombed, and, in Madrid, shelled, by Fascist planes and guns. He came out of Spain in March, 1939, with the conviction that the Republican resistance to Fascism in the face of such overwhelming odds was the one worthwhile thing in Europe. He returned to Spain several times. What his feelings must be now that the Spanish Republic has succumbed, it is not difficult to guess. He is very bitter against the farce of non-intervention. Indeed, he is very bitter against both Britain and France for the parts they have played in letting Hitler snatch so much territory and bring the torments of Hell to so many unoffending peoples. Mr. Chamberlain is portrayed as the arch-villain of the whole piece. Mr. Shtean does not think Hitler would have fought for Czechoslovakia had Britain, France and Russia taken definite concerted action. In view of the difficulty Britain and Russia have had in trying to arrive at an agreement in recent months, this seems a tall order even for the desperate days of September last. However, Mr. Sheean has a right to voice his opinion, and admittedly he was an eye-witness of events, for expecting a crisis in September, he went to Prague to toe ready for IL Mr. Sheean also attended the Evian conference which was called together to deal with the problem of Jewish refugees. He came away disgusted at so much talk and so little action, in fact, such apathy in the face of the sufferings of Jews wherever Nazism holds sway. It is the same sense of futility which brands over the whole book. It is not a book one can well avoid reading; all who wish to learn European history for the past 12 months should read it—but for enlightenment rather than entertainment.