NEW BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 25673, 22 December 1945, Page 10

NEW BOOKS

1 BUTTERFINGERS' In ' Butterfingers,' Isabel M. Cluett, the New Zealand writer, better known to readers of her admirable children's books as Isabel Maud Peacocke, breaks new ground, almost literally, with a volume of verses on the pleasures and pains of gardening. They are humorous verses, which in sprightly lines deal with such subjects as the gardening expert, pests, scrabbling fowls and fighting oats, the conveniences of a compost heap and the unpleasantness of manure If the pains, or annoyances, seem to predominate in the description of her hobby, the author makes handsome amends when she writes: If you've gardening instincts in you, The soil you serve will always win you, And no man's heart can really harden While he loves and serves a garden. The illustrations, by Gwynneth Richardson, catch the humour exactly, and are particularly attractive. Published by A. H. and A. W. Reed. 6s. Climbers and trampers should find much of interest and use to them in a little book, ' Camping and Bushcraft,' written by Mr Arthur P. Harper, a member of the Alpine Club (London) and of the New Zealand Alpine Club. From 50 years' experience of bush and mountainous country the veteran alpinist offers hints on camping, crossing rivers, work in rough bush country, weather wisdom, and what to do in cases of accident and exhaustion. The author foresees that the war will be found to have intensified the lure of the open air, and that many inexperienced people, not attached to any of the tramping and climbing clubs, will be tempted to explore, bush country without securing expert advice. He hopes that the needs of such trampers will be met by the book, the publishers of which are Messrs A. H. and A. W. Heed, Wellington.

A genuine best-seller among New Zealand war books, Gunner Jim Henderson's story" of a Kiwi prisoner of war, has now been published in an "austerity" edition at a reduced price. Prior to the publication of this edition, ' Gunner Inglorious ' had completely 6old out five editions in six months, which is the best tribute that can be paid this excellent record. The £ublishers are Messrs Harry H. Tombs ,td.. Wellington.

The dedication at the beginning of 'Corinth and All That,' by Corporal Ered Woollams, " to the men who fell at Corinth,.and gratefully to the Greek people who, at the risk of their lives, sheltered Allied soldiers," summarises the story the author has to tell. In simple style and language, Corporal Woollams relates the exploits in Greece of a small group of New Zealanders who, threatened with capture by German paratroops on the Corinth Canal late in April, 1941, escaped to the hills, where, aided.by hospitable Greeks, they defied capture during a long period of extreme hardship, -endurance, and courage. Although it was finally a Greek who betrayed him to the Germans, the author developed an intense regard for a kindly people who suffered cruelly at the hands of the invader. 'Corinth and All That,' published by Messrs A. H. and A. W. Heed, Wellington, is worthy of a high position in the series of war books that have so far been written by returned Kiwis.