African Adventure

Southland Times, Issue 22969, 15 August 1936, Page 13

African Adventure

“Black Shirt, Black Skin.” By Boake Carter. George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., London. English price, 3/6. In this book, written shortly before the outbreak of the Italo-Abyssinian war, Boake Carter, a prominent American foreign commentator and war correspondent, delves deep into the possible outcome of the Italian conquest in Ethiopia. Mr Carter’s knowledge of the people and customs of Abyssinia under Haile Selassie makes interesting and enlightening reading, but the real value of his book is its outspoken criticism of the great European Powers and its warning against the menace o Oriental ambition. Like many Americans, Mr Carter is apprehensive of Japan, and he condemns the division or the Occident into armed antagonistic camps, urging a united front against the threat of domination by a coloured race. The author sees with dismay the growing friction over colonies, and says that empire owners must agree to a division of territory between them and then, with the non-imperial countries of the West, divert the course of their economy and civilization. The book is crammed with facts, but Mr Carter s style of “thinking out loud” is so entertaining that his work, far from being weighty is thought-provoking and stirring. - ■ • ■