LAND AND W A T 1-: R . 
January 27, igi6. 
BOOKS THAT EXCEL. 
SIR JOHN MOORE. 
'The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry." By Sir 
Henry Newbolt. ("Country Life" Library). 6s. net. 
For the earlier 
chapters of this vol- 
ume, the chapters 
which concern the old 
43rd and 52nd regi 
ments of foot, tiu- 
.lutiior has very evi- 
dently relied mainly 
on general history 
more than on the 
histories of the two 
regiments, and he has 
specialised on the 43rd 
more than on the 
52nd. Full promin- 
ence is given to the 
association of the 32nd with Sir John Moore, who was 
colonel of the regiment, and made of it and of the 42nd 
units in the famous light division which under Wellington 
assisted so largely in the Peninsular struggle. Moore's 
retreat to Corunna is graphically described, and these 
earlier chapters, more especially those in which the taking 
of Quebec and the American War of Independence are 
detailed form the best part of the book. 
The work of the two battalions in the Mutiny is very 
briefly summarised, and their service in the East as a whole 
is mentioned rather than described. The author has been at 
some pains to trace the doings of the Oxford and Buckingham- 
shire Light Infantry in the present war up to the first battle 
of Ypres, and this part of the book is in keeping with the earlier 
chapters. It is a stirring story rather than a regimental 
record ; we look vainly for the point at which the regiment's 
present title was conferred on it, for the author is concerned 
more with action than with dry detail, and is, as every good 
historian should be, thoroughly in love with his subject. 
" The Balkan Peninsula." By Frank Fox. (A. and C. Black.) 
7s. 6d. net. 
The problems that have vexed the Balkan States for so 
long arise, for the most part, out of the diversity of races 
inhabiting the Peninsula, and in this book — or rather, in the 
first part of it — an outline of the various races is given. The 
later chapters are devoted to the experiences of the author 
as a war correspondent during the Balkan War which preceded 
the present great conflict — the book was written prior to the 
outbreak of the European War. The historical sketch, out- 
lining the rise and fall of Turkish power in the Balkans, forms 
a concise and useful summary with regard to the causes of 
Balkan unrest. 
The later chapters extol the Balkan peasant and execrate 
his rulers, for the most part ; there is little to choose, the 
author says, between Turk and Christian. " Always Turks 
and E.xarchate Christians and Patriarchate Christians are 
plotting against one another new raids and murders," but " if 
freed from the promptings of priests and politicians the Balkan 
peasants of any race are quite decent folk." These conclusions 
are based on experience of Balkan life, and mainly on life 
among nations at war with each other. 
The work is interesting throughout, and many of its 
chapters form useful matter on which to form a judgment of 
the various states described, but probably the author's estimate 
of Bulgaria has been modified to a certain extent, since the 
writing of the book, by recent disclosures and events. 
"The Note Book of an Attache." By Erie Fisher Wood. (Grant 
Richards). 6s. net. 
As voluntary attach^ to the American Embassy at Paris 
Mr. Wood saw the effect of the opening stages of the war on 
the French capital, and lived through the breathless expect- 
ancy that preceded the battle of the Marne, He visited the 
Marne and Ai-ne battlefields, went to Berlin, to London, 
to Berlin again, to Vienna, and to Buda Pesth. A shrewfi 
observer, he made deductions from the facts that he saw, and 
many of these deductions are distinctly unpleasant to any 
reader of AlUed nationality — and even more unpleasant for 
American readers. The book is an honest and unbiassed 
rep)ort of things seen, and is also useful evidence of certain 
phases of the first seven months of war. 
It must be read, however, with a consciousness of later 
happenings. Mr. Wood saw an undisturbed Germany, and 
the German war machine was at its st ongest in the days 
of which he writes. His conclusions, for instance, with regard 
to the French medical services and the relative strengths of 
aeroplane services, true in the time of which he writes, need 
revision now. Still, the value of his work, due mainly to his 
impartial honesty, remains, and the interest of his comment 
on what is already matter of history is unquestionable. 
" The Individual." By Muriel Hine. (John Lane.) 6s. 
In spite of the difficulty of her subject, Miss Hine has 
managed to make this new novel as attractive and as stimulat- 
ing as those which ],vcreded it. The problem, in this case, is 
the reconciliation of theory with life ; Tavcmer, successful 
doctor and eugenist, was confronted by tlie problem of either 
living up to his own theories with regard to the continuity 
of the race, or tacitly admitting himself a renegade. The 
way out that he chose was a selfish one, in that it affected his 
wife more than himself — but in the end the problem was 
solved for him, and tlie book thus becomes an illustration of 
the fact that life solves its own problems. The title is merely 
a compression of the statement that the individual should 
be sacrificed to the community where the interests of individual 
and community are at variance, 
Taverner, sympathetically drawn, is interesting. Elisma, 
his wife, is more harshly lined in, and we cannot help feeling 
that her side of the case miglit have been more definitely 
stated. In spite of this, however, there is no denying the 
interest of the book as a whole, while the delicate problem 
of which it treats is handled in a way that clears it of sugges- 
tiveness and makes for success. In spite of traces of mid- 
night oil, this is undoubtedly among the novels of the year 
that count. 
" Thornley Colton." By Clinton H. Stagg. (Simpkins, Marshall 
and Co.) 6s. 
The eight " problems " that are solved by Thornley 
Colton in the pages of this book are of a nature to make even 
the seasoned reader of detective stories forget about bed-time 
and go on reading. Colton, in direct succession to Sherlock 
Holmes in ingenuity, is a bhnd man, and his theory is that 
sight is a drawback rather than an aid to the detection of 
crime, since in seeing the obvious people miss tjie really 
important things. The problems include such weird things 
as a pistol, held by no human hand, shooting a man stone 
dead, and a ruby vanishing in mist from the hand that held it. 
How these things are accomplished is all explained by the 
wonderful Colton, who, to tell the truth, is almost too wonder- 
fxil for full credence— if the reader stops to think. The 
power of the stories lies in the fact that the reader does not 
stop to think, but is so engrossed in the mystery and its 
solution that he reads on fo the end— and then begins another 
problem. Dramatic situations abound, and in spite ol a 
'certain reiteration of detail in some of the stories Thornley 
Colton has few equals in detective fiction. 
Lessons in Thrift, by G. C. Pringle (Teachers' War 
Service Committee, Edinburgh, 3d. net) is a series of notes 
on the subjects of thrift in general and thrift in time of war. 
The writer has outlined in these notes a series of lectures 
suited not only for use in schools and colleges, but also for 
lecturers to adult audiences. The work is an admirable 
summary of the doctrine and practice of thrift in war time 
forming a brief but complete exposition of the subject in 
outline. All proceeds of the sales of the book are devoted 
to the Teachers' War Fund, but, apart from this, the circula- 
tion of such a work should be furthered in every way, since 
the work itself is of distinct service to the natiori in such 
times as the present. 
A complete and authoritative summary of the various 
aspects of tlie great war is provided in The British Dominions 
Year Book for 19T6, issued by the British Dominions General 
Insurance Co., of Royal Exchange Avenue, London. The 
compilers of the work have secured the work of specialists in 
military and naval subjects, in finance, international law, and 
other subjects bearing on the war, so that the book is of 
definite historical and statistical value as a record of the 
year 1915. In addition to war articles the book contains 
much interesting and useful general information, and on the 
whole .it must be regarded as one of the best of the 
many annual handbooks issued. 
The January number of the Asiatic Review provides an 
exceptionally long and well-varied hst of contents. Note- 
worthy articles are " Some Parallels of the Present Situation " 
by a military correspondent, which deals with current fallacies 
in comparing the present war with the Napoleonic campaigns, 
and incidentally provides a summary of the mihtary situation ; 
" Carmen Sylva," by Oliver Bainbridge, a sketch of the 
Queen of Roumania, and a literary supplement which gives 
special prominence to recent works on the Near and Far East 
An article giving " Impressions " of Persia and Mesopotamia 
will also be found of great interest at the present time. 
20 
