Book Reviews

(By R. W. Robson)

The Yellow Joss, and other Tales. By Ion L. Idriess.

MR. IDRIESS, at present, is away in remote North-west Australia, among cattle-men, gold seekers, and fever stricken natives. At this moment, if he is true to character, he is squatting down by a camp-fire somewhere, scribbling on a discarded sugar-bag with a bit of lead pencil, preparing material for another of his fascinating books on Australian out door life. Within four years, he has pub lished seven books, all first-class sellers; and here before us is his eighth.

“The Yellow Joss,” etc., is a collection of stories and sketches. Some, already, have been published. They record inci dents noted by Idriess while wandering among the bushmen and natives of Cape York; pearlers and trochus fishers of the Coral Sea; the natives of the Torres Strait islands; and the beachcombers of the Great Barrier Reef. It is real Idriess stuff; the members of his numerous and growing public may buy this book with confidence.

Our copy from Angus and Robertson, Ltd., Sydney. 6/-.

Conflict. By E. V. Timms.

Of all novels, written by an Australian and published in Australia, this is the best I have ever read. It is to be pub lished in London and New York; and one is glad of that, because it deserves to be among the world’s best-sellers.

It is an admirably constructed, quick moving story of the days of Louis XIV.; and it has a plot, somewhat reminiscent of the evergreen “Scarlet Pimpernel,” that holds one enthralled from the first chapter to the last. The reader is trans ported quickly from the Mediterranean of the Corsairs to the colourful, luxurious court of Louis XIV., and thence to the England of the slothful, sensual Charles II. One does not know how much reliance can be placed on Mr. Timms as a historian; but his pictures of life in London and Paris, in those distant days, are most fascinating. It is an exciting story, and in telling it Mr. Timms displays literary ability, subtle craftsmanship, and delight ful humour.

Our copy from Angus and Robertson Ltd., Sydney. 6/-.

Modern Samoa: Its Government and Changing Life. By Felix M. Keesing.

This book is now on the market. A

review says of it: “A fair case is made for the good intention of the Mandated Authorities (New Zealand) that have dealt with Samoa, but there is less to be said for their intelligence in framing laws and regulations suitable for the Samoans.

A new group is springing up in Samoa, a group of two bloods and of two cul tures, and to this group the author as signs great future importance. . . . While ‘Modern Samoa’ is an authoritative, in tensely interesting, impartial study, planned for students and officials con cerned with Samoa and the problems of dependencies, it will also be found invalu able by tourists. There is no other book known to the present reviewer that covers the sociology and economics of Samoa so adequately. It is drawn from a very extensive bibliography and is based on eight months of observation and study in the field by the author and his wife.”

The book is sold for 16/- (sterling).