More New Books

THEY’LL NEVER QUIT, by Harvey Klemmer, (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 7 6.) Here, frank and brutal and uncen sored, is an account of the German air blitz on London, and other great British cities, which went on from September 7, 1940, until well into 1941. It is written by a US embassy official who was in London from Munich (1938) until early in 1941, and who saw and recorded every aspect of the blitzkrieg. It is a valuable contribution to history, and its publi cation now is timely—because in the USA, as in the South Seas, the mass of people have no real conception of the horrors and terrors of the blitzkrieg, and there fore they still do not appreciate the magnificent courage and tenacity of the British people. Mr. Klemmer supplies all the bits which have been missing from other descriptions. We learn for the first time, for instance, of the military damage done in several of the London blitzes, and in the Coventry blitz, when factory pro duction was reduced by 50 per cent. We are told that when the Huns sank the “Empress of Britain” they sank also 70 Lockheed bombers; and we are told many new and ghastly aspects of what hap pened in those fearful nights of Sep tember, 1940. We challenge any ordinary man or woman to read a chapter, des cribing a direct hit upon a shelter in Chelsea, when about 60 men, women and children were smashed to pieces, without being physically sick. We hope, for reasons that become more obvious every day, that millions of copies of'this book are read in the USA.

The South Seas In The Modern

WORLD, by Felix M. Keesing. (Published by the American Institute of Pacific Relations, 129 E. 52nd St., New York, USA.

Price, $3.50). This is another monumental volume by a scientist who is doing magnificent work on behalf of the peoples of the central and south Pacific. Dr.

Keesing, in this book, draws a compre hensive picture of the Pacific Islands — their political status, their resources and economic development, the changing life and problems of the islanders, and tne position of various Asiatic migrants.

There is room here only for this brief note of the publication of a valuable work—we hope to review it at length in an early issue.

Australia Foots The Bill—A

study in War Finance, by four University men. (Published by Angus & Robertson, Svdney. 4/6.) This is the answer to a whole series of questions which every serious and thoughtful man is asking to day—How are we going to pay the cost of this war, and what is its economic effect upon national finance, and the living standards of the people. It is noted that, whereas Australia spent £14,000,000 in peaceful 1937/8, the total had risen under war conditions to £55,000,000 in 1939 40, and £170,000,000 in 1940/41; and that an expenditure of £250,000,000 is budgeted for in 1941/42. It is an econo mist’s night-mare. But war has always been like that, and the nations some how have survived.

COAST TO COAST—A collection of best short stories, recently written by Australian writers. (Selected by Cecil Mann and published by Angus & Robert son, Sydney, for 7/6.) Most people do not realise how much literary talent there is in Australia. This big and worth while volume not only conforms to a high literary standard, but also it is eminently readable and in places very amusing. Unhesitatingly recommended to the notice of the average reader.

National Portraits, By Vance

Palmer. (Published by Angus & Robert son, Sydney. 8/6). This book has double value. In its pages, we are given the.

story of twenty-one of Australia’s most notable men, from John Macarthur to Sir John Monash —and this kind of com pilation is long overdue. Biography always is interesting; and Vance Palmer, one of Australia’s best writers, has made of each biography a dramatic and fas cinating little story.

Land Utilisation In American

SAMOA, by John Wesley Coulter. B. P.

Bishop Museum Bui. 170, 48 pp„ 2 pis., 7 figs., 1941. Describes natural environ ment, crops, agricultural methods, pests, forests and ocean products, trade and changing conditions.

Mr. Badri Maharaj Gyaneshwar, LLB (Wales), who was the first Fiji-born Indian to qualify for the English Bar, was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor of the Fiji Supreme Court on August 18. He has set up his legal practice at Labasa.