A New Year package

The Month S New Reading

Among the spate of books that annually come on the market at holiday time, there is something for every literary taste. The following are just a cross section suitable for holiday reading; some are worth a permanent place on the bookshelf.

QANTAS RISING, by Sir Hudson Fysh. Possibly a better title to this autobiography would have been Qantas Emerging the narrative finishes in 1934 when the legend of the great international airline that Qantas has become had been well laid but when the airline itself was barely off the ground in a commercial sense.

The story is, in fact, very much a personal one of the man who was one of the founding members of the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service in 1920 and who shortly retires as chairman of Austra lia’s international airline, Qantas.

He was born in Tasmania and left there in 1914 as a trooper in the Australian Light Horse which served in Gallipoli and in the desert in the Middle East. Towards the end of the war he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and began his lifetime association with aircraft.

In 1919, with Lieutenant P. J.

McGinness, he made an epic journey by Ford Tin Lizzie across the Northern Territory of Australia seeking suitable landing sites for Ross Smith, who was preparing to make the first historic flight from the UK to Australia.

It was during this time that the idea of air transportation to cover Australia’s unroaded interior first presented itself to the two young men, and in the following year, in partnership with a grazier, Fergus McMaster, they formed Q.A.N.T.A.S.

During these formative years Fysh was actively engaged in flying the old-fashioned bi-planes of the infant company. He took part in the ex perimental UK-Australia airmail in 1931 and in 1934 was prominent in forming Qantas Empire Airways which, in conjunction with Imperial Airways, maintained the UK-Austra lian air-link until World War 11, The author proposes continuing the story of Qantas in a second volume which will bring events up to the present. (QANTAS RISING. Angus and Robert son. 52/6).

My Life For Beauty, By

Helena Rubinstein. Every woman who has ever bought a lipstick will probably be a sitter for the blandishments of this book, com pleted just before the beautician-to end-all-beauticians died in her 95th year.

Not only does it tell of Madame’s early life of poverty in Poland, her migration to Australia and her set ting up her first beauty salon in McEwan House, 243 Collins Street (just about opposite the present Hotel Australia), but it gives away all her secrets (or nearly all) for being more beautiful.

Helena was cashing in on beauty long before it was an accepted pro fession. Australia did not hold her long and for the last half century she has been an international figure. (MY LIFE FOR BEAUTY. Bodley Head. 45/-).

NINA’S BOOK, by Eugene Burdick.

The late Burdick (co-author with William Lederer of The Ugly Ame rican) would take on any theme, according to some critics. In this story he has taken on what almost might be the original femme fatale, Nina, who was turned from the path of virtue by a few years (she was in the Resistance) in a Nazi concentra tion camp. The action of the story takes place in France of the 1950’s when an American pilot whom Nina had saved in her more inhibited period, returns for a visit with his bride. From this point on the story shapes in a way that gives full scope for Burdick’s own type of literary frankness. Good characterisation.

Much sex. (NINA’S BOOK. Putnam. 28/-).

The Broken Wing, By Olaf

Ruhen, who is as varied in his themes as he is in his choice of publishers. This is a novel based on a bombing incident over Dresden in 1944. The crew of the Lancaster, which is as much a character as the humans, were two Canadians, two Australians (one of whom was really a New Zealander) two Englishmen and a Dutchman and this interplay of differing backgrounds has much to do with the theme of the novel.

(The Broken Wing. Hodder. 23/-).

SUMMER TALES 2, edited by Kylie Tennant. Although these short stories are billed as “Austra lian”, in fact five of the authors re-

The story of Qantas in the days when most of its planes were as small and as insubstantial-looking as this one is told by Sir Hudson Fysh in his new autobiography Qantas Rising". Actually, this plane—a seven-passenger Beaver— is of quite recent vintage. It was acquired by Qantas in 1954 with three others for service in Papua-New Guinea.

presented are from New Zealand; James Meade has written a story about Fiji ( Cawaki ), and Allan McCluskey one about New Guinea (Death of a Luluai ), The 25 stories in the volume represent almost as many writing styles but there is something to suit most tastes. (SUMMER TALES 2. Macmillan. 25/-).

The Road To Sardis, By

Stephanie Plowman. This is an adult-sized historical novel although it is primarily aimed at young people.

It is the story of a young boy growing up to early adulthood against the background of the wars between Athens and Sparta. As he grows, Athens loses her greatness both as a power and as a moral example to the rest of Greece. Perhaps there is a parallel in this to our own times, although it will appeal most to those young readers who have an interest in ancient Greek history. (THE ROAD TO SARDIS. Bodley Head. 31/6).

The lucky country, by Donald Horne. The appearance of this edition of this particular book reverses the usual order of affairs in publishing. It originally appeared as a paper-back about a year ago and only now in hard covers. The present edition is enlarged and slightly ex panded.

The paperback is said to have sold about 100,000 copies—which in Australia is certainly phenomenal.

In it Horne analyses Australian political and social life as it appears to him in the 1960’s and attempts to show Australians where they are heading, particularly in their relations with other countries.

Lucky country, in Mr. Horne’s sense, is a term of derision, sug gesting that Australians are living in a fool’s paradise—which they pro bably are although whether the author’s solutions are the correct ones is a matter of opinion.

Horne’s book probably had more critics than admirers but at least it has given his countrymen an op portunity to stand off and look at themselves.—JT. (THE LUCKY COUNTRY. Angus and Robertson. 30/-).