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NEW BOOKS!'
Tiie greatest difficulty that students of
the history of the last five ycarB will en
counter will be that of gathering up the
many thready and weaving . them; into a
compli'te . pattern. Histories of the great
war will, it is to be feared, run to inordi
nate length, and the public mind, fiiled
with masses of detail, will he opt to mis3,
flic essentials. The dilhculty would be
Jess acute if every phase of the war could
be treated with the clarity and concise
ness with which H. C. Woods treats the
ita kan phase i„ ncw |,oo.; .<Th(J
ciadfc 01 the \\ ar (London: John .Mur
ray!. this is net a sensational war book.
is notabje not because it contains ''new
revelations, but because it gives an adiuir-
aWj concise summary ot the part played
m the brewing and the conduct of the war
-?r " nations of the Balkan peninsula
-Mr. \\ oods has a theory to demonstrate,
hut as dees not press it to the misreading
of historical fact. The theory is that
tlic ricar hast is the aiea in which manv
ol the most important causes of the war
were sheltered and nurtured. He points
out that the Bnllcnn countries, together
w. J 'C lv\tc'r"'"J's .-"'hic!. they control,
torm the great and only corridor from west
to east and from north to south, and that
they constitute the natural highway from
Cnnual tmnpe tc Asia, and from Russia
to the Mediterranean. Thus, ever since the
rSn'V i h,er 3lit,W &m'»a
tioinian had been determined to push
open the lVoar i'aistein door, in order to
he able to stnke a deadly blow at the
British hmpire, and at the same time auto
matically to prevent Russia from expand
ing towards warm water. To understand
the situation it is necessary to go back
vV l"ni- eai'4 icforti outbreak of war.
fci 5i',V0F, h's book a summary
of GO years, the keynote of which is that
the settlements which followed the Balkan
wars were unstable, and of such an un-
sntistuctcry nature as meieiy to prepare
the way for renewed conflicts. The result
of discontent- and smoldering ani
mosity was that each nation nursed a de
sire that conflicted with the rest. Servia
and Montenegro desired an outlet on the
Adriatic. Turkey was smarting under the
decu-on of the London Ambassadorial Con
ference, hy. which she jost to Greece ini-
po riant islands off. the ccast of Asia Minor.
Jlulgaria wis disgruntled because it had
been deprived of the legitimate fruit of
Jier victories in Thrace, where she had de
feated the Turkish army. Koumanui had
for years been desirous of securing pos-
se.ssion either of the Austrian-Hungarian
districts , inhabited by Roumanians, or of
the urea of Russian Bessarabia. Greece
was a house divided aeainst itself, and
nursing a halted of Turkey. All these
cross purposes ami conflicting motives were
tinder for the n atch of war. Mr Woods
does not attempt tc slirw that the Baikal',
nations tock one side or nnrther in at
tack upon or defence of the great prin
ciples on which the Western world was
divided. The Balkan States entered 'the
war at least as lliey would scon have en
tered another Balkan war to try t-i wrest
what they wanted from their neighbor;., j
But behind all the c m pa naively potty
stiiving' was the sinister power .it Ger
many pulling strings to suit its own
Muclunvrlliaii game. The value of Mr.
Woods's analysis is appatent when the
reader follows the conduct of each nation >
through the years, of the war. Much that j
was mysterious and incomprehensible fulls |
into its natural place in the policies of the |
various countries. The most important j
contribution that the book makes is not |
in its narration of events, but in its' su.g- !
gestion of causes and explanations, which
the reader can reject or accept according
to his own reasoning or knowledge of
events. Unfortunately, the last- chapters,
written before the et. 'lapse of the German
army on the Western front, are out of
date. They discuss methods of counteracting
a danger which happily has ceased to
threaten tlie world.
An unofficial history of the Egyptian cam
paign has boon written by Oliver Hogue
(Trooper Bluegum). "Tlie CXimeliers '
(Melrose, 0/1 begins with a malediction
and ends with a benediction on the camel.
The imperial Camel Corps was 'probably
the most Imperial force in the amy.
It comprised Australians, Now /ca
lenders, Indians, Soutli Africans and
men from every part the old
country. Nor some time Australians
considered the Egyptian campaign. a
mere side show. This was due to the fact
that no war correspondent was appointed
to keep Australian people informed. Oliver
Rogue effectively atones for the omission.
In """The Camoliers" the literary" expert de
picts the Australian soldier. The style is
vigorous, the pictures vivid. Many phrases
arc illuminative of the hell the Sahara must
have been to our boys, but beneath all
their thoughtless blasphemies, there per
sists an unquenchable cheerfulness. Tlie
book is a scries of vignettes, in which the
chief battles are well described, and their
objectives clearly explained. Throughout it
all the humor of the Canuliers is irrepres
sible. They organised race meetings wtih
their camels. They played musical chairs
with their camels. These animals must
have wondered why the mad Australians
ever canto, must have thanked, Allah when
they went away. The C'ameliers could find
fun in the fierce battle cry of their foes.
"Allah finish Australia. Even the wounded
Gamelier could joke. After nurse had
written for him a long letter to his sweet
heart lie looked it over, and suggested a
"1\S. — Please excuse bad writing." The
horrors are merely hinted, but so skilfully
that tlicy can be seen. There are wonder
ful marches, feats of endurance, deeds of
sacrifice. Owing to an accident to their
aeroplane Lieutenant Ridley and Mechanic
Garside were stranded in the desert. .They
were found dead; Ridley had a bullet in his
head; Garside had this entry in his diary;
— "Lt. Ridley shot himself at 10 o'clock on
Sunday morning." Both lives dependeH on
the amount of water. One man might hold
out on what they had; two men couldn't.
To give his mate a chance to live Ridley
died. Soldo of the best chanters are those
entitled. "The Sister." With the help of
Sister the author intertwines a love thread
which gives sequence to his narrative. Amid
the love making he reveals the magnificent
work -of the nurses, and tlie equally mag
nificent work performed at the club honse
of Cantara by two Australian ladies, Mrs.
Chisholm and Miss M'Phillamy. Readers
will obtain from "The Cameliprs" a more
lively impression of what our boys did and
endured in Eeypt and Sinai than from mere
official records. The book, reflects the gene
rous spirit of the men who are its theme.
It is warmly appreciative of the work done
by other troops.
'"Clio Thunderbolt," by George Calmore
(Unwin), le "s through simplicity to sur
prise. Stottleham is a small English town,
whose inhabitants have an inordinate capa
city for small talk. The gossip at the week
ly meeting of the Stottleham needle work
guild would seem to provide little of in
terest to the outsider. Yet out of -such
simple material the author spins the greater
part of his story. He does it pleasantly,
and with many quietly humorous touches.
The story describes a very superior lady,
Mrs. Bonham, and the evolution of Doris,
her only child, to womauhood. To Mrs.
Bonhani's assumption of superiority the
ladi03 of Stottleham are feverishly anxious
to toady. It is doubtful if arrogance and
snobbery are really so acute in any small
English" town to-day. Doris reaches mar
riageable age and becomes happily entwed.
Preliminary to the wedding her mother
takes her on a Continental tour. There the
tragic thing happens. The quiet domestic
tale becomes dramatic. The climax . is
clcrcrlv managed with the aid of Doris's
faithful old nurse. In the dedication the
author indicates that the climax owes its
conception to fact. It is well to have the
assurance. . Without it, tlie climax would be
regarded as the wildest fiction. What the
climax is is the author's secret. But it
would interest many to read it.
"When the World -Shook" (Cassell) is
no: one of Sir Rider Haggard's successes.
He has simply ifcpeated by no means the
best of himself. Thus romance of .more
worlds than one is an "account ot the
great adventure of ArbutUnot (widower),
Bustm (clergyman) and Bickiey (surgeon).
The trio set off on <- world tour; laud ou
a mysterious island, quarrel with . the
islanders, and escaping across a Jake laud
oil another and more mysterious island.
-Here they disturb the rest of Oro, al
elderly gentleman — once ruler of a race of
supermen— and his daughter, the Lady
A. vu, who is of surpassing beautv, and
who, incidentally, is clearly related in
other respects to the more interesting
Ayesha. The two have been sleeping quite
quietly and . comfortably for an extended
period— "Oh 1 Heavens, for . two hundred-
and fifty thousand years 1" Subsequently
Oro and Arbutlinot make a series of
world tonrs, and the rather boresome old
gertlcman utters sundry sage comments
on the more obvious aspects of modern
civilisation. For example, lie emphasises
the need of decentralisation m. Australia
He says that the cities are too large and
too many. What, after all, is the econo
mic value of a seer— a super-seer— if lie
can't do better than this ? By compari
son with Rider Haggard's earlv imagina
tive work, "When the. World Shook" is a
poor thing. .. . , ,
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