Evening star., 1937-06-19

have been written hastily. But 1t is
At least \ departure from the pas
sionate prejudices which commonly
animate works on this and similar
themes.
SERVE IT FORTH. BY M. F. K.
Fisher. New York: Harper G Bros.
THIS is one Of those completely de-
lishtful books which seem TO be
written equally for those whose minds
take pleasure in the curious and those
who revel in 4 good, accomplished lit
erary style 1t Is :. book about food
It's history, it's anecdotes, its great per-
sonalities, its joys. 1t Is gay. but not
too gay. It Is clever, but not smart
aleck. It is learned. but not abstruse.
1t Is, In short, a delightful book. Only
the dull will find that it has failed
them.
Getting under way. Mrs. Fisher an
nounces that there are two kinds OF
books about those who eat. The first,
she says, is listed under memoirs in
book catalogues. Its pages totter and
crumple under q weight OF well-known
names, and from each chapter arises
reek, q heady stencil Of trufles.
Chateau Yquem, and quails financiere.
You sit pompously nonchalant, on =
balcony at Monte Carlo. tete-a-tete
With three princes, . millionaire and
the lovely toast OF London, God bless
her! Or. In 4 Georgian dining room
f1lled with quietly munching cabinet
ministers, you exchange quips which
grow by repetition into f1n-de-siecle
episrams. It Is al very enervating-
and it sells very well, they say"
The other kind OF book she finds
even more Objectionable. 1T shows
pictures Of its authors standing beside
quaint old inn near oxford or =
quaint old inn near Cannes the
authors are young and full Of INTEL
kctual frolic, and they are making 4
gastronomic tour on bicycles"
Mrs. Fisher disclaims any such kind
Of authorship. She decided to write,
she says, when she discovered that no
self lf-respecting restaurAteurs will
pay much more than . tolerant and
patronixing hAlf-attention to q wom-
ans ideas for . good dinner" She has
not written 4 cook book Do not buy
her book for recipes or menus. She
has written sparkling volume OF
essays on food, As qualified above Buy
it for your mind. You will probably
find that you pay much more atten-
ton to what you eat, after reading,
than you ever have before in your
whole existence.
RIDE ON THE WIND. BY Francis
Chichester. New York: Harcourt,
Brace h Co.
A FTER somewhat vague and haxy
start, due chiefly to An unfor-
tunate arrangement of material, Chi
chester swings into = lively, enter
tanning account Of b solo flight in .
little, cranky Moth, converted into .
seaplane, from Sydney, Australia, to
Katsura. Japan.
The limitations Of his airplane, with
its range Of only 500 miles and its
lack Of power to get 1t on the water
unless conditions are better than
favorable, lead him into difhculties
which add much to the excitement
Of his story.
Chichester's flight was part of 4
proposed flight around the world.
In An earlier book, "eeaplane eolo,"
he told Of his flight from New zea-
land to Australia. This volume has
its climax in the rude termination Of
his night as the result Of = collision
with An unseen cable stretched over
the harbor At Katsura.
His account Of his trip inside the
Great Barrier Rect along the Aus.
tralian coast and along the chain
Of islands to New Guinea. the Dutch
Indies and the Philippines may not
reveal sound Airmanship but it does
make enjoyable reading. 1t has Z
place among the best volumes OF
aerial Adventure.-J. 3. E.
A HOME IN THE COUNTRY. BY
Frederic r. Van de Water. Neynal
Il Hitchcock, New York
THIS Is \ book full Of chuckles
particularly for the reader who
has, himself, gone through al the
vicissitudes Of attaining 4 home In
the country. How natural are the
loneints Of the author for . place
with 4 rushing trout brook" and how
more than natural are his descriptionl
Of the reators' versions Of rushing
trout brooks. And how natural an
the realtors even though among TIN
crew there wAs one who wired hi
prospect: May have the place you
want. but you must come At once
Vermont Is . small State and is filling
up fast" It was probably the un.
orthodox fnproach Of this salesman
~ much fths house snd site that