A Dweller in Mesopotamia.
By Donald Maxwell, author of “Adventures with a Sketch-Book,” “The Last Crusade,” etc. With numerous Illustrations by the Author in colour, half-tone and line. Crown 4to. £1 5s. 0d. net.
In “The Last Crusade” Lieut. Donald Maxwell gave us an extremely entertaining account of the Holy Land: in this volume we have the very necessary corollary in a vivid description of Mesopotamia. In this, as in the former book, Mr. Maxwell is able to deduce interesting parallels between the days of the Old Testament and modern times, and he has drawn for us delightful sketches of the “Mouth of Hell,” the Garden of Eden, Babylon and other strange places. Although Mr. Maxwell was official artist to the Admiralty, this is no war book, for he was sent out rather too late to follow the campaign, a fact for which Mr. Maxwell’s readers will be thankful, as he was thus able to follow his own tastes and to see the country in a fairly normal condition.
Macedonia—A Plea for the Primitive.
By A. Goff and Dr. Hugh A. Fawcett. With Drawings in colour, pencil and line. Demy 8vo. £1 1s. 0d. net.
Since the days of Alexander (and probably before) Macedonia has vied with Flanders for the unenviable reputation of being the cock-pit of Europe. Centuries of subjection to the unspeakable Turk has interrupted the march of civilization—especially as regards the outward and material side of things. The result is that people now inhabiting the land are primitive to a degree unknown elsewhere in Europe, and that their domestic arrangements, their general mode of living, their utensils and implements, are much the same as they were thousands of years ago. These people, then, and their country form an intensely interesting study, but, unfortunately the tourist and the antiquary cannot with safety visit them.
During the war, however, it was the privilege of the authors of this book to be able to explore this unknown land very thoroughly, and Mr. Goff’s most interesting account of it, together with Dr. Fawcett’s extremely clever drawings, form a volume of unique value.