Shorter notices
Pocket Guide to English Parish Churches : The North and The South edited and intro- duced by John Betjeman (Collins, two volumes, 30s each). This incomparable guide first ap- peared, in one volume, ten years ago; it is now better than ever, having been thoroughly revised and provided with maps. The ordinary run of books on the subject ignore both the atmosphere and the aesthetic merit of the buildings described, but Mr Betjeman's con- cern is with precisely these points; his own roductory essay is a brilliant and witty piece of historical reconstruction; each county is the subject of a general survey of the churches it contains, and roughly a quarter of the 16,000 parish churches in England are dealt with in crisply scholarly detail.
T'he United Nations : Sacred Drama Conor Cruise O'Brien and Feliks Topolsli (Hutchin- son 63s). Mr O'Brien argues, with his customary panache, the case for the organisation's useful- ness in terms of myth, ritual and symbolism; his brief essay is eked out with drawings by Topolski of a rare and hideous vul- garity.
Nothing More to Declare John Clellon Holmes (Deutsch 30s). Absurdly pompous snippets on the life, times, views and `spiritiYal quest' of the beat generation in America in the 'fifties; not without interest to students of fashion. Remarkable chiefly for a singularly apt and handsome dust-jacket by Farrell/Wade.
Fidel Castro Enrique Meneses (Faber 42s). Setior Meneses, on an assignment for Paris- Match, ate snakes on Sierra Maestra and slung his hammock nightly under Fidel's for fear of the dew. From this unique position, he relates the story of the revolution and its aftermath with unequalled dullness. That Castro achieved victory at all must rank high in Senor Meneses's private catalogue of miracles: the tatty little sorties he recalls invariably ended in flight, though there are some stirring photos of our fierce hero in action. Also a tribute to Che- 'one of the greatest revolutionaries of all time' —and a loud revanchist conclusion in praise of us generosity.
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