13 NOVEMBER 1942, Page 22

THERE are comparatively few books about South America, and this

is a thoroughly readable addition to their number. As the dust- cover sugges.s, it is the ideal accompaniment to Mr. Gunther's A more seriously political investigations in Inside Latin America. Mr. Crow describes the life of twenty countries, the tiresome formalities necessary for entering Rio, the dark clothes of the women (due to their custom of wearing mourning for distant relatives), the re-

markable railways, and the superior airs of the Argentinians. A re- assuring section of the book, entitled " Popeye and the Propagan- dists," reveals that in spite of large sums of money, the German efforts to fill South American papers with propagandist articles in their favour has met with but little success. Also the Nazi agents talk too much and are too well-known locally. There are also some agreeable illustrations.