CURRENT LITERATURE
A WAYFARER IN ESTONIA, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA
By E. C. Davies
Mr. Davies has made a fairly good job of the latest addition to the well-known Wayfarer Series (Methuen, 7s. 6d.). A cross between a guide-book and an ordi- nary travel book, it should be of interest to both the tourist and the armchair traveller who is not fussy about writing. The latter may appreciate the sometimes overdone descriptions of landscapes, people and buildings. The former will find the practical information and general advice useful on a first trip. Little has been written about these countries, and Mr. Davies's book has therefore scarcely a rival of its type. Much of the writing has many of the faults of over-enthu- siasm and lack of discrimination usual in guide-books. Colours riot, make sym- phonies ; romance lingers everywhere ; towns and churches are unique treasure- houses, and so on. But, though we would welcome it, we don't demand style from guide-books. It might have helped the reader to grasp the historical refer- ences better if Mr. Davies had devoted a chapter to a brief unravelling of the exceedingly confused threads of the history of these three States.
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