Two books dealing with the War and with captivity during
the War are Combed Out, by Mr. F. A. Voigt (Cape, 3s. 6d.), and The Further Side of No Man's Land, by Mr. V. W. W. S. Purcell (Dent, 7s. 6d.). The former is a reprint in the excellent " Traveller's Library " ; any book less calculated, however,
to make a train journey pass pleasantly we could not imagine. There is undeniable power about the writing, but the author disgusts the reader by his ghastly catalogue of horrors in a dressing station, and alienates sympathy by refusing to see any redeeming features in the War. Exaggeration never made a case stronger : Mr. Voigt has just missed producing a book that will live by protesting too much. The Further Side of No Man's Land is a good account of captivity in a German prison camp : we have read many books in the growing literature of " Escape " ; this one, while it is not marked by any exceptional brilliance of style or matter, is certainly worthy of a place in any War library.
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