20 OCTOBER 1967, Page 18

Shorter notices

Accident: The Death of General Sikorski David Irving (Kimber 45s). Historical who- dunit with a supporting cast which includes Goebbels and Stalin. Much fascinating research into the political and bureaucratic preludes to Sikorski's death, heightened by the tense account of the various courts of inquiry. Irving's conclusion : open verdict.

King Cohn Bob Thomas (Barrie and Rock- liff 35s). The life and good times of Colum- bia's last tycoon, who died of a heart attack in 1958. Good stills, plenty of adjectives.

The Ladies of Alderley edited with an introduction by Nancy Mitford (Hamish Hamil- ton 35s). This correspondence between two of Nancy Mitford's ancestresses during the 1840s has been out of print for many years. Both the selection and the preface, with its insights into a long vanished world, look forward to the talents deployed in Miss Mitford's later books.

William James: A Biography Gay Wilson Allen (Hart-Davis 84s). Remarkable biography of the master's elder brother whose reputation as novelist was world-wide. Professor Allen's study is particularly interesting on the Bostonian background.

The Wandering Jew and Other Stories Guillaume Apollinaire (Hart-Davis 42s). Known chiefly as a revolutionary poet around the turn of the century, Apollinaire also wrote these amusing macabre short stories. Suitably illus- trated in art nouveau style by Anthony Little.