23 JANUARY 1959, Page 35

Behind the Lianas. By Henry Larsen and May Pellaton. (Oliver

and Boyd, I8s.) The most un- affected sort of travel book, for the most un- affected sort of reader: Henry Larsen, a Swiss of Danish origin, had always wanted to visit French Guiana, and he did, and became fascinated by tropical birds and Creole cooking, and Negro and Indian myths and legends.