24 JANUARY 1941, Page 24

The Tide ot Fortune. By Stefan Zweig. (Cassell. ros. 6d.)

THIS rather odd collection of historical incidents is only partly explained by the misty Teutonic foreword on the subject of history—" the spiritual mirror of nature," whatever that may mean. In "tense moments . . . of .. . compressed formation .. . the artistry of the historic process is revealed. . . . From out centuries I have chosen twelve such fateful hours." These include: Balboa discovering the Pacific, Lenin leaving Zurich in his sealed train, the death of Cicero, the fall of Byzantium, Handel composing The Messiah, the death of Captain Scott. These episodes are told plainly, often attractively, sometimes perfunc- torily, but leave rs still rather vague about the historic process.