A highly coloured narrative of adventure among the Semang negritos
will appeal to readers who favour the personal touch and an anecdotal style. Among the Forest Dwarfs of Malaya (Hutchinson, 21s.) is certainly not dull, and Herr Schebesta leaves us in no doubt of the dangers and discomforts which he suffered. Numerous inconsistencies, however, suggest either a very superficial knowledge of the language or a singular lack of understanding. Batek is not a negrito name, but a Malay nickname : the SuPreine Being, whom the author claims_to have discovered, cannot be recon- ciled with his own evidence. We are told that there is a scarcity of women, but the photographs, with their hordes of children, do not bear out this surprising statement. There is no apparent justification for many anomalous spellings, such as Jakudn for. Jakun, and the geographical information is not always reliable. To speak of Tanamerah as Riverside is like calling London Charing Cross. The translation, like the index, is uninspired.
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