31 MARCH 1944, Page 18

No Spaghetti for Breakfast. By Alfred Wagg and David Brown.

(Nicholson and Watson. los. 6d.)

THIS curiously named book is about the campaigns in Sicily and Southern Italy. The suspicion aroused by its title is not altogether allayed by a reading of the book, which is made up by piecing together the contributions of two war correspondents. The book has faults. There are occasional slight inaccuraoies, no doubt due to hasty compilation. There is some unnecessary personal information about Americans, intended no doubt for "home town" consumption. And the general thesis, which makes the whole Italian surrender turn on the food situation, is a little too slick ; one prefers to suspend judgement until the information is more substantial. On the credit side, however, there are good descriptions of actions and experiences, including an extremely detailed account of the taking of Pantellaria. A particularly useful chapter, entitled "Without Glamour," describes the organisation of Palermo as a base by the United States Navy. There is also a valuable account of what Mr. Wagg saw at Salerno. On the whole, once one has discounted a certain pretentiousness, this book is a useful addition to the tale of those produced by war corre- spondents.