Mr. Bok's new book, Perhaps I Am (Scribners, New York,
$3) is a disappointment. A friend - of his decided to retire when he was sixty (as Mr. Bok himself did and told the world to its great delectation in Twice Thirty). and wrote' a book about his experiences which he sent to the author : Mr. Bok saw there was good material in it, but he knew also that you " cannot make an author out of a cement manufacturer in a year," and completely rewrote his friend's reminiscences, assuming also full responsibility for them. - We find some rather interesting remarks on a turtle called Tom. " Why," asks the author, " does it always wake froni its hibernation with the April moon ? Is there some connection between this age-old creature and the whilom child of earth ? Are the rhythms of moon and Tom interchangeable ? " Other questions raised are : " Is English food eatable ? Are English newspapers dull ? Who is the real Mrs. Grundy ? " And we are told some interesting things about the latter. Save for Mrs. Grundy and Tom, however, there is a great deal of reading for very little of amusement or instruction in this volume. Mr. Bok has failed in trying to make it into a silk
purse. * * * *
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