My Travels Through Chad. By Pierre Olivier Lepie. (Murray. los.)
CAPTAIN LEPIE, who has already written about his experiences with the French Foreign Legion at Narvik, was appointed Governor of Chad Territory by General de Gaulle in 1941 and held that office until he volunteered for further active service at the end of 1942. His book is a pleasantly cultured account of his travels through Chad Territory. during his period of office. Besides being a good travel book, it also contains interesting material for the ethnographer and economist, and what little is known of the Territory's earlier history is skilfully worked in. For obvious reasons he is unable to say much of the present importance of Chad as a stage on the great air route from west to east Africa, although the map on the dust cover illustrates this importance in a very graphic manner. We hear occasionally of distinguished visitors passing through Chad, including General de Gaulle himself, and a chapter is devoted to the Free French attack on Koufra in Libya, an attack which was based on Chad and in which a prominent part was played by Colonel Leclerc. One may perhaps hope that Captain Lepie's active service was with Leclerc's great march from Chad to Tripoli, and that his next book will tell the story of that fine achievement. The translator of the present volume has obviously done his work well, for the book reads easily and contains much good writing and happy description.
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