Three Guide Books
The Italian Lakes and Lakeland Cities. By Arnold Lunn. (Kitbag Travel Books. Harrap. 5s.) Orkney. The Magnetic North. By J. Gunn. (Nelson. 3s. 6d.)
THE publishers claim for the Kitbag Travel Books that they are guide-books with a difference. The claim is well justified, for while they are of compact shape and size and contain much practical information—they do not disdain such prosaic but highly important matters as hotels and motor-coach routes— they have the advantage of being written with first-hand knowledge and in a style far removed from the ordinary jargon of the guide-book. Professor Peers' book is by nature of its subject the wider and more comprehensive of the two : he contrives to pack an extraordinary amount of information into a small space not only about the more generally visited Pyrenean resorts, but also the far less well-known and less easily accessible country upon the Spanish side. The Professor writes throughout with a gusto that is infectious, if it leads him at times into undue exuberance ; he is the joyous traveller par excellence. He makes no secret how deeply he loves the Pyrenees ; even the local names—and what good names they are !—excite in him an almost lyrical admiration. It is this enthusiasm which makes his book refreshing and stimulating above the ordinary, gives it, in fact, something of the quality of an individual adventure. In his epilogue the Professor writes that his descriptions are " not intended to entice the tourist to visit the Pyrenees, but rather assuming that he will, some day, go there to endeavour to suggest and detail the places which he will find it most profitable to visit." He does himself less than justice. It is a book which may be read with pleasure, if a little wistfully, by the pent Londoner, as well as the intending traveller.
The same may be said of Mr. Lunn's book. Mr. Lunn is a practised hand at this sort of work ; he writes with humour, elegance and an unobtrusive erudition which make his pages eminently readable. Those who take him as their guide to the lakes and their adjacent cities may be sure of missing nothing that should be seen, as well as finding considerable entertain- ment by the wayside.
Both books are furnished with a map and illustrated with excellent photographs. The intending visitor either to the Pyrenees or the Italian lakes cannot do better than pack the requisite volume in his bag.
Mr. Gunn is plainly a propagandist. His intention is to lure you to Orkney, and if he lacks perhaps Professor Peers' happy enthusiasm and Mr. Lunn's urbane humanity, he may be said to fulfil his purpose competently. His book, in any case, is full of information for those who visit Orkney. All classes of holiday-maker are catered for ; there are specially contributed chapters upon such subjects as " Nature Notes " and " With Rod and Gun in Orkney," while for the benefit of the uninitiated a short glossary of local idioms is added. The chapters on "Bird Life in Orkney" and "The Story of the Islands," which runs from the overlordship of the Pictish kings to the scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow, make
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