21 JANUARY 1922, Page 22

Exploration of Air : Out of the World North of

Nigeria. By Angus Buchanan. (Murray. 16s. net.)—Captain Buchanan went to Air, in the French Sudan, in 1920 to collect birds, beasts and insects for Lord Rothschild. He was successful in obtaining many new species, for very few Europeans have visited this remote and barren hill country on the southern edge of the Sahara. In this pleasant book he describes his journey northward from Kano into the French sphere, and he gives an account of Air and its scanty population of Tuaregs of doubtful reputation. The current belief that Air is an oasis must be given up : it is, in fact, one of the most arid parts of Africa. The author's description of Kano is interesting, and his photographs are excellent.