27 JANUARY 1923, Page 25

FINANCE. Vols. I. and IL By A. Risdon Palmer. (Bell.

5s. and 4s. net.) These two volumes are the fourth and fifth respectively in the series of " Bell's Handbooks of Commerce and Finance." The first deals with banking, stockbroking, currency and exchange ; the second explains the use of logarithms and the slide rule for the calculation of compound interest, and de- scribes the principles of annuities and life insurance. The

series is intended for students in the widest sense of the word—

not only those who aim at passing an examination, but " all who are seeking to understand the fundamental principles of highly technical subjects." Mr. Palmer has a useful gift for lucid exposition, and illustrates his text with a large number of examples, most of which are taken from actual transactions. Anyone who takes the trouble to master his first volume will be able to read the money article in the daily papers with intelligence, and may even have some glimmering of the reasons why foreign exchanges fluctuate. THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF ARMY HIS-