Endearing Sir: One of the endearing features of both the
New Statesman and the Spectator is the sheer undergraduate silliness of some of its contributors even when they are established authors of unquestioned ability. A good example of this is,Jan Morris'scastigation of North America for sheer dullness—`with the obvious exception of Australia, mile for mile, it is the most tedious land on earth'.
Attempting to generalise about the scenery of a whole continent seems a little foolish, since the earth provides us with such a limited set to generalise from. The most obviously comparable area, that of temperate Eurasia, is not widely renowned for its scenic variety. However, where I find Jan Morris totally ridiculous is in the characterisation of the Yosemite valley as short on magic— 'altogether too Yosemite'. Magic is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but if one could categorise any area as magical it would surely be that dazzlingly beautiful and relatively compact valley, scarcely bigger than Wensleydale in horizontal extent, but of a vertical magnificence which defies descrip tion.
Contributors like Jan Morris set back the cause of anti-Americanism far more by such blatant silliness than all the efforts of the CIA and US Information Agency combined. With such enemies, why should America need friends?
R. F. Lever Putnam Valley, New York 10579, USA
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