2 SEPTEMBER 1949, Page 30

Down the Thames. By Martin Briggs. (Herbert Jenkins. 15s.) Tuts

is an undistinguished but agreeable account of the river from its source near Kemble to Tilbury, with historical and descriptive comments on the towns and villages and other landmarks on its banks. It begins well with plans and maps and geological informa- tion but it does not maintain that standard throughout. The dis- cussions on re-planning Oxford are fully, fairly and amusingly described. But it is as the river winds its way through London, between banks crowded with palaces, pleasure gardens, wharfs, power stations and blitzed industrial buildings, that the account is most absorbing. It is extremely pleasant to read, and if it were not that occasional inaccuracies undermine the capacity of the reader to believe it could be recommended without reserve.