11 OCTOBER 1986, page 35

Not A Dry Eye On The House

Grey Gowrie A BALANCE OF POWER by Jim Prior Hamish Hamilton, f12.95 A gainst odds, Jim Prior has written a very good book. Any feeling of surprise has nothing to do with ability......

As Cooks Came, They Went

J. G. Links FLORENCE: A TRAVELLERS' COMPANION SELECTED AND INTRODUCED by Harold Acton and Edward Chaney Constable, £12.95 The pavement is thickly strewn with sepul- chral slabs......