BOOKS OF PHE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 209, 29 May 1920, Page 11

BOOKS OF PHE DAY

"How Jerusalem Was Won." ; SMr. W. :1V Massey, one:of .the officinjl the British Foniosin Egypt and Palestine, hasi-followed up ■ that .excellenti;bbbk,- ;.;"Tho': Desert Campaigns," with' a. volume entitled;' "How , : Jerusalem. Was : Won" (Constablo and ■ Co.; por Australasian - Book Co., -,-and i .Whitcombe; ;in j which ß he,, . .' gives. '. a' stirring - narrative . qf .'.Goneral .' iniPalijstine up tp.jthe 'deliverance of<tho Holy .City from Turk?ish 'occupation,and 'tyranny, and the ,es•iablishment-' of the British i line beyond 'y i ;;;Beeroth' l t(>;.the i north/! with\ the; Jordan' • " hank as its eastern -front. , .Then lias been vin"certain". quarters an-' inclination . to under-rate the importance; and - value ; , to the'''Allies-of; both theMosopotamiaii 1 and' Palestine campaigns; but this is an opinion .whiclr can'scarcely, be held; by : ; those who read Mr. Massey's book. The • loss of-Bagdnd was a! tremendous- blow .-: to German' hones, and o Voh .;Falkenhayn, tfas sent to Sfanlboul to make prepftTn-'-tions 'for, its recapture, ..:According : tp :• Mr. Massey, Allenby's..campaign pffeptii- ,: ;,;ally,;.sniashed "all 'Germany's'"'designs .in : % -Mesopotamia.' .;There '.holds, • : -have been ."a stern struggle ; for ■■supreme ; . ■ ac.v" in 'Mesopotaniia" in;.the/winter: ;>:;i9l7-18 ■ had- riot ; the War Cabinet, dn- ?-' cided to \force the Turks to.Accept bnt/tie', where : they ; , least ..wanted' it.' ' He. de- ;• ,',,clftreß. : it; to be"be.yond all question that the.; conduct, .of' operations': in. Palestine, plan at. oncevboldv- resolute,i;.and ' : of- : high, in-military'-'his- .-• tory,.,saved -the : Empire '.mlichVnnxie.tv ; • over our position in the;,TicTis.; : arid :Euphrates.-;Valley.' arid'.'-'prpbabty 'pre- ' rented,iihr^t;on,:'the'..frontiere < ;pf India, ; and in India, .itself. ; ,';where r ; K mischipf- ::'. makers 'were; actively the German cause." Allenby, who-hadiprov-

; ; e<l his Meh military .' ; had Tinder him /a : force lvhiiiK-" included: : :French; nnd; : Jtiiliaii.;. detachments/; /But ! ' . 'the French ;irere ■.solely, employed 'as jjnrrison; troops, .and .the Italians :were onlj .: for a': shfat'-period enixiijjed in''iV a . "eectori .The' - troons who,.vro'n EaTestin and made it > " ' • 'han it had be.-

...u,.innde ii. jiapßioy it' hi... —j /6r "four^ce.iihiriefl''werp. ; tells jis. delusively;, soldiers .of the Bri tish .Empire."• ■■ . From.over the Seven Beai.this'-.Empire' 'sons.: came ,to illustrate' tW.'"iiniinimit: of all. tho King's subjects,.'in;,'tie prose cutlon of the war.' Engliahj ' Scottish Irish, and Welsh divisions of good l ,mei ■ : and true' fought-kide.' by side -with eol diers of .varying Indian races and.castef valiant sons'contributed man; •v '■ brigades-of horse,'and •with-New Zealani : mounted regiments beoame'the moet hw dened campaigners in the Egyptian' am > . Palestine theatre of operations. .'■ Tfaei: . ' powerful - support in the.'day of ■ anxiet; ■ and : trial. 'aB: wDlL.ns' in ; 'thi); .time, o . triumph, -will be/remembered;'with' g'rati • tude. 'South Africa contribute! good' gur ners.v our dark-skinned brethren in .tli - ~'West Indies, furnished/infantry jrho,. whe'i •'•••'.tho: fierce summer .heat?;majde the' Jordan Yalley like-a . draught from ,i . furnace; liad a ' bayonet charge whicl aroused .an-Anzao brigade to. bnthnsiasr : r ,v. (and colonial'free men ; Cfth.-,eßti&ale bra . - very; at -'its ..true' value);. iYom -far »awa: Hong-Kong and Singapore,came; mopntaii gunners equal to any, in the world j ,Kroc men. sent from their homes. • in j 'Wee •: 7 Africa' surf men .to land'stores;'Bare ; tongans from the • Southern■fPaelilo' viei . . ..with .them' in boatcra-ft,', and": beat -then . . ' in physique,:, whilst'/Egypt 'contributed.; ! 'labour corps and transport oorps runnin " ! a,' long ;way:.into. sir figures. j,\ : Such .an assemblage of so : : great)

varying: races, nil," however,' -'at one-in; their , devotion to ■ the-. British-' 'cause, H :,.might.'\vell ,pt ; omptj' ad. it-Vc^rteinly^jus-. . '/'tifiesi: 'the" : author's: cori(jluslon.''tliiii;',:"jri-' ; Jstead .'of wrecking the ißritishv Empire,'' ■ the Geiman-made .'War should", rehuild .it on . the 1 , soundest of inundations/; affec.;.tibv tautual ,-liiter-. . .i' detailed and . yet spiritedly 'Iwrittenxahd' '\ 'most'anteresting ; record pf. ; ihe first.:part of; the. Palestine 1 cato^aign/ ! -:-':Eeferences ; -.. ; to 'the gallant 'and;strilringly,;Usef)4jrole •''.-, played, "by • the :Nbw,' Zealanders;;;aT6r fre-,i 4^fey,TlwiauHwr. ! 'd6eß not.,cpnfine;hi3'. :Vi"^a^nti6n^to?thfevpurely-;'militaiX'W'div<)l;' •; the campaign, . but'" shflWs 1 how : jrafttic- ] .Vfilly Beneficial .to'the' people ;<jf; the' r,c.pun- '' i, : try;, was the, advance 'ipf-T-theT"expeaitidrn. i 1 .; His • .hook, 1 whichv. cbntainß. v a .. ■ number'' • "'of. 1 : ■ excellent •': i illustration 9; and •• which. -'forms , ~'an; ' exceedingly ' ; valuable'' contribution; to -the history; of ' - the war," .will have -a sequel in which 1 * _ the author Will., describe "that : :tr&neh- ■ dons feat; of; arms/which -overwhelmed, I ■' the Turkish armies,'drove theriiVthrbUßh ; .."WO. milesVof country in • gave cavalry an .opportunity .of '- proviiis that, despite all the arts and devices ! • of' modern l wa'rfare, withl; fighters. .and : .observers in : the air and an entirely new ~ / mechanism iof ■- war, they continued : ae, ■. indispensable'a . part' of, an -army as . . when the legions of old took the. field/' ; It-wa9 in'.the concluding,-part .'of the' ..Palestine ,'campaign ?that th^';New;';,Ze»-;- ■ "'landers.shbwed-to. special ; advaiitag9, : 'and Mr. Mnssey's. next volume should be oi i i . particular interest : to, readers' in'; the Do-: \ tminion. Meanwhile, a copy of "How Jerusalem Was Won" should not fail to find a.-place in every New.. Zealand library. . ■|Three Books on the, Bolsheviks. ./- . literature on Bolshevism and-,the, Bolsheviks continues to bulk -largely In, the . lists of new English and American publications. Three recent .works'- of. tnis character are: "Boche and'Bolahevik,''. . by Hereward T. Price (John Murray; per . • Whitwmbe and Tombs)'; "The Russian . Republic," ,- by Colonel; Malone; i IT.P.(Allen and .Uawin), and at . Work," by Wf T. Gpode (Allen.and Un-' win); Space-limitations do, not'' allow of any lengthy review this week, but' it ;-mav 1»; said 'that,eatSli of the", .-.three, books,'.in its own way, and more p'articularly. that of ..Colonel' Malone's/' is • worthy of careful study, by' thoso who would make themselves conversant with - Bolshevism in , theory andin .practice. l ' ' It-may. bp open to doubt-whether/Col-onel Malone and Mr. Gccdo (the; latter,' ; , as representative, of the : friendly 1 "ManChester, Guardian,". naturally welcome' inBolshevik .Russia), only ] saw... .what'their. Bolshevik hosts speciallv wanted them to see.' 'Certain of have been seriously challenged by other -authorities,' on Russia,:but-'.even, .should he, and-in a lesser degree, ■ Colonel ! Malone. haveviewed/BoldieVism-through rose-tinted'.;spectacles, • they., at' least- can : ba credited with having presented a compact and very',intelligent'resume'of the main characteristics of Bolshevik ~ .rule, ' always, . be it' remembered/ r as;,'studied .'»• from a sympathetic., standpoint.- .1 f.Mn "Price's, book is of' a' different character. though an Englishman,; to 'serve in the-German army, as a (private,- taken prisoner by; the. Russians,-and sent, to Siberify he. saw and, experienced - tho rc- : of the Revolution of-1917, '■ and;- its .afermath—Bolshevism. '-.. Ho. gives;some •' firSfc-hand? and interesting impressions ;bf the revolution:and of tho earlior period 'of the Bolshevik rule.