only ask.

* * * * *

_High Adventure_ (CONSTABLE) is in certain ways the most fascinating
account of flying and of fliers which has come my way. Captain NORMAN
HALL, already well known to readers of _Kitchener's Mob_, tells us in
this later book how he became a member of the Escadrille Americaine
and how he learned to fly. And, as his modesty is beyond all praise,
I feel sure that he will forgive me for saying that it is not the
personal note which is here so specially attractive. What makes his
book so different from other books on flying is that in it we have
a novice suffering from all sorts of mishaps and mistakes before he
has mastered the difficulties of his art. Whether consciously or not
Captain HALL performs a very great service in describing the life of
a flier while his wings are--so to speak--only in the sprouting stage.
In an introduction Major GROS tells us of the work done by American
pilots before America entered the War, a delightful preface to a book
which both for its matter and style is good to read.

* * * * *

I confess at once that _The Uprooters_ (STANLEY PAUL) is a story that
I have found hard to understand. There seems an idea somewhere, but
it constantly eluded me. To begin with, exactly who or what were the
Uprooters, and what did they uproot? At first I thought the answer
was going to name _Major_ and _Mrs. Elton_, who for no very sufficient
reason would go meddling off to Paris, and transporting thence the
brother and sister _Ormsby_ to Ireland. The _Ormsbys_ had been happy
and (apparently) harmless enough hitherto, but once uprooted they
promptly developed the most unfortunate passions--reciprocated,
moreover--for their well-wishers. The obvious and laudable moral
of which is, never remove your neighbour from his chosen landmarks.
Later, however, it became apparent that Mr. J.A.T. LLOYD had a more
subtle interpretation for his title in the activities of a band
of pacifists, headed by a multi-millionaire, who called himself an
American, though somehow his name, _Schwartz_, hardly inspired me
with any feelings of real confidence. On his death-bed, however, this
gentleman reveals blood of the most Prussian blue, confessing that his
wealth has actually been derived from the dividends of Frau BERTHA;
and as the War has by this time resolved the emotional difficulties
of the other characters the story comes to its somewhat procra