The Playground of Europe, by Leslie Stephen. 243 pages, 19 illustrations.

My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus, by A. F. Mummery. 256 pages, 16 illustrations.

Blackwell’s Mountaineering Library. Edited by H. E. G. Tyndale. Basil Blackwell, Oxford. The above published in 1936, 5 s. each (other volumes in preparation).

A feature of these re-issues is the introduction by G. Winthrop Young, placed in the preface of the “Playground.” Mr. Young rightfully hails the revival of these mountaineering classics as timely in view of the general movement toward open-air holidays and rebellion against over-organized games and holidays which restrict the spirit of adventure. Mr. Young carves an appropriate niche of fame for each author: Leslie Stephen, for bridging the gap between earlier climbers who excused their interest on scientific or hygienic grounds and those who enjoyed the pastime because of its appeal to “mind, muscle and imagination”; Mummery, as representative of an important development in climbing, the emergence of the amateur as leader.

The reproduction of modern photographs, suitably inserted in the text, give definition and color to both narratives.

L. I. G.