Tragédies Alpestres, by Charles Gos. 8 vo., illustrated. Paris: V. Attinger, 1939.

The author is the literary director of the “Montagne” series issued by the firm of Attinger in Paris and Neuchatel. Gos is himself an honorary member of the Alpine Club, and the author of such well-received works as Alpinisme Anecdotique, La Nuit des Drus, Le Cervin par l'Image and La Croix du Cervin. He has decided that climbers who have perished against a background of mountain beauty are worthy of something more than mere necrology, and, therefore, selects a series of alpine tragedies as the subject of his penetrating analysis. It is the attempt of a poet to evaluate the destinies of these mountaineers in terms of their lives as well as their attitude toward life, things which bear no relationship to their rank and circumstance. Tragédies Alpestres is a documented work, the photographs and notes adding to its usefulness.