The Tatra Mountains, by V. A. Firsoff, 8 vo.; 128 pages, with 65 illustrations from photographs and a sketch-map. London: Lindsay Drummond, 1942. Price 10/6.

This is the first book in the English language dealing with the Tatra, the alpine portion of the Carpathians, on the borders of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name originally meant “waste,” and has nothing to do with the Tartars, who avoided the mountains when they burned Cracow in the 13th century. The Tatra is barely 30 miles in width and 15 across, the highest peak being Gerlach, 8737 ft. Igneous rock forms the core of the system, making for sound climbing. There are even two minute glaciers. An Englishman, Robert Townson, made the first authenticated ascent of Lom- nica (then thought to be the highest summit) in 1793, and John Ball took Lodovy, the third elevation in 1843.

Zakopane is the Polish center, distinguished from the smaller but more fashionable resorts, such as Smokovec, on the Czechoslovakian side. A funicular runs from Tatranská Lomnica to the summit of Lomnica. There are many huts.

Rainfall is considerable in August, and readers should consult excellent articles in A.J. 47, 310 and 48, 15, where German place- names will be found.