23 DECEMBER 1916, Page 22

A Diplomat's Wife in Mexico. By Edith O'Shaughnessy. (Harper and

Brothers. $2 net.)—This clever, entertaining, and exceedingly indiscreet book, made up of letters written from the American Embassy in Mexico City between October, 1913, and April, 1914, describes Mexican affairs under Huerta and criticizes most severely President 'Wilson's refusal to recognize him as President of Mexico. The author, whose husband was Secretary to the Embassy, had the fullest opportuni- ties of studying the situation, and she is convinced that Huerta, with all his faults, should have been given a chance to restore order. As it is, Mexico has gone from bad to worse under Carranza, whom Mr. Wilson has steadily supported, and American troops are now on Mexican soil and cannot, it seems, be withdrawn.