Adventures in the Near East : 1918-1922. By Lieut.-Col. A.
Rawlinson. (Melrose. 25s. net.) This book (which is illustrated with many excellent photo- graphs) gives an account of the work of Colonel Rawlinson, as Special Service Officer, after the futile armistice, in Turkey and the Near East. It is a straightforward record of British courage in the face of starvation, misery and imprisonment. There are incidents here that, in themselves, would make books of amazing adventure. There is the account of the steaming out of Baku, in a vessel laden with explosives, while the guardships opened fire and the captain had to be persuaded into duty by a pistol at his chin. There is the race, down precipitous passes, between motor-van and Kurdish horsemen, while an excited Chief sat by the side of the driver, enjoying his first motor-ride. And there is the account of Christmas Day in Erzeroum prison, 1920, when Colonel Rawlinson and his three gallant men, Ankers, Leadbeater and Carter, sat down to dinner " whilst Turkish soldiers peered through the holes in wall and door. This last incident must surely rank amongst the most heroic stories of our time.
" Finally, I asked the men if they would back me up if I tried to sing ' God Save the King.' Some very weak voices replied that ' they were willing enough to try, if I so wished, but that they feared it was beyond their powers to do themselves justice.' This feeling I perfectly understood, and I therefore stood up, and they with me, and, taking off our caps, we gave, with all the strength we could muster, three very trembling cheers for The King.' " Colonel Rawlinson asks his readers to bear with " his in- experience in writing." There was no need for any apology : the story throughout is told with befitting dignity and restraint. All who read of his appalling hardships cannot fail to wonder at the inadequacy of the °temporary pension of 57s. that Colonel Rawlinson, whose health is sadly impaired, tells us is his reward.
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