WORKS OF REFERENCE.
THE familiar " books that are no books," which many of us use daily and which we could not do without, have made their appearance as punctually as ever. Who's Who, 1923 (A. and C. Black, 42s. net), we are glad to find, contains more pages than before and yet is somewhat less bulky. Its merits need no commendation. We notice that it has • Prom the Wings. By " The Stage Cat." Edited by Elisabeth Eagan. London; W. Collins. [105. dd. net.] relaxed its old rule never to omit, in the lifetime of the subject, a memoir which had once been included—a rule which its American rival has wisely rejected.—Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage for 1923, edited by Alfred T. Butler (Burke Publishing Company, £6 6s.), is the eighty-first edition of a famous book. In its 2,789 pages innumerable facts are recorded clearly. For details of pedigrees and family connexions it has no rival. The editor observes that Mr. Lloyd George advised the creation of more peers than any other Prime Minister ; the peers in his farewell list of November are duly treated in the introductory pages.—Debrett's Peerage for 1923, edited by Arthur G. M. Hesilrige (Dean and Son, 75s. net), is older than " Burke " but does not attempt to give full pedigrees. Within its own sphere it is excellent ; the accounts of persons of title and of their living relatives may be trusted. The information given is brought down to the end of November.—For ready reference Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes for 1923 (Kelly's Directories, Ltd., 30s. net) is once more to be heartily praised. The editor states that the book deals with 30,000 people, including many persons who have not titles of honour. The busy man has long found " Kelly's " alpha- betical arrangement of compact biographies extremely useful, though for pedigrees and collatcrals one must go elsewhere. The new Parliament is given in full.—From the same publishers we have The Royal Blue Book, 1923 (7s. 6d. net), the familiar and indispensable directory of Inner London, with a map and a list of the new Parliament. —The Churchman's Year Book, 1923 (Mowbray, 8s. 6d. net), now in its fifteenth year, is in part a " Who's Who " and in part a dictionary of general information relating to the Church of England. Under " National Assembly," for example, are a full list of the members and a concise account of the work done during the past year. It is a most useful little book.—The People's Year Book, 1923 (Co-operative Wholesale Society, 3s. net), now in its sixth year, embodies the annual of the Co-operative Wholesale Societies and a good deal of miscellaneous matter relating especially to Labour Party politics and trade unionism in general. If it had not so strong a bias in favour of Socialism it would be more useful for reference ; the facts are usually selected from a partisan standpoint and need careful verification The Income-Tax Handbook, by J. L. Ounsworth (Collins, 2s. 6d. net), has appeared in a revised edition for 1922-23. It is carefully written, and the author's official experience makes his hints valuable.
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