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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 7 (October 1, 1937.)

Reviews

page 55

Reviews.

“Water Into Gold,” by Ernestine Hill (Robertson & Mullens, Melbourne) is the appropriate title of a remarkably interesting story of the grand old river Murray. From the early days when the Murray knew only the bark canoes of the aboriginals to the present day when the pluck and enterprise of man has linked the river with the magic of irrigation, transforming arid country into prosperous cities and towns, the author traces the fascinating story of the Murray. We meet the intrepid Stuart, the first to navigate the waters; we see the quaint old paddle steamers following in his wake; we meet the Charley brothers; the great Alfred Deakin and others who utilised the Murray to make one of the greatest irrigation schemes in the world, and then the miracle of transforming Murray waters into the gold of the fruits of the soil. Along the way, too, we meet such spectacular people as De Garis, Grant Hervey and others. Every page of this fine volume is as interesting as a modern novel, but of enduring value. Over one hundred and thirty splendid illustrations are contained in the book, which is a credit to the publishers.

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“Legend for Sanderson” (Angus & Robertson), by Vance Palmer, is one of the best novels yet written by the popular Australian author, and also is a notable psychological study. It is a tale of the North, as they call it in Australia. We meet the clever old scoundrel Sanderson, paying the inevitable penalty for his years of dissipation, and with only one real friend, the woman he lives with. After his tragic passing we come to his son Neil who has his father's dominating character without its frailties. And we see the tortures of his mind as he fights the ever present shadow of his parent. We meet Besanck, his friend, a sardonic waster, also the lovable old builder Peter and his wayward daughter, Freda. From the torrid atmosphere of the canefields we journey among the Barrier Islets. Always the author is weaving his absorbing story, and like the expert surgeon of words that he is, always busy with his knife on the souls and minds of his characters. An unusual and striking novel.

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“The Awakening,” by Capt. G. D. Mitchell, M.C., D.C.M. (Angus & Robertson, Sydney) is by the author of that widely discussed war book, “Backs to the Wall.” In the latter book, Capt. Mitchell dealt with actuality, the Great War. In his latest book he discusses possibility, or is it probability? A red day dawns in Australia in 1938. A foreign invader appears and rains death and destruction from land, sea and air on the coastal towns and cities of Queensland and New South Wales. There arises one John Cromwell, an exmajor of the A.I.F., then living in North Queensland. Supported by a few comrades from the Great War, he organises a command consisting of farmers, bushmen and city folk. In desperate guerrila fashion they hold the invaders at bay, capturing much of their ammunition, guns and even tanks. How far they succeed is told in a gripping breathless story. As the Right Hon. W. M. Hughes observes in his introduction, the book is a lesson on unpreparedness.

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“Pollyanna” and “Pollyanna Grows Up,” by Eleanor H. Porter (Angus & Robertson, Sydney) are the first two of the Platypus Edition of the Pollyanna books. Pollyanna is known and loved by tens of thousands of readers the world over, and should gain many new admirers in this part of the world through the cheap compact edition now to hand from the well-known Australian publishing house. The story of Pollyanna is a wholesome and at times exciting one, appealing in the first place to the young woman of to-day, yet sufficiently appealing also to interest average readers of both sexes.

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“Crescendo,” by Eric de Mauny (Hand-Craft Press, Wellington), is a booklet of blank verse which is interesting because the author is striving to express himself. There is promise of better things to come. The young poet should have called his book “Prelude” — “Crescendo” might come later. This is the second booklet produced by the Hand-Craft Press, and is a big improvement in contents and format on ithe first, “Up to Sixteen,” by Lindsay M. Constable.

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