The Charm of Scandinavia

FRANCIS E. CLARK and SYDNEY A. CLARK. Little Brown & Co. Boston.

"The Charm of Scandinavia" is a book of 319 pages written under the joint authorship of Francis E. Clark '73 and Sydney A. Clark 'l2. The book consists of a series of letters in which father and son under the names of Phillips and Alymer seek to set forth the charm of .the Scandinavian countries as they have made their appeal to them in the course' of several journeys to those interesting lands. Phillips presents in a graphic manner many of the picturesque scenes in the history of Sweden and Finland. He also describes in felicitous language the scenery and the homely customs of the every day life of the peoples of these countries. Alymer writes of Norway and Denmark and vies with his elder in depicting the charm of these countries as revealed in history, land and people. Many interesting features of the lands and peculiar customs of the peoples are entertainingly described. The book is illustrated with many well chosen cuts.

The authors have shown such skill in. their descriptions of scenery and such appreciation of the character of the peoples of Scandinavia that the reader is led to wish that the book had been more completely devoted to an account of the personal experiences and impressions of the writers in their rather unusual opportunities of knowing the people and visiting places out of the ordinary range of tourists. However, to those already initiated into the charms of the Scandinavian countries the book will bring the delight of a familiar and well beloved picture; while to the uninitiated the book should create an irresistible desire to visit those countries so little frequented by American travelers. With ships plying between Bergen and New York and Copenhagen and New York the journey to these northern countries can be made as cheaply and with almost as much comfort as to the other European countries. With the wreckage of war strewn over many of the familiar scenes of Europe it is to be hoped that the neutral countries of Scandinavia may be spared and that here at _ least the traveler may enjoy the beauties of nature unspoiled by the cruel reminders of war. F. A. U.