“The Mountain Way.” An Anthology in Prose and Verse, col­

lected by R. L. G. Irving. 656 pages, 1 illustration. London :

J. M. Dent & Sons, 1938. Price 10 s, 6 d.

Arnold Lunn’s Oxford Mountaineering Essays and J. Walker

McSpadden’s The Alps as Seen by the Poets have served their

limited purposes well. It remained for R. L. G. Irving to com­

bine mountain prose and verse in a comprehensive, up-to-date

anthology. “If you can neither go to the mountains nor have beside

you a friend whose mere presence brings them back,” says Mr.

Irving, “there remains another way, a third best only, but often

a pleasant and effective way, that is, to read what men have writ­

ten of them.” Intended to reach all types of mountain lovers,

The Mountain Way offers a wide range of reading which is divided

into the following seven sections: 1, How Men Have Looked

at It; 2, How They Have Followed It; 3, A Way of Change;

4, Its Halting-Places; 5, Its Warnings; 6, Men of the Mountain;

7, Visions Near and Far. Each section is pleasantly and infor­

mally prefaced. Mr. Irving has shown excellent critical taste in

making his selections, very many of which would classify as litera-

ture of the best. The volume is one to pick up often for either

brief or extended reading.W. S. C.