THE CARTHAGINIAN ROSE

Make no mistake about it, this is not a travel book about Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the Orient, but a travel book about Ilka Chase in Spain, France, Italy, etc. With a good deal of gossip column chattiness (one section is devoted to the Grace Kelly-Prince Rainier wedding), this is a mundane view; she makes Crete sound like something for the historians which indeed it is not. Only occasionally does she even begin to capture the places she visits and the artistic heritage she is privileged to see. This is only for those who like their information (which includes various recipes) and ideas about places they may visit served up in a souffle-- the worst that can happen is a slight case of cultural indigestion.