WHO KNOWS?

Hope-Simpson skims twelve ""mysteries""--as diverse as the ghosts of Glamis Castle, the character of Rasputin and Etruscan archaeology--for their curiosity value. The sheer disproportion of considering, side by side, the origins of South American civilization and an unsolved ""murder by witchcraft"" in post-war England is breathtaking, and the barrage of come-on questions ("". . . what did the workman see that led Lord Strathmore to pay him to emigrate?"" and "". . . if Alexis had been a perfectly healthy boy, would the history of the world have been any different?"") will have you biting your nails for one reason or another. Who knows indeed. . . and at $6.50 the dozen, who cares?