ACROSS THE FRONTIERS

It is news when Philip Gibbs becomes pessimistic about the state of world affairs. European Journey struck a note of optimism, which many hoped was justified but feared was a case of ""wishful thinking."" Now he shows the changes the intervening years have brought, and paints the other side of the picture, Europe involved in strife, without and within. He is true to character in reaching for a solution, which he feels lies in friendship with Germany, at a price, perhaps, but not as heavy a price as war. His analysis of one country after another is interesting. Written before the incorporation of Austria into Germany, parts of it read as somewhat dated, though prophetic in accepting the inevitability of that step. In regard to Czechoslovakia, he feels that the German population must be given some form of autonomy -- and that beyond that Hitler has no aggressive ideas. His study of Germany reveals an acceptance of a surface oneness, but an undercurrent of critical opinion, fearful of the emotional content of Hitler's government. The Jewish problem he approaches objectively, pointing out the reasons which brought it into relief, and fearful of the ultimate effect of the Palestine movement. All in all, the book must be treated as a somewhat conservative reportorial job, colored by faith in the ultimate soundness of the British Empire.