104 BOOK REVIEWSThe authors cannot be faulted on their selection of species to include,having taken every precaution to exclude unreliable observations. They havealso, thoughtfully, appended a short list of animals which might be expectedto occur here, on the grounds of their known proximity, although not yetreliably recorded within the borders of Zimbabwe.It is difficult to recommend this book to any particular reader. As achecklist alone it has value to the specialist who would, however, have accessto scientific literature for ecological and other information. The more generalinformation included about each species would be of value to the amateurnaturalist and conservationist, but the format does not render this a con-venient book for the identification of animals in the field, on several grounds.The book (19 X 25cm) is not of a handy size for the pocket of a bushwalker;nor does it carry illustrations of the animals. The keys which are included foridentification of species are fragmented throughout, so that, for example, onecannot identify his mouse unless he can already identify it to Family at sightand so find the entry to the keys on page 155.If the book was aimed at the wider readership, as one would hope of a.work from this particular publisher, it would have been much improved bythe addition of an identifying key system integrated in one place Š preferablyat the beginning.Descriptions are often vague, although this is a common fault andespecially so when colour is the subject. What, for example, is a 'buffytinged ochraceous colour'?Otherwise, without in any way detracting from the overall great value ofthis work, a critical reader might be irritated by the writing style which isinconsistent, and by the use of clumsy phraseology which seems to indicatea lack of care in preparation or in editing. This reviewer has a personal dis-like of phrases such as 'up to about 60 or more' which could be rewordedmore precisely.University of Zimbabwe A. S. ROEBUCKtDarkness and Dawn in Zimbabwe By H. P. Elliott. London, GrosvenorBooks, 1978, 49pp., £0.65.Fear and Fun Š Rhodesian Recollections By Kachengere (R. H. Lees).[Plymouth?], privately, 1978, 184pp., no price indicated.Both of these books are of true stories but very different in character.The first is about people working for peace and understanding in acountry divided by political strife and an escalating war in 1978. The purposeis to show that God has inspired a plan for the solution of political problems. ,While the sentiments are unexceptional the stories do not ring true; theirmessage is simplistic and seems to derive from Moral Rearmament.The second is a collection of reminiscences about the author's youth nearBulawayo and then on the Copperbelt and in Lusaka. The stories are slightbut told in an interesting and unpretentious manner; their main focus ishunting and natural history but there are also useful sidelights on the socialhistory of European society in the difficult years of the inter-war period.R.S.R.