RECENT & READABLE

The Barkeep of Blemont, by Marcel Ayme. What happens to wine-loving, live-and-let-live Bartender Leopold when he is caught in the postLiberation political recriminations of his French town (TIME, May 15).

A Woman of Means, by Peter Taylor. Jealousy, insanity and the tensions of an unhappy marriage swirling about the head of a boy; a first-rate first novel in a minor key (TIME, May 15).

Another Pamela or, Virtue Still Rewarded, by Upton Sinclair. A California goat-girl resists almost all temptations and marries into the Big Rich; a retread of Richardson's 18th Century novel in which Sinclair gives his old aversion to wealth a fresh spin, mostly good-humored (TIME, May 8).

Escape to Adventure, by Fitzroy Mac lean. A World War II brigadier and Tory M.P. describes his prewar prowling in Russia, his commando adventures in the North African desert and his guerrilla life with Tito in one of the best personal-adventure books in a long while (TIME, May 1).

The Grand Alliance, by Winston Churchill. The third volume, covering 1941, of the ablest, most colorful contribution yet made to the history of the war (TIME, May 1).

The Town, by Conrad Richter. Hard work and lusty humors in the building of Ohio; good fictional Americana in a novel that brings Richter's trilogy to an end with the Civil War (TIME, May 1).

The Lady's Not for Burning, by Christopher Fry. A play in verse that tells in fresh, shining language of a witch hunt in 15th Century England and of two triumphant lovers (TIME, April 24).

Of Men and Mountains, by William O. Douglas. Trout fishing and mountain climbing in the tall Northwest, served up with a garnish of mountain-made philosophy (TIME, April 17).

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