J. C. Cooper summarizes some new books received by the journal: God's First Love by Friedrich Heer; Introducing Psychology, edited by D. S. Wright and Ann Taylor; Behavior Therapy in Clinical Psychiatry, by V. Meyer and Edward S. Chesser; Youth Holds the Key, by H. W. Heason; and A Chime of Windbells: A Year of Japanese Haiku in English Verse, a translation of Japanese poems by Harold Stewart.

The two books listed first were originally published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and were republished by The Singing Tree Press in 1970. The first book is apparently very well-known in the study of religion, and is described as “a collection of examples of human mentality in religion.” The second book is a study of this form of monasticism in England, and is well illustrated. And the third book is an account of Ittoten and the teaching of Tenko San, “…an important spiritual force in modern Japan.”

Rupert Gleadow writes to the editor in regard to a previously published correspondence by Mr. R. Bolton. Gleadow claims that Bolton does not recognize both the historical and character analysis perspectives on the zodiac. In the second letter, John M. Addey comments on Dr. Hans Bandmann’s letter in the autumn issue. Addey points out that Bandmann is incorrect in fixing the “heaven of the signs” as the locus of the heavenly archetypes, pointing out that the latter are necessarily beyond any fixed assignment in the realm of space and time.

The reviewer Marco Pallis praises the authors’ work in creating such a well-laid out book, according to Pallis this book provides a clear account of the daily life of Tibetans, including their clothing, housing and food. The arts and crafts of Tibet are also a main topic of the book, with a particular emphasis on handmade Tibetan rugs. The history of Tibet is also discussed in this book, up to the 20th century when Tibet became more affected by the British. The reviewer concludes that “A work like the present one is not merely a pointer to past Tibetan glories; indirectly it is a call to self questioning on the part of all who will read with attention, wherever they may belong.”

A series of new books reviewed by J.C. Cooper including Honest to Man; The Faith of Other Men; Realisation of Oneness; The Paradox of Self-Denial; and Kindred Soul

A series of new books reviewed by J. C. Cooper, including Crisis in Consciousness; Religion in Practice; Man in Search of Immortality; The World's Living Religions; The Meaning and End of Religion; Movement and Emptiness; Meditation; The English Presbyterians; The Church Unbound; Septem Sermones ad Mortuos; Being-in-the-World; Bible of the World; The Song Celestial

Martin Lings reviews the book The Eastern Key by Kitab al–ifadah wa l-i’tibar of Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, which was translated from the Arabic into English by K Hafuth Zand, John A and Ivy E Videan. According to the reviewer, this combination of original Arabic, and English translation, is an abridged version of a more lengthy work by the author. This book has essentially been divided into two parts, “the first is a general description of Egypt, its fauna and flora, the Egyptians themselves and the food they eat and above all the remains of the civilization of Ancient Egypt”. While the second part “is about the Nile and about the terrible famine which took place at the turn of the century”.

In the first letter, from Robert Irwin Tucker, he complains about Marco Pallis’s “vindication” of René Guénon in response to the criticism of Mr. Messrs. According to Mr. Tucker, Pallis’s response was too sentimental and “feminist” which are characteristics that Guénon himself would not have approved of. The writer refers to Guénon’s work on the Principles of the Infinitesimal Calculus, which Pallis purposefully ignores or considers unimportant, but which the writer himself regards as sadly overlooked. Mr. Tucker continues in his analysis of Guénon’s work as a mathematician and makes the point that as “Metaphysics is the supreme science of the Absolute…then it must contain all the positive possibilities of the lesser science of mathematics, including…clarity, precision, and authority…” In the second letter, Mr. Robert Bolton has an opinion to express on the subject of Guénon, specifically on his style of writing. According to Mr. Bolton, Guénon’s style of writing is incomprehensible when the subject itself is also incomprehensible. Had Guenon been writing about personal matters then Mr. Bolton feels that the terms “intolerant” and “hectoring” would have been perfectly suited if not too mild. Bolton concludes by stating “that wisdom and unclouded conviction should look like empty dogmatism, while stultification and egoism are able to parade themselves as honesty and good sense is certainly a dire reflection, but not a reflection, on Guénon”.