RECENT & READABLE

The World and the West, by Arnold Toynbee. A provocative interpretation of the history of the past six centuries, capped with a venture in semi-prophecy (TIME, April 20).

Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis. A man of action confronts life with one of the most affirmative philosophies in recent fiction; a modern Greek masterpiece by last year's runner-up for the Nobel Prize (TIME, April 20).

Dumbbells and Carrot Strips, by Mary Macfadden and Emile Gauvreau. Rollicking memoirs of 17 years with Bernarr Macfadden, by one of his former wives (TIME, April 20).

Count d'Orgel, by Raymond Radiguet. Three people locked in a triangle of sensibilities; a minor masterpiece by a French literary prodigy who died at 20 (TIME, March 30).

Holmes-Laski Letters, edited by Mark DeWolfe Howe. Nearly 1,500 pages of learning, gossip and friendly controversy between a skeptical old Brahmin and a Marxist intellectual (TIME, March 23).

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