THE CHALLENGE OF SCANDINAVIA

Some years ago Marquis Childa' The Middle Way fascinated the American reading public with the program then getting under way in Sweden. Now William Shirer has performed signal service in bringing us up to date, not only on Sweden, but on Norway, Denmark, Finland. In the Interim World War II has devastated three out of the four- so the record is one of "Operation Bootstrap"- Scandinavian style. He has sketched in the background historically, politically, socially; he has recorded the war record; he has analyzed the state of mind; he has given us the picture of what has been achieved, what the current progress, what the goals. It would be captious to complain that in so doing he has remained almost coldly impersonal, objective. What is said of the character of country and people is by way of interpreting their performance- not giving a word picture. What he has set out to do- present the "challenge" he has done- admirably.