Books: Trick Hurricane

IN HAZARD—Richard Hughes—Harper ($2.50).

Let a novelist describe a hurricane at sea and straightway critics raise a hue because his hurricane is a pale imitation of the one Joseph Conrad described 35 years ago in Typhoon. The difference is put down to Conrad's superior literary talents. Actually, hurricanes were fiercer in Conrad's day; that is to say, sailing ships ran into more of them. Modern steamers, tipped off by radio, usually steer clear of them—no difficult matter, since hurricanes travel across open sea at no more than 15 m.p.h.* Richard Hughes, author...