Books: War Revisited

MEN AT ARMS (314 pp.) — Evelyn Waugh—Little, Brown ($3.50).

Good satirists get so hot under the choler that they are always in danger of breaking out in a sentimental sweat—which is why many of them cling tightly to cold ferocity and suppress the feeblest spasms of affection. Satirist Evelyn Waugh has been no exception, but he is one of the few of his kind who has found the conflict between satirical art and goodness of heart a nagging, challenging problem. His ideal is the simple, honest "Christian gentleman"; Waugh cherishes things romantic, patriotic...