WARS WITHOUT END: THE HARROWING ACCOUNT OF A WAR CORRESPONDENTS JOURNEY THROUGH THE BATTLEFIELDS OF EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST. Downtown, Eric. Toronto, Stoddart Publishing. 1987. 350pp, cloth, $24.95. ISBN 0-7737-2091-X. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by Marc Shaw Volume 16 Number 5 1988 September A fascinating, albeit melancholy tale, Wars without End is the story of a forty-year career that reached from the battlefields of Spain in 1936 to those of Lebanon in the 1980s. During these years, author Eric Downton witnessed and reported on "the terrible riddle" in which mankind pursues a seemingly unwavering course of murder, war and terror. As a war and foreign correspondent for various news services and later in intelligence posts, Downton came to know firsthand the carnage and suffering of over thirty wars and conflicts. Looking back on his career, he comes to the sad conclusion that war seems to be an inherent part of our nature and that world peace, despite the peace movements and high-minded pronouncements of politicians, remains as elusive and unlikely today as it was when his career began. Downton's stories provide a good overview of many of the conflicts that have taken place over the past half-century. Wars without End contains an index, which is useful, but the book does not contain any photographs, an unusual omission given the huge selection available. Downton's style is at its best in his shorter accounts—some of the longer stories bog down in lengthy detail. Nevertheless, the book will be enjoyable and useful to students and teachers interested in modern world history. Marc Shaw, Kingston Learning Centre, Kingston, Ont.