When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan late in 1979, some Western analysts felt the invasion might have been prompted by Russian fears of an Islamic rebellion among the non-Russian, Moslem residents of the U.S.S.R., many of whose lands were forcibly seized by Tsarist troops in the 19th century. As Nora Beloff makes quite clear in her discussion of Russia's "hundred-headed hydra," such fears are now a permanent part of the Soviet scene, particularly since the non-Russians today number about as many as the Russians themselves. Miss Beloff's discussion of the disruptive potential of national forces building up in Soviet society is based upon a firsthand, longtime knowledge of Russia. The British journalist and author served as Moscow correspondent for The Observer during the Khrushchev era and has traveled extensively through the Soviet Union.

In the past, children's literature has had little appeal to the English departments of American higher learning. Now this situation may be changing, with such literature becoming a matter of greater scholarly concern. If so, much of the credit for this change is due to Francelia Butler, founder of the Journal of Children's Literature, an annual publication of the Yale Press, the latest issue of which contains articles by such distinguished authors as Alison Lurie, Robert Coles, and Roger Sale. Mrs. Butler is a professor of English at the University of Connecticut and the author of Sharing Literature with Children and Master-works of Children's Literature, 1550—1739.

As readers of her essay will see, Molly Ingle Michie was an extraordinary woman. The wife of a lawyer and Virginia legislator, Thomas J. Michie, Jr. , she left this explanation of why she decided to put down her thoughts and feelings during the sunset of her life: "By describing my losing battle with cancer I don't intend to discourage other people who are currently doing battle with the malady. Mine is a very rare form of the disease, almost impossible to diagnose in the early stages and not as responsive as most malignancies to treatment. Most cancer victims can win their battles. This essay is not for cancer victims, anyway. It is for anyone who ever expects to die and is frightened at the prospect. It is particularly for those who will die without the comfort of a strong religious faith."