ARMCHAIR treasure hunters can now find The Lost Fortune of the Tsars by William Clarke (Orion $72) in paperback. Clarke is looking for the GBP30 billion possessed by the Romanovs before World War I. His search for the gold and jewels has taken him into banks and archives around the world in the past two decades.
With Europe gearing up for the 50th anniversary celebrations of VE-Day on May 8, Hugh Trevor-Roper's The Last Days of Hitler (Papermac $170) reappears for the seventh time. First published in 1947, this new edition includes a preface by the author which looks at developments in recent years but otherwise remains essentially the same, examining the personal fate of Hitler as World War II finally drew to a close.
Also getting another run are two of Mario Vargas Llosa's novels, The Time of the Hero (Faber $119) and The Green House (Faber $119). Both were award-winners, first appeared in the 1960s and offer incisive portraits of Peruvian society.
Still in South America, Brazilian author Nelida Pinon gets her first outing in English with The Republic of Dreams (Picador $136). The 600-plus, small-print epic follows the trials of four generations of a family struggling to transplant itself from its Spanish origins to a new existence in Brazil.
On the pop literature scene, Ray Davies' X Ray (Viking $272) offers a novel approach to autobiography. The Kinks' founder member dons the persona of a nameless novice writer sent out to pen the life story of Raymond Douglas who may or may not be Ray Davies.
Meanwhile, Holly Johnson's A Bone in My Flute (Arrow $72) provides insight into the Frankie Goes To Hollywood phenomenon with the lead singer musing on his life history, from early times in Liverpool to his current days living with AIDS. It's not a completely full and frank affair. The book declares names have been changed in places.
