118 pages. The jacket suffers from loss to the head, front and back, the body of the book is in excellent condition: clean, unmarked and solid. "Walter James's writings on wine coincided with changes in Australians' tastes and led them as well. He could be mannered, witty, and epigrammatic, but also confident and informative, drawing on his accumulated literary and practical knowledge. He was convinced of the delights and civilising benefits of wine. He railed good-humouredly against 'beerolatry,' restrictive licensing laws, wowsers, and drunks alike. A stout, shy, and bookish man, his publications appealed to Australians who, in the 1950s and 1960s especially, were seeking greater worldly sophistication and knowledge of wine and food." (Australian Dictionary of Biography)