As It Was: Pleasures, Landscapes, and Justice

This collection of travel and courtroom observations, published between 1953 and 1967, exemplifies the writings that won the British author many honors. With sensitivity and wit, Bedford describes her European travels, coloring the pieces with an appreciation of the people, cuisine and distinctive terrain in each country. Far different but equally engrossing are her reports on criminal trials that she covered for British and American magazines. Observing procedures in an English court, Bedford describes the case against Lady Chatterley's Lover : the Crown v. Penguin Books Ltd . Bedford also details Jack Ruby's trial for murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, amid publicity seekers in Dallas. Overshadowing all, however, is ``The Worst That Ever Happened,'' an account of the Frankfurt, Germany, trial of 22 former Auschwitz staff members. (June)