Robert Frost Books

This is a remarkable work by the author that originated the `End of History' debate. Kojeve is perhaps most famous (in the English-speaking world) for his argument with Leo Strauss in `On Tyranny' and also his interpretation of Hegel in his `Introduction to the Reading of Hegel', which was a collection of notes to a course given by Kojeve in the thirties. This work (the `Introduction') can be correctly described as one of the first exercises in existential-Marxism thanks to its groundbreaking mixture of Hegel, Heidegger and Marx.

It (the `Introduction') is a very `dramatic' reading of Hegel in which Masters rise to mastery thanks to their willingness to fight, kill and die while those not as willing sink to the level of Slaves. The driving force in this struggle, btw, is neither Reason nor mere animal need but the all-to-human Desire for Recognition. But this is not the last word: mastery is an impasse; it goes nowhere, it can only reenact endlessly the Fight that created it. Slavery, however, through Work changes both the world and the slaves themselves. Thus Kojeve is correct to say that History is the history of the working slave. This struggle between Masters and Slaves dialectically unfolds until the appearance of the French Revolution, whose `Freedom, Equality, Fraternity' goes forth to change the world by bringing Recognition to all. It is Kojeve's contention that we have been living in post-history since that Revolution - in which History technically ended - with nothing happening except the rest of the world being brought into line with the Ideals of the Revolution. Thus Kojeve says (of Hegel, though he could have said it of himself too) that Hegel "definitely reconciles himself with all that is and has been, by declaring that there will never more be anything new on earth."

This line of thought is later made famous by Fukuyama in his popular book `The End of History and the Last Man'. Fukuyama reminds us that the `End of History' must mean, thanks to the cessation of Human Desire (struggle for recognition), a return to `animality'. This animality, of course, is the `Last Man' Nietzsche's Zarathustra so memorably mocks - `we have invented happiness' the last men recite, and then fall asleep. The argument between Strauss-Kojeve in `On Tyranny' boils down, after one strips away the exoteric, to the possibility that philosophy will be impossible in the Universal Homogenous State (UHS) that rises at the end of our post-history. Kojeve, in the end, bites the bullet and concedes that the Sages aren't philosophers properly understood; all they (the Sages) can do is reiterate, publicly or in their own minds, the process that led eventually, but necessarily, to them. Philosophy dies in the shadow of an Absolute and Circular Truth (i.e., absolute, unchanging; circular, no matter where one begins ones investigation one always ends with the same Truth) and never rises again.

It is with all this baggage (and doubtless more) that we English-speaking readers of Kojeve then turn to the Outline in the hope of some clarification of the myriad issues we are familiar with. Be prepared for a shock, the `Outline' has pretty much eschewed (or toned down) all talk of animality, tyranny, Sages, Desire and so forth. The translators, Frost and Howse, in their excellent introduction go so far as to characterize, I think correctly, the final goal of the Kojevean History (the full replacement of the rule of men by the rule of law) as a hyper-liberalism! The final state (UHS) rises, not through the dramatic confrontation between Masters and Slaves fighting over their Humanity but through the integration of economies and the syncing up of legal systems that comes along with it, i.e. globalization. It is certainly not the compelling and dramatic story of necessary tyranny and unrequited Desire that Kojeve (in)famously made in both the `Introduction' and the discussion with Strauss. (Kojeve, an admirer of Stalin, was capable of writing sentences comparing (and indeed, justifying) the rise of communism and Hitler insofar as both, in spite of what they intended, led, in fact, to further democratization! See Kojeve's `Introduction', p160, note.) However, this book, the `Outline', does nothing of the sort. It is a brilliant but measured technical study of the forces set loose by modern capitalism that lead, inevitably, to a global State. ...It is seemingly a book for technocrats - and technocrats only. One comes away with the impression that, for Kojeve, the modern world is a system of forces searching for equilibrium. The UHS is that unending equilibrium.

But why is there such a seeming disconnect between (at the very least!) the tone of the Outline and that of the Introduction? While it can be argued that Kojeve changed his mind about these matters I would say that Kojeve, an esoteric writer (like Leo Strauss) himself, intended these two books for very different audiences and very different purposes. The present work, the Outline, is intended to show those of us living in Posthistoire - remember, history `ended' for Kojeve with the French Revolution, our present post-history is the struggle to actualize the Ideals of the Revolution throughout the world; that actualization, when attained, is the UHS - what remains to be done. The `Introduction', by contrast, shows us how to think of this posthistoire. Thus the `Introduction' is propaganda, the `Outline' is plan.

The `Introduction', btw, does not necessarily put forth the `final form' of propaganda in the UHS. As Kojeve told Strauss:

"Historical action necessarily leads to a specific result (hence: deduction), but the ways that lead to this result, are varied (all roads lead to Rome!). The choice between these ways is free, and this choice determines the content of the speeches about the action and the meaning of the result. In other words: materially history is unique, but the spoken story can be extremely varied, depending on the free choice of how to act." (On Tyranny, p 256).

Thus `ideological' differences between the `Introduction' and the `Outline' are not significant for Kojeve. The `Introduction' presented a possible version of what to say; the `Outline' tells us what to do. ...This is Kojeve's strict modernism. The ancients and some moderns would append a cosmology to the system - something to dream about. Hegel has a philosophy of nature and a theology; his student Kojeve has neither. Plato writes a Timaeus, Nietzsche a Zarathustra; Kojeve does nothing of the sort. Only time will tell if this fidelity to the radical, atheistic Enlightenment will cost him everything.

This is a very readable translation with an excellent introduction, kudos to Frost and Howse!

Frost has a conscience in his poetry, a question that he aught to do something with all these words, as the universe does something with all those stars.Meetings with butterflies, birds, children, friends and townspeople gather into meetings with science and religion and finally God, who must be dealt with at this time period. Frost takes us (the growing America) from babyhood to adolescence. He defines a restless nation, a lonely but toughened thing on prairies and pastures forgetting Europe and what we need of any history. Every poem is also a small epitaph, for himself, or maybe for the life he knew, even for the truth that he is so sure of in a Boy's Will. I would recommend this edition if you want a Frost book that has everything metiulously set out by date with index of key verses not just titles. It also includes a frontspiece photo that has become a classic.

A beautiful little book about Frost's apparently well documented journey to Russia in the early 60s (I only vaguely recall it), his important visits with Yevtushenko (who proves himself to be as usual preoccupied with Yevtushenko - brilliant and notoriously sidetracked) and the great Anna Akhmatova (the dangerously vital witness to the worst of Soviet abuse of its artists), and finally his over-arching visit with Krushchev. The book is compact and to the point, much like Frost's poems. A bit of Frost's personal hesitancy comes through, though we find it but precedes his customary plain-spoken triumph in Russia, as in America, once he begins to feel comfortable - a requisite luxury that remained important to Frost throughout his life. Strongly written by someone who was there, it's a gem of a book for anyone interested in Robert Frost's conception of America and her artists, revealing a robustly innocent kind of faith one unfortunately finds nowhere nowadays.

"Robert Frost: The Work of Knowing" by Richard Poirier does what I want: presents a solid, thorough critical study of Robert Frost's work without getting lost in praise.

Robert Frost is too often tossed away as only a pastoral poet without a tremendous amount of substance. As the contrary is true, Poirier examines both the simple phrasings of Frost to his immense depth of discovery.

If we see Robert Frost only by his most famous poems, like "The Road Not Taken," and "The Mending Wall," we are apt to miss the range of literary prowess wrought by him. He was amazingly literate, and by no means just some country bloke popping out interesting verse about life's choices and relationships.

Selections of letters by Frost himself, arguing his position of a given poem, or his general perspective, as well as lengthy stanzas augment Poirier's thoughts.

Poirier compares aspects of Frost to James Joyce, Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Hardy, TS Eliot and many others, showing how the poet fits in to both contemporaries and the canon.

In the letters, we see the erudite intellectual, the persona hidden from most readers of Frost. He reflects on his inadequacies and strengths.

Poirier breaks down the brilliant schema of what appear to be the easiest rendering of lines, and, within them, reveals the elucid manipulation of words like "early" and "petal" (as in "The Oven Bird").

He also labors at length to illuminate Frost's concept of form. Other analyses include his philosophical views (noting, for example, Frost's support of marital love).

The weakness of the book is not the content, but the index. It is deficient in that names authors and poets well-enough, but not subjects. Likewise, it reads nicely, but could use a stronger structure. It comes across at times rambling, as if written without an outline. For what I sought, however, none of this overtakes the value.

I fully recommend "Robert Frost: The Work of Knowing" by Richard Poirier.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Despite all of the people we encounter during the day, most of us are fundamentally lonely. Few of the people we encounter are little more than serious acquaintances and after our conversations, we all go our separate ways. Many houses now have privacy fences so that we don't even have to see each other at our leisure in our back yards. This book is a collection of verse and songs about that fundamental loneliness. There are songs by Lennon and McCartney, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Joe South. Some of the verse is by T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, W. B. Yeats, Emily Dickenson and Ezra Pound. All entries capture part of the essence of being human and a part of a community without being a fundamental cog. It is a sad reminder that even though we encounter more and more people each day, it is quality and not quantity that really has meaning in our lives.

Robert Frost has the ability to capture the deepness of simple things. We tend to overlook the profoundness of life's little nuggets. The combination of King's simple photos of country life in New England adds visual images to the mental ones painted by Frost. A beautiful book!

A clear and easy to understand discussion of the Elliot wave theory. Readers are shown how they can apply the theory to forecast market and stock direction. If you want to study 'the wave', surf through this book.

David Colletti
Founder
StockTradersHQ.com

I've been reading this book again and again for about 3 times. Every time I read it, I got new stuff out of it.

None of the sentences in it is redundant. When I first got this book, I also bought myself a highlighter, cuz I want to study it really carefully, I want to make sure I dont miss a thing. But eventually, I highlighted pretty much the whole book!

Treasure. Even if it costs $500, I'll still buy it. Worths it!

This is kind of book I was looking for to enhance my basic knowledge about Elliott Wave Theory. First Two chapters of the Book explains in simple language about the basics of Elliott Wave priciple and How to count and identify the wave and trading opportunities. Second Chapter imparts you about application aspect of Elliott Wave priciple such as, Ratio analysis,Longterm Wave formation principle and different approaches to wave principle.

Finnaly the Apendix LONGTERM FORECAST UPDATE,1982-1983 summarises the entire principle and provide you an insight.

A fellow reviewer of this book said "Obviously people either love this book or they hate it." I disagree. I love and hate this book at the same time. People with different backgrounds and perspectives will view this book differently. I would like to offer my opinions here to those like me, and to others too.

I consider myself a "serious beginner". I read my very first book on stock market in last March and bought my first stock in last May. I became interested in Elliott Wave Theory (EWT) in last August, one week before I gave up my academic career and started trading as full time pursuit. Currently I make a living by trading S&P index with the guidance of EWT.

Ralph Nelson Elliott is one of the greatest observers in human history. I believe that his achievement should be equal to those of the greatest ones such as Newton and Darwin. But I doubt that he will be ever widely recognized simply because the subjects he and his theory have been observing are actually the judges, i.e., we human beings.

EWT had been forgotten by the majority of trading, investing society for decades. Mr. Frost and Mr. Prechter and their book were the main reason that EWT became widely appreciated. I love the concise, old fashion way of writing of this book. All the rules and guidelines of EWT are presented clearly and demonstrated precisely with very well chosen examples. This book is a must have for any Elliott Wave student. I have studied three different editions of this book for five times. I studied some sections and pages more than ten times. This is the book one needs to read over and over again. However, this is a textbook, not a trading manual. Many of the wave counts in the examples are full of hindsight and not practically useful. And many of the situations in the examples aren't tradable. To have a feel of actual application of EWT, one certainly needs some extra practice.

What I dislike about this book is that the authors blended their own opinions into EWT. There's nothing wrong with that if the contributions were meaningful. The reality is that they were often wrong and misleading.

I have heard claims such as "if it didn't fit in Elliott Wave, you counted it wrong", from EWT loyalists. The authors had the same superstitious belief throughout the book. From my limited experiences, I see incompletes, failures and arguable patterns everywhere from hourly charts to weekly charts. Even if this belief is true, it's based on hindsight, and doesn't do any good to what EWT is supposed to do, i.e. to forecast and to make money. This belief will create a mindset which leads to a fatal psychological state. One consequence is over trading. When over trading, you win you will be damned and you lose you will be damned. If you are a trader trading with your livelihood on the line, you know what I mean. I was puzzled by the superstitious concept for weeks until I read Elliott's description of triangle in his classic Natural's Law. He said "......the triangle falls outside the wave phenomenon, as herein discussed, and should be IGNORED." This is enlightening. The moral is that EWT isn't a school exam, in which every question has an answer.

Elliott defined "Half Moon" and "AB base" patterns in his classic Natural's Law. The authors of this book considered that "Half Moon" was not a separate pattern but merely a descriptive phrase. The authors of this book didn't agree "AB base" either and implied that Elliott was too old and confused to give right judgment. They claimed "The authors have never seen an "AB base", and it cannot exist. Its invention by Elliott merely goes to show that for all his meticulous study and profound discovery, he displayed a typical analyst's weakness in......" This is outrageous. And this is where my hatred for this book is from.

Half Moon deserves to be a separate pattern for four reasons. First of all, Elliott said so! Secondly, Half Moon has well defined structures. It is a five wave pattern in which wave 5 significantly bigger than wave 3 and wave 3 significantly bigger than wave 1. Wave 1 and wave 3 can be zigzags in some cases. Thirdly, Half Moon starts from a zigzag and ends at a zigzag. There may be another five wave pattern following the last zigzag, may not, depending on where the Half Moon is at in the pattern one degree higher. If Half Moon isn't a separate pattern, it will violate EWT's rule "five wave pattern in a correction phase will be followed by another five wave pattern". Fourthly, Half Moon happens in market often and is extremely profitable or destructive. I learned Half Moon pattern the hard way in January. At 11:00 am EST on January 4th I called market bottom and reversed my SPX positions prematurely. I lost more than 50 % in a day.

I wonder why the authors of this book had never seen AB Base. I see AB Base everywhere in market. AB Base has unique structure in which motive waves of one degree lesser are actually zigzag and corrective waves of one degree lesser are five wave. AB Base pattern isn't very frequent. But its variations are so common they occupied really high percentage in history. AB Base definitely deserves to be a separate pattern. AB Base has so well defined structure it offers great certainty and trading opportunities. For example, with no doubt I opened March OEX 615 calls at 12:45 pm EST on March 20th for the price of $0.50. The calls expired three hours later at $5.38. The return was 980%. One of the authors of this book, Mr. Prechter rose to guru status and fell hard back in 80s and 90s. If Mr. Prechter was humble enough and studied AB Base carefully before completely denied it, he might recognize the market pattern in late 80s not later than November 1990 and found its analog in history. This way he would at least have a strong alternative wave count and forecast which pointed to the actual market direction in 90s and therefore avoid the catastrophe in his career and decade long humiliation.

There are more improper and arguable comments in the book. I may be wrong though. As I mentioned above that my experience and knowledge are limited.

Five plus stars for the introduction to EWT and zero star for the disrespect and arrogance. Final rating 3 stars.

This book by no means intends to teach you Elliott wave but to have it advertised to you and never give you a grip on the wave principle, so you can only rely on their service which is pricey.

the reason I say that is that you can only grab the principles of Elliott wave by practice and seeing real chart examples, but this book rarely brings real chart examples of the market- less than 4 charts in the entire book which is ridiculous for a material like Elliott wave, the rest is theoretical graph, so there is no application whatsoever.

I always hate books that carries another service behind it.
however in his service, Mr Prechter is more wrong than right:
1- at end of 2006 Mr Prchter predicted on a video forecast on his site for subscribers that oil has topped and it will go down from $75 top, just to come 2007 and prove him wrong by $25

2- at year 2000 Mr prechter predicted that market will never top year 2000 and wrote a book about what he predicted to be a historic crash, just for 2 years later the market proved him wrong as it started climb up all the way and topped year 2000

3- even at end of 2006, he tried to explain his wrong prediction away by saying that the nominal value of the market is going up but the dollar value is going down because of deflation and that will cause a crash, yet 2007 proved him wrong again

4- at end of 2007, his wave count for subscribers are full of "may be this, may be that, market has plenty of options...etc" totally undecided

5- Neely's book on the other hand is very specific, full of rules in every step of the way that leave no chance (almost) for misinterpretations , plus his service is much cheaper, available for anyone to continue his peruse of learning Elliott.

The 2 stars are given because the writing is really concise and doesn't have fillers, which is a plus.

An excellent product of solid research and study that desribes the real stories behind the classic nursery rhymes. Great work!

I'm very interested in the origin of nursery rhymes, and was therefore not at all enthralled by this book. Almost from the first page, my enthusiasm began to wane; after a couple chapters I became downright bored. The author demonstrates that he is very knowledgeable, but never quite ties his observations of history directly to the nursery rhyme being discussed. The title is the most interesting line of the book. Sorry to say this was quite a disappointing reading experience for me.

Heavy Words Lightly Thrown By Chris Roberts.

Paperback 185 Pages.

This collection is not intended for children.

This collection of rhymes was researched as far as was possible( by a librarian with a history degree.) not an easy job, but the fact that considerable effort was made to unravel the facts was good enough for me.

I knew there were hidden meanings to the rhymes because of my work and interest in child - care. I was very pleased when I found this book, as topics like these are not easy to find.

It is not pollitically correct, if it had been I probably would not have bought it. I am very fond of this quirky paperback. I found the history fascinating, (both English and American versions of the rhymes are given) when available. The short histories allow the reader to peruse at leisure and with pleasure, returning again and again.

I wish that I had read the other's reviews before getting this book. 'Heavy Words Lightly Thrown' seems like quite a read. It seemed to be the only book on the subject of the truth behind nursery rhymes so I was quite intrigued.
Unfortunately, the first few tales written bothered me. I am quite the history fanatic, but not everyone is. The author goes off with history lessons, hoping that the readers know what he was talking about. I'm glad I did. The author goes off track, stating what the rhyme might mean if he's not too sure himself, giving two and three explanations and trying to tie them together. It is very confusing and unorganized. You can't cram a bunch of history in three pages.
For ex:
'Jack Be Nimble' MIGHT have to do with how healthy one might be. There was also a lot of talk about fertility. 'Jack' is not a girl, so this reference shouldn't even be there seeing that it has no tie with the rhyme.
&
Learning about children sacrifices to keep a bridge safe was quite interesting... but had nothing to do with 'London Bridge'.
In other stories, the author actually starts babbling about the same thing for a whole page, making you wish that the next rhyme would just be on the next page already.
To sum it up, I was very disappointed. I hope if the author decided to write more on this subject, that he gets his FACTS straight and in order or at least number his 'Perhaps'. Do not throw asterisk around, expecting the reader to stop and flip to the back of the book every few paragraphs and do not try to be witty, be witty.

This book, which explores the origin of some 40 familiar nursery rhymes, alternated between being fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating because of the unexpected nuggets of information it contains ('Tweedledum and Tweedledee' was based on a feud between Handel and another composer, Bononcini; 'Banbury Cross' was intended to mock the Puritans; 'Baa-baa black sheep' was an early complaint about taxes; 'Sing a song of sixpence' is about the first two wives of Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries). Frustrating because all too often the 'explanation' is little more than the presentation of assorted theories of varying degrees of plausibility, with no resolution provided (though to be fair to the author, this probably reflects a desire not to go beyond the bounds of interpretation acceptable on the basis of current scholarly research).

There is a distinctly English emphasis to the rhymes included in the book, and some (Elsie Marley, London's burning, Turn again Whittington, Remember Remember, Taffy was a Welshman) are likely to be unfamiliar to non-English readers. An interesting feature of the book is that each rhyme is illustrated by one of a panel of 30 artists commissioned for the purpose. As you might expect, the quality of the illustrations is decidedly mixed, ranging from the charming (Celia Biscoe's drawings to accompany 'Jack Be Nimble' and 'Georgy Porgy') to the truly abysmal ('Here we go round the mulberry bush', 'Three Men in a Tub'; both drawings appear to have been done by a manic depressive).

I have no hesitation in saying that you will find much in this book to interest you. I'm equally confident that some of the material will bore or irritate you. A mixed bag, but with much to recommend it.

September 5, 2007
Ardsley, PA

The audio version of this biography accompanied me to work.

I have been a lifelong fan of Robert Frost's poetry, but never knew much about the man. This book gave me an excellent look into Robert Frost's life. I must admit now that I like Robert Frost's poetry far more than him.

Mr. Meyers does a very good job examining the many influences in Frost's life and gives numerous examples of how they are reflected in his poetry. (I wish it told me a bit about who Brad McLaughlin was ... see Starsplitter.)

It is hard for me to reconcile the picture I had of Robert Frost before I read this biography with the more accurate picture I now have of who this great poet was. I would recommend this biography to anyone familiar with Robert Frost's work who is interested as I was in knowing more about the man. However, I would warn you to be prepared to be somewhat let down by the time you finish this biography.

Finally, regardless of Robert Frost, the man, his poetry has a special place in my heart and has accompanied me on many a walk in the woods. Although this biography gives me an unflattering view of Frost, it does not detract from the joy I derive from his wonderful work. I recommend you read this biography to learn more about Robert Frost and that you read Robert Frost's Poetry to learn more about yourself and this fascinating world in which we live.

Cordially,
Joe Rooney

"To warm the frozen swamp as best it could
With the slow smokeless burning of decay." ... Awesome!

Disappointly poorly done. Statements made without support, poorly written, contributes little if anything new to one's understanding of the man or his work.

In spite of the barrier of silence choking it, the vitality of American identity and consciousness continues to survive, thanks to clues, planted in Robert Frost: a biography, written by Jeffrey Meyers. The first major hint that America is alive and struggling for breath comes with the affirmation of the importance of Frost's identity as a native San Franciscan; the second is the remembrance of Lionel Trilling's valiant attempt in 1985 to put into sharper focus the image of Frost's work and his reputation. Nevertheless, author Meyers does not develop the latter point in which Trilling stated that Frost's reputation had been created over a misinterpretation of his work. In fact Trilling's was a major effort to raze the barrier of silence, to state and restate lines of research in the development and study of literature in America from the East Coast to the West, from Columbia University to the University of California at Berkeley (Lizarraga 1999a y b). In response to criticism both professional and personal, published in major literary reviews of the East Coast, Trilling made a valiant attempt to defend the remarks made on that historical evening, recording in permanent form by way of the Partisan Review both his speech and his will to defend it. Although Meyers describes the reaction of Frost on that evening as one of surprise, the poet was not a stranger to the effects of the barrier of silence. A letter written in 1929 by Frost to Lincoln MacVeagh (Thompson 1964:362), as well as subsequent events in the 1930's, not only establish Frost's initial attitude toward 'the silencers', but also serves as a vindication of Trilling. The letter reads as follows "The first poem I ever wrote (La Noche Triste) was on the Maya-Toltec-Aztec civilization and there is where my heart still is, while outwardly i profess an interest more or less perfunctory in new England. Never mind, I'm lucky to be allowed to write poetry on anything at all". Actually, this was but a prelude to continuing manifestations of the relation of poetry, politics, religion and repression, experienced in 1936, when Frost achieved the publication of a number of works. Key among them is the booklet titled A Further Range, which includes the poems "The Vindictives 'The Andes"and "The Bearer of Evil Tidings 'The Himalayas"and for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, and the booklet entitled from Snow to Snow, which, apparently, was the initial publication of the poem "The Road Not Taken"and which by the end of the Thirties as an integral text had been banished to oblivion by Frost himself. It is here that a concept of AngloAmerican literature, which rejects the primacy of geography in the formation of consciousness, begins to be formulated; and, time is divorced from space. This then created a dichotomy in the Americas, centering in the north of america concepts of Angloamerican and Western culture, grounded in language only, as opposed to South and/or Latin American literature in which geographical space and language serve as the cornerstones (Falcon, Huayanca, Lizarraga 1999). If we are to formulate a viable concept of an integrated American culture and education, today we must face this contradiction , a continuing source of repression and chaos. Focusing on this point, the alert reader becomes aware that the true measure of Robert Frost is to be taken by how he dealt with "the silencers" and the consequences this has had, not only on his own life, but also the lives of the rest of us, and not by the shadow of Kay Morrison and her unconventional love life of which Frost was but a part. Channeling a force with the strength to do this is not only to "keep at bey the silencers' but also to demolish the barrier of silence, itself, and"breathe free".

This is a solid, workmanlike biography of Robert Frost. It will probably appeal more to the reader who wants to know about Frost the man as opposed to the reader who is more interested in the poetry. There are some excerpts from the poetry but not a lot, and very little analysis. Probably the best thing about the book is the balanced attitude Mr. Meyers takes towards the poet. The author doesn't gloss over Frost's faults, but doesn't demonize him either. Yes, Frost had a tremendous ego. (Show me an artistic person that doesn't!) He loved to receive praise. He "collected" honorary degrees. Towards the end of his life he made it clear that he wanted degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, so that he could equal the achievement of Longfellow and James Russell Lowell. He was famous enough and knew enough of the "right" people that he was able to get what he wanted. He was extremely competitive and made nasty comments about other poets who he perceived to be a "threat", both in terms of popularity and talent- such as Carl Sandburg, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. Frost made fun of Sandburg's self-created "folksy" persona- playing his "geetar" and combing his long, white hair over his eyes. But Mr. Meyers makes clear that Frost wasn't alone in his competitiveness. Though Sandburg was apparently a very nice fellow, Eliot and Pound had plenty of nasty things to say about Frost and other poets as well. Where Mr. Meyers is most sympathetic is in discussing Frost's relationship with his family. In the past, Frost has been portrayed as a selfish "monster" who ignored his wife and children and caused their unhappiness, mental problems and, in the case of Frost's son Carol, a suicide. It seems clear that mental illness ran in Frost's family, going back at least to his father and mother. Frost heard "voices" in his youth and they came back in times of severe stress, such as right after Frost's wife Elinor died in 1938. Frost had an unnatural fear of the dark and apparently suffered from some degree of depression. He managed to overcome these problems and to live a long, creative life. He did the best he could to be a good husband and father. He remained faithful to his wife despite the temptation of female students "throwing" themselves at him. (After all, even in middle-age, he was a handsome man, as well as being charismatic, artistic and famous.) He tried to be emotionally present for his children, giving advice (if also at times trying to control them) and he was always generous with money. Again, this book is strong on Frost's personal life. But it is a bit weak on analyzing the poetry and it covers Frost's teaching career in too cursory a manner, "flitting" about from place to place too quickly. Some of this is inherent in Mr. Meyers' decision to write a relatively brief biography. He tries to cover in 350 pages the personal life and career of a man who lived to be 88 years old, and who remained creative for approximately 70 of those years. Mr. Meyers had to make choices about what to include and what to leave out and other things had to be compressed. Unfortunately, it shows. This book is not the definitive biography of Frost. That remains to be written. But it is a good introduction, a book that succeeds in being fair-minded and will leave you wanting to know more about the man and the poetry.

Jeffrey Meyers' Robert Frost: A Biography is a thorough, if disjointed, episodic, and often uncomfortably apologetic account of the poet's tumultuous and psychically violent life. While the broad American public continues to lionize Frost and his collected verse, Meyers' volume reveals that there was little to admire in the individual man (a list of character traits in the index includes, among others, "accident-prone," "competitive," "domineering," "egotistic," "fears insanity," "hears voices," "hypersensitive," "insecure," "jealous," "puritanical," "restless," "self-promoting," "temperamental," "tendency to gossip," "uses illness to escape responsibility," and "vanity.") At one extreme, neurotic personalities take their illnesses out on themselves; the aggressively competitive Frost fell into the opposite camp, so that it was his family and intimate friends who suffered primarily, and often fatally, from the grossly irresponsible attitude he adopted towards his own pathology.

Both of Frost's parents, as well as his only sibling, were physically and mentally unstable: "bad blood" clearly ran freely in the family's veins. Emotionally smothered by and dependent upon his "terribly queer" mother, the young Frost was equally at the mercy of his alcoholic, brutal, and vindictive father. Both parents died relatively young after lives of dissolution and extreme hardship.

The circumstances of Frost's youth set the course for his adult existence: year after year, decade after long decade, the poet replicated his fundamental "family romance" and thus found himself surrounded by, and indeed, further afflicting, a variety of tragically disturbed people and families. Generational patterns of mental instability and violent "accidents" were the norm, not the exception, in the lives of the people Frost embraced. Amazingly, the fatalistic and cowardly Frost never became fully conscious of the destructive role he played in the lives of those closest to him. Nor did he learn how to master himself or take healthy control over the calamitous events of his personal life. Tellingly, the poet openly mocked anyone who sought out professional psychological help, which he strenuously avoided receiving himself.

No single event illustrates Frost's grandiose immaturity and reckless disregard for the lives and emotional health of his family more blatantly than the episode in which Frost woke his six year old daughter Lesley in the middle of night, escorted her downstairs where his sobbing wife was waiting, and, pointing a gun at himself and then at his spouse, told her, "Take your choice. Before morning, one of us will be dead!" Perhaps understandably, three decades later, Frost's only son, Carol, 38, committed suicide in front of his own small son under identical circumstances.

Frost's children were raised in isolation on various New England farms and schooled at home; they grew up in a constricted environment dominated by their severe, tyrannical father and exhausted, physically stricken, and ineffectual mother. With the exception of Lesley, Meyers fails to communicate the children's side of their stories to the reader. The author's intermittent presentation of Frost as a loving father who spent much of his free time nurturing his children falls flat.

Frost survived into his 89th year as a wealthy, respected, and world-renowned poet who lunched with American presidents and honored foreign dignitaries, including Nikita Khrushchev, with his presence. It is more than interesting to note that, like an engine of destruction in the mythological guise of a respectable patriarch, Frost's health grew more robust as he aged and as his wife, Elinor ("rather silent, sad and dour" even before her marriage to Frost), and family withered, became severely mentally ill (both Carol and daughter Irma suffered some kind of psychosis; in her 45th year, Irma was committed "as a hopeless case to a hospital for the insane," as was Frost's sister, Jeanie), or otherwise died young (favorite daughter Marjorie at 29). Only Lesley, who Meyers unaccountably refers to as a "harsh and sinewy old harridan" in later life, survived him.

Meyers provides a detailed account of Frost's friendships with other famous poets, including Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Edward Thomas, William Butler Yeats, Carl Sandburg, and Robert Lowell. His analysis of Frost's work is sound if not always persuasive; his evaluation of the influence of Thomas Hardy's poetry on Frost's feels particularly strained. Meyers' discussion of Frost's classic "The Road Not Taken" in conjunction with one of the poet's letters includes this incomprehensible sentence: "The words "lonely cross-roads," "converged" and neither "much traveled" in the letter become "Two roads diverged" and "less traveled by" at the beginning and end of the poem, and the inevitability of "converged" turns into the perplexity of "diverged."

Meyers also makes a blatant error when attributing an Irish peasant's narrative about capturing and living for several weeks with a fairy, which appears in Lady Gregory's Visions & Beliefs in the West of Ireland (1920), to Yeats himself. Yeats accompanied and assisted Lady Gregory in her field work for the book, but the narrative in question was clearly not his own, as any reader Gregory's book, which is still in print, can see (the memorate is attributed to "an old man, Kelleher," and his wife). Whether Meyers is repeating a mistake that Frost made concerning the subject, or is making the mistake himself, is impossible to discern from the text, as no source is provided. Considering the extraordinary nature of the claim, Meyers' inaccuracy is difficult to overlook.

Meyers also adopts Frost's biased image of competitor Carl Sandburg, who appears throughout the book as manipulative pseudo-bumpkin perpetually strumming his "geetar" for a gullible public.

Frost placed his poetical ambition and personal fame ahead of everything else in his life, a situation for which his family and loved ones paid dearly, and for which Elinor never forgave him. Ultimately, Meyers' biography is a casebook example of how the human suffering of others can be the price paid for respectability as well as for great art.

If you like Robert Frost's poems and beautiful photos of New England during the changing of the seasons, this book is for you. Some of the photos are so beautiful that they made me cry. And who does not like Robert Frost. This book would make an excellent gift or just to put on your coffee table and read at any time.

Not alot of reading goes into this book. Alot of beautiful pictures with what seem like exerpts from his poetry. Didnt love it. But I do like it.

This book elegantly pairs Frost's poems with corresponding photos. Often the poems accompany a two page photo spread. The photography is good, although the image quality on paper isn't fabulous. It's nice to read his poems and have images of New England bring them to life.