Robert Lowell Books

When I was in college I read a collected edition of the poems of Robert Lowell and its pages amazed me. They were like nothing I'd ever read before. I was completely inspired, but knew that his genius was something one could not easily approach. It's actually a good feeling though because it's nice to be reminded of the heights to which we can aspire. That being said I knew very little about the specifics of his life apart from the fact that he had experienced several breakdowns and spent time in a mental hospital.

The brilliance of Lowell's poetry is what caused me to purchase Hamilton's biography. Mr. Hamilton is an outstanding writer in his own right and this is a finely crafted narrative. Some readers may not appreciate this author's extensive use of primary source materials, but I think it's a strength overall. Allowing those who knew the man to give their accounting--via private letters and published works--provides readers with the most telling portrait of a subject's life and times. Length wise this volume was perfect.

As far as Lowell goes, this narrative (which is the truth) thoroughly knocks him off the pedestal. He spent a good bit of his life paralyzed by mental illness and was a burden to both friends and family. His is an ugly tale. His relationships were a horror show and Lowell was very lucky that he kept the associations he did given his bizarre and occasionally malicious behavior. Hamilton's biography also has value as a testament to the growth of modern psychiatry. How easy it is to forget that only a few decades ago bipolar disorder was a thoroughly debilitating illness one often leading to imprisonment, confinement in an institution, and an early death. Thank God for lithium along with all the drugs that have evolved in the time since.

~Robert Nisbet : Communitarian Traditionalist~ is a biographical sketch about the life and essentially the ideas of this influential twentieth-century sociologist and social thinker. Sociology has long been the mainstay of statist liberals and radical collectivists, and Nisbet is definitely out of touch with the quixotic or authoritarian mindset of most sociologists. Brad Lowell Stone's research is highly recommended and an excellent overview of Nisbet's social thinking. It is prudent to read Nisbet's books in tandem with Stone's biography. Stone points out some of Nisbet's influences, which are rather fascinating. Nisbet was weaned on the writings of Southern Agrarians like Crowe, Ransom and Tate who penned _I'll Take My Stand_ in the 1930s. Nisbet also gain insight from the late conservative luminary Russell Kirk, having read his book _The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot_ in 1953 the same year he wrote _The Quest for Community_. Since his assent in the 1950s, the late Robert Nisbet has gained recognition from both the Left and Right. Contemporaneously, his appeal is primarily with those on the Right whether traditionalist or libertarians. Nisbet's sociological thinking is aloof from the statist sociologists who often fail to distinguish between state and community. Essentially Nisbet made a dichotomy between monism and pluralism. The thought of Plato, Hobbes, Compte, Rousseau and Marx embodied monism, while Aristotle, Burke, and De Tocqueville represented the pluralist camp.

Nisbet achieved notoriety for his groundbreaking manuscript, entitled _The Quest for Community_. His thesis therein was remarkable, for he asserted that the contemporary preoccupation with community was a result of the displacement of the intermediary institutions between the individual and the state. These vital institutions of civil society -- namely the family, neighborhood, church, or voluntary and civic associations -- have been trounced upon by an overbearing central state authority. The displacement of these institutions so vital to civil society lead to the accompanying obsession with revitalizing community. The veritable disintegration of community and the intermediary institutions was precipitated by the activities and structure of the modern managerial state. In our time, the centralised state has come close to dissolving the natural bonds and allegiances of civil society. Much of the later twentieth century social pathologies, dependency, poverty, and rampant crime perhaps are incidental to authentic community being grinded in the millstone of central state authority. When the intermediary institutions are displaced, the void is usually filled by central state power, which has the roots of authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

Nisbet is well versed in the classics and history. Gleaning valuable lessons from history, Nisbet recognized the impact of war. Moreover, the state's effort to subordinate all facets of society to the demands of warfare, acts as a solvent that dissolves the natural allegiances and those intermediary institutions between individual and state. Nisbet speaks of Roman History, as being "one long sage of conflict between established patria potestas, the sacred and imprescriptible sovereignty of the family in its own affairs, and the imperium militiae, the power vested in military leaders over their troops." As the imperium (empire) supplanted the republic, the traditional kinship society was weakened. Nisbet notes, "...the once proud Roman family had been ground down by the twin forces of centralization and atomization." History seems to repeat itself. Nisbet shows the harmonious relationship between the war-state and the welfare-state, and how they feed and nurture one another. Socialists accomplished much of their agenda by the the rise of military socialism. War has a democratizing, egalitarian-leveling tendency which brought about not only universal suffrage but also conscription. Not surprisingly, Nisbet laments, "Democracy, in all its variants, is the child of war." The synthesis is the so called "welfare-warfare state" that libertarians fuss about.

History has proven when alienated individuals lose their community then they often seek a "national community" to fill the void. Totalitarian states like Nazi Germany quite deliberately laid waste to the remaining intermediary institutions between the individual and the state, and sought to create such a sham community, supplanting all competing allegiances, for total allegiance to the central state. Communist theoretician Antonio Gramsci too, postulated that the socialists could achieve their agenda in the West, by transforming the culture and supplanting the institutions of the old "bourgeosie superstructure" with their own radicalized institutions. Stone notes, "[a]s communities wane, the desire for communal fellowship leads straight to the extension of state power-further eroding the communities that mediate between the individual and the state. It is a melancholy fate."

In sharp contrast to the centralizing statists, Nisbet was a pluralistic communitarian who never confused authentic community with allegiance to a centralized power structure. Incidentally, the appellation of communitarian itself can be a misnomer, since Nisbet stands alone, and most avowed communitarians are simply statists hoping to tether back broken bonds and broken communities under the auspices of the central state.

Nisbet has called for a "new laissez-faire," which is a "form of laissez-faire that has for its object, not the abstract individual, whether economic or political man, but rather the social group or association." Nisbet would eschew radical libertarianism, and see its adherants as rather peculiar reactionaries. Nisbet recognises the symbiotic relationship between individualism and statism. In modern times, the hyperatomized autonomous cogs that individuals have been reduced to in liberal society, owes to the twin perils of atomization and centralisation which grinds away at the individual and authentic community. Alienation from the loss of authentic community often compels the intemperate masses to seek deliverance from state power within a "national community." As communities weaken and parochial, regional distinctives begin to fade, the fervor to accumulate central state power becomes overwhelming. Integral to Nisbet's socio-political thought is the medieval principle of subsidiarity, or sphere sovereignty, which emphasized localism, regional cultural diversity, "plurality of association, and the division of authority." Subsidiarity, as applied to civil society, means that matters ought to be handled by the smallest (or, the lowest) competent authority. Subsidiarity is a precious gem that has been vanquished, if not lost, and it is among the vital remnants for restoring civil society.

All things considered, Brad Lowell Stone's biography of Robert Nisbet is an excellent introduction to the life and poignant thought of this brilliant man.

I read this book because many things out of my control were happening to me all at once. I felt that I might need therapy, and this book helped me to find a therapist, as well as determine what I should expect. With a lot of hard work, tremendous soul searching, and a desire to be happy, I now feel better than I have for a very long time. This book paved the whole path for me! I highly recommend this book. Dr. Roberts, please write another book... perhaps on family dysfunction. Your insights are honest and straightforward.

Treasured Islands: Crossing The South Seas with Robert Louis Stevenson by Lowell Holmes (Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Wichita State University) is a personal look at a beloved and renowned author of classics in terms of his high adventures on the South Pacific between 1888 and 1890. Life on the islands, European religious influence, and the saga of indigenous populations are all covered in this dramatic, exciting, and well-researched account. Biographer Lowell Holmes draws upon his impressive expertise regarding the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson (he produced a documentary film on Stevenson in the Pacific) to deftly craft a work of historical accuracy and insight. Treasured Islands is a very highly recommended for personal, academic, and community library collections, and a "must" for admirers of Robert Louis Stevenson's literary works.

This series, the Voice of the Poet, offers not just great tapes--there are lots of sources for poetry tapes out there--but the best tapes in the best context. This package offers a fantastic selection of Lowell's poems, read by Lowell in very high-quality recordings. The texts for all the poems he reads are provided in an elegant booklet that sits in a convenient pocket in the tape-case, and J.D. McClatchy provides an extremely useful, thoughtful introduction to Lowell's poetry. I'm very happy to have it for myself, but I think it would would be perfect for students as well.

This book is changing my life. After watching my weight creep up, up, up for the past 8 years and dealing with the usual results...high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clothes not fitting, depression, and most recently, mild type-2 diabetes, I got my hands on this book and I now have a clear understanding of what I've been doing to my body and what foods I need to really watch. By following the book's guidelines I've been able to lose 14 pounds in about 5 weeks. I still have a ways to go but I'm confident that I'll be able to accomplish my goal. And, without hunger. Even if you're not (yet) diabetic but need to lose some unwanted pounds, I guarantee you'll be able to quickly do it with these guidelines. After my fantastic results so far, my doctor is ordering a copy and will be recommending it to other patients. One of the biggest things I learned..."Sugar is the #1 poison!"...which it states throughout.

I was initially very excited to read this book, based upon most of the reviews as well as the preliminary information I read. However, after carefully reading the information, I'm afraid I cannot recommend this book to anyone else in good conscience, due to the issues I point out in the following note, which was e-mailed to the author at the address given in the book (and subsequently returned as "undeliverable," as the e-mail listed in the book is apparently incorrect or no longer working).

Not only didn't the figures from the book's Daily Meal Plans add up (which as you can see from my note below, were WELL beyond their stated limit of 40g of carbohydrates per day, even for a partial list of items from their very own recipes), but the e-mail itself was returned as undeliverable at the address listed on page 149 of the book (ezrin-ctrs@aol.com).

If the daily menus contained in the book don't even conform to the author's very own stated requirements and even the author's e-mail address is incorrectly listed, why in the world would a reader ever entrust their own health and well being to this dietary program?

I assure you I am in no way connected to any other dietary program of any kind, nor do I have any ax to grind against either the authors or their Insulin Control Diet program. I'm just a guy very recently diagnosed with a condition of "Type II Diabetes" whose doctor recommended weight loss as a solution and who turned first to this book in order to try to find it.

I even gave the authors the benefit of the doubt by trying to contact them based upon the information they gave in the book to obtain clarification on the apparent inconsistencies in the text, in case my observations were incorrect. But as I mentioned, I was unable to receive a response, due to the apparently inaccurate listing of the e-mail address for the author.

I am extremely disappointed in the book, not only due to its incomplete or inconsistent information, but also due to its extremely haphazard presentation.

My note to the author (returned as undeliverable) is included below.

R. McGowan
Los Angeles, CA

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 11:44 AM
To: 'ezrin-ctrs@aol.com'
Subject: Figures for the Figure don't Figure
Importance: High

Dr. Ezrin,

I am a 46-year-old male recently diagnosed with Type-II Diabetes and was excited to discover your "Type 2 Diabetes Diet Book," since it was written from the perspective of an endocrinologist. While the program does seem to make sense overall, what is most perplexing to me is how you arrive at a daily carbohydrate intake limit of 40g for your meal plans (which you say the daily meal plans maintain).

You mention several times throughout the book that a standard serving of fruit consists of 15g of carbohydrate (also referenced in the Appendix on pp. 303- 304). Since each of the meal plans consist of 2 standard servings of fruit (or even 2 ½, such as in the example I give below), this means that fruit alone counts for a full 75% - 94% (30g - 37.5g) of the daily carbohydrate intake amount, leaving only 10g carbohydrate for all the rest of the foods combined throughout the day.

As an example, following is the carbohydrate breakdown for Day Two of the Insulin Diet Meal Plan (from p. 135), based entirely upon the carbohydrate figures referenced in the Appendix:

Breakfast

Decaffeinated coffee- (not in Appendix)- 0g?
1 soft-cooked egg- 0.6g
1 cup chicken bouillon (not in Appendix, but listed separately on p. 243)- 1g
1 peach- 15g


Lunch

Iced coffee (not in Appendix)- 0g?
Salmon Salad Sandwich- 5oz (1tbs chopped onion- 0.6g; mayonnaise- 1g; lettuce- 1g)
Salad (not defined) with Low-Cal Vinaigrette (iceberg lettuce- 2.9g; Vinaigrette dressing- 6.6g)
Gelatin (why not specifically state "sugar-free" here??? I'm assuming it is...) with D-Zerta topping- 0g?


Snack (afternoon or evening)

1 ¼ cup watermelon cubes- 15g


Dinner

Decaffeinated coffee- 0?
Chinese Fish Steaks- (1/2 cup chicken bouillon- .5g; mushrooms- NOT EVEN LISTED ON THE VEGETABLES LIST IN THE APPENDIX!- 0.5G?; soy sauce- NOT LISTED IN THE APPENDIX- 0.5G?)
Beans with Basil (It doesn't specify the KIND of beans. However, based upon the Appendix under "Vegetables," `1/2 cup of cooked beans shows 15g carbohydrate)
Salad (not defined) with Low-Cal Vinaigrette (iceberg lettuce- 2.9g; Vinaigrette dressing- 6.6g)
1 cup beef bouillon- 1g
Gelatin & Fruit (again, it doesn't specify "sugar-free," but I'm assuming so. However, even ¼ cup of fruit is still 7.5g carbohydrate, no matter how you slice it)


You separately caution to allocate fruit portions sparingly, and yet even in this ONE DAY of the meal plan, the fruit portions alone that you specify already account for a full 37.5g of carbohydrates of the 40g maximum daily intake of carbohydrate that you recommend (in fact, you even state a recommended limit of between only 20 - 35 grams of carbohydrate in any 24-hour period elsewhere in the book).

The total amount of carbohydrate of all the other ingredients combined for this one-day's meal plan alone (the carb amounts for which are all pulled from the book's Appendix) which even then only constitute a partial list, based upon what the recipes call for, comes to 46.7g (already over your 24-hour maximum limit). When added to the amount of fruit indicated, this makes a carbohydrate consumption of 84.2g for this one-day's meal plan alone- well over TWICE the daily carbohydrate intake you recommend throughout the book (FOUR-TIMES the amount, if you go by your lower recommendation of 20g carbs per day).

Examples from the text, for reference:

p. 109, paragraph 2: "For the duration of your weight loss period, we ask that you limit your total carbohydrate intake to 20 to 35 grams." (while it doesn't specify "per day" here, elsewhere you do indicate no more than 40 grams during any 24-hour period).

p. 109, paragraph 3: "In other words, more than 40 grams of carbohydrate in any form will trigger your overproduction of insulin and return you to the weight gain cycle you know so well." (again, based upon other references, this indicates "per-day").

p.111, paragraph 3: "Be advised, however, that regardless of total calories consumed, carbohydrate intake for the day should never exceed 40 grams."

Which begs the following question: "How can any reader reasonably trust the advice given, when the numbers for your own daily meal plans don't even come close to remaining within your stated limitations for daily carbohydrate intake?

Secondly, it took me over an hour-and-a-half to determine the actual carbohydrate amounts listed for this one day's meal plan listed above alone, since it required me to constantly flip back-and-forth between the meal plan listing (which DOESN'T indicate any carbohydrate/protein/fat information), the recipes (which are also difficult to track down and which also don't list any carbohydrate/protein/fat information for any of the ingredients) and the Appendix (which doesn't include information on all the items in the recipes and, even if it does, does not give information equivalent to the amounts the recipes call for).

It would be a FAR more usable resource if the information was:

a. more comprehensive, including carb/protein/fat amounts listed right along-side meal plan and recipe ingredients;

b. more logically presented, so that a reader doesn't have to shift back-and-forth between the meal plans, the recipes (which are also hard to locate), and random information sprinkled throughout the text itself (such as the information on boullion, which is not in the index, but only in a separate section I was able to locate) and

c. constructed to stay within it's own set of stated parameter guidelines.

For example, the appendix lists "1 celery stalk" as having 2g carbohydrates, but the recipe for "Salmon Salad Sandwich" calls for "1 tbsp of chopped celery." How are you supposed to make the conversion between "1 celery stalk" and "1 tbsp of chopped celery?," in order to evaluate that "all-important" carb-per-day total? And while "1 tbsp of "chopped chives" is listed in the Appendix, "1 tbsp of onion" called for in the recipe is not and "green pepper," which is also called for in the recipe, is not even on the Appendix under vegetables at all! (nor, by the way, are mushrooms, which are called for in a separate recipe).

The fundamental question is this: If "more than 40 grams of carbohydrate in any form will trigger your overproduction of insulin and return you to the weight gain cycle you know so well," as you state on page 109 and your own meal plan doesn't even maintain those guidelines, then how on Earth can the Insulin Diet program that you recommend possibly accomplish the weight loss goals that you claim? The figures simply don't add up. Either your statements regarding a daily limit of 40g carbohydrate are incorrect, or else your meal plans simply do not work, according to the parameters you yourself have indicated.

I'd love to receive clarification on this issue at your earliest convenience, since I do want to get a handle on the effects of added weight on the symptoms for Type II Diabetes. However, I can only do that if I have complete confidence in the logic of the information that's being presented. As it is, my confidence in the program is shaky, since the figures on how to improve my figure just don't figure.

I look forward to your reply.

Best,
R. McGowan

When I first looked at this book, I thought there's no way - how can I go without bread, rice, pasta, etc. After thinking about it for a couple of weeks I decided to give it a try. I loved it. I truly never missed the processed foods and surprisingly was never hungry. I feel like my diet is much more nutritionally sound than what I had been eating, and after the first couple of weeks I had pretty much trained myself what and how much to eat. I've lost 18 pounds so far and a lot of it has been the "stubborn belly fat". Couldn't be happier and feel great. I think that as much as following the diet you need to include the exercise, which is talked about in the book. This diet may not be for everyone, but as someone who has been unsuccessful with weight loss, even with exercise, it's been a Godsend.

OK, this is less about the book than it is about the diet. It works. I have tried everything including Atkins and Weight Watchers. I had 15 pounds to lose. When my doctor said elevated blood sugar was the only thing he could find to explain why I wasn't losing the weight, I bought this book. Now, it is NOT an 'eat all you want of certain foods' diet. And sometimes I've been hungry. But it is easy to follow, not the least complicated and there's no measuring (aside from knowing what 3-4 ounces of meat/chicken/fish looks like, and 1/2 cup of fruit/vegetable.) I'm down 14 1/2 pounds. One caviat: since I didn't have a lot of weight to lose (I'm guessing this is the reason) it's taken me awhile. But it's the only thing that has worked. Right now I'm slowly re-introducing grains (bread, brown rice) and the loss continues (this was a problem with Atkins - the minute I ate a dinner roll, the weight came back). It really works.

I per chance picked up this book as I thought I was heading for Diabetes Type 2. I am in the Medical Profession this book is sound and well researched. I started on the diet 3 weeks ago lost 6 kilo's and don't feel hungry. I don't use all the menus and adapted my own. The book is incredibly informative and once you have this knowledge you realise how other diets and pills and potions cannot work.
I just have a problem with the email address I cannot contact either author on the email printed in the book.
Well done for this valuable information

This collection of Robert Lowell letters is an excellent supplement to Lowell's Collected Poems. Like the Collected Poems, this book is heavily annotated (which is a very good thing) and well-edited. The letters are divided into 8 sections, with each section covering a period of 5-7 years, and grouped according to major events or publications in Lowell's life.

The letters are fascinating and wonderfully written. With the annotation, they're also easy to follow, and you really get a sense of what it must have been like to be one of the poets in Lowell's inner circle. You also get an up-close and personal sense of Lowell as a human being: his ambitions, frustrations, and judgments are all very clearly spelled out.

I would highly recommend this book to any serious fan of Lowell's poetry. It would also be an excellent resource for anyone interested in the American poetry scene in the 1950's and 60's.

This big collection of letters is remarkable in so many ways. Lowell was a tireless and prolific correspondent and never dull. He expressed love, wonder, and a surprisingly cheerful interest in mundane things and events. He wrote, for example, to Elizabeth Bishop, congratulating her (somewhat self-consciously) on her weight loss, among many other achievements. To Elizabeth Hardwick (second of his three wives) he sent tender and intimately newsy letters - often with an ache. Randall Jarrell, another friend, received a letter that began "Lying awake in bed the other night after my reading, I thought of the joy of seeing you."

Lowell would have loved email: he complains every now and then about the slowness of the mails, especially between the US and Europe. He is by turns thrilling and everyday in these letters, and often tender and loving.

Much has been made posthumously of Lowell's bipolar disorder. It's sad and sweet to read his notes to his mother. After beginning "psycho-therapy" in the late 1940's he writes to her that "I've been trying to understand my first six or seven years, and have many questions to ask you." He is uncynical and open. After her death in 1954 (also documented in letters) he had a psychotic break during which, as ever, he wrote letters.

Editor Saskia Hamilton has arranged these chronologically so you can read them as a sort of a biography. This is a terrific window on Lowell and his world.

Robert Lowell was a great poet to be sure. These letters shine a bit of light on his non-public side. He is rude to his parents, snide in fact. In the 1st 2 sections he asks for money from them again and again, though he treats them as imbeciles and abuses them through his letters and in person. He boasts about his brilliance and believes that the path he is on will lead to fame, as it does. But at what price?
It is hard to like R. Lowell as a person. I had moments when I wanted to yell at him (crazy, huh?). I believe that we should sometimes settle for art rather than the artist.

Saskia Hamilton, a New York based poet, proves her mettle as an editor with this fat collection of Robert Lowell's letters.

He wrote great letters, and this surprised me a bit, but every one of them shows an insane desire to please, to flatter, to make the recipient feel good about himself or herself; he's marvelously attentive to nuance and knows exactly how to push the right buttons of his correspondents, telling them just what they want to hear. And he's sincere, which is a plus. Over and over again I was impressed by the facility with which he was blessed, or maybe he worked it up over time, because the earliest letters aren't that great, it's not until he gets into the 1940s that the familiar Lowell manner takes over.

This volume explains so much! Mostly how it was that, with all the truly awful things Lowell did, people still loved him. If it wasn't red-baiting the director of Yaddo and forcing the board to impeach her in 1947, it was publishing all those poems about Elizabeth and Harriet against their wishes, or it was wanting to marry Jackie Kennedy or whatever. Apparently all these were episodes of a manic nature in his bipolar disorder, including the car wreck that permanently disfigured wife #1 Jean Stafford. Well, of course none of them were really his fault but still. And now this book of letters unveils his real private voicem, gently coaxing reassuring, making sense of the world, interpolating, and penetrating the consciousness of whoever he was writing to at the time. The older and the famous got one style of letter; his peers got another.

Hamilton's notes are sparse, but seem sensible. However printing over 700 of these letters is out of control. Like the Bidart-edited POEMS, the book physically becomes too big to handle, it takes two strong men just to lift it off the shelf. Why so many? Plus, one gets the feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the letters go, and that in a year's time we may have the first of many annual sequels, "More Letters by Robert Lowell." Never underestimate how many times a manic genius (with, as he boasts, unearned income and lots of free time) will reach out to others to make himself heard and understood. The word is the life.

This is a good book. The revised edition (which this is) contains a wide and well-chosen selection of Lowell's poetry. He notes in the foreword that he tried to choose possible sequences rather than just greatest hits out of context. This effort is visible and the book flows together like almost one book instead of a career's overview.

What was interesting for me as I read it was that I was reading a used copy which was liberally marked up with underlines and notes of various kinds. Normally, this drives me crazy and as it was in pencil I began by first erasing five pages worth of notes and then reading on myself. Gradually, however, about one third through the book I noticed that whoever it was that had owned the book before shared a lot of tastes with me. I started enjoying his/her remarks and notitions and it felt like I was having a little conversation about the book.

The former owner underlined without comment the line where Lowell comments he "lies to friends and tells the truth in print". He circled the "Long Summer" sequence titles and placed an awed exclamation point after Lowell's poem for Ford Madox Ford. We both, apparently love "Margaret Fuller Drowned" as it rated one of only three poems marked with a star in the whole book.

It was a wonderful book, and while this shouldn't be construed as license to mark up books (I still find it a barbaric habit), it was also a good conversation.

I know that the new Collected Poems has recently arrived, and it is a massive tome. But you don't really need it. Most of what Lowell wrote after "For the Union Dead" isn't that great. And in the Selected you get a great selection from what is effectively Lowell's first book, Lord Weary's Castle--which is a pretty strong book. There is also a generous selection from Life Studies and For the Union Dead (though I've bought the book that contains both complete collections). Lowell was a pretty important poet, but really, the Collected just goes overboard. This is all you really need.

I made the mistake of getting this edition just as the new COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT LOWELL (edited by Frank Bidart) was coming out. The new book has all the notes, introductory biographical info (Lowell writes about his life as if you already know about it) and additional Lowell that THE SELECTED POEMS lacks.

However, if you want to go cheap (or don't need notes) this is not a bad 'Selected Poems'. It's fairly comprehensive, yet not too long -- and it gives you a good sense of the poet. It's been all people had for years (other than buying each of his many books). I think with the new COLLECTED, however, it has probably run its course.

This is an interesting collection of essays on the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864. Gary Gallagher has pulled together a set of essays that, even if they sometimes contend with one another, helps the reader get a better understanding of the 1864 conflict.

The dramatic personae in this action include Lee's "bad old boy," Jubal Early, the combative but capable Confederate commander, versus Phil Sheridan, the hyperactive cavalry commander given charge of the Union forces in the Valley. Key players on the Union side: John Crook, leader of the "Army of West Virginia," William Emory of Sheridan's army, the cavalry (Torbert as head, with Merritt and Custer, and Devin as key subordinates). On the Confederate side: infantry commanders such as Gordon, Rodes and Ramseur and cavalry leaders Lomax, Munford, and Rosser. There was a lot of talent on each side, but Early's army was heavily outnumbered (maybe 40,000 troops under Sheridan and 14,000 or so under Early). Such numbers presaged an almost inevitable defeat of Early, with as combative a Union general as Sheridan on the other side (it can safely be said that prior Valley commanders such as Patterson, Hunter, Sigel, and so on may well have wasted such an advantage; Sheridan, despite his flaws as a combat commander, was unlikely to lose under such conditions).

What is nice about this volume is that the authors of the individuals chapters try to assess what actually happened and how good (or bad) commanders actually were, rather than repeating commonly understood judgments. What about the "Woodstock Races" after the Confederate cavalry's disastrous defeat at Tom's Brook? Confederate ineptitude? Or Union overwhelming force? What about Early versus Sheridan as commander of an army? Gallagher's chapter addresses this in a sensitive manner.

At Cedar Creek, what happened? Did Early's so-called "fatal halt" lose the day? Or were the Confederates so outnumbered and outgunned that--aside from total incompetence in Union leadership--they simply could not triumph? Another essay explores the generalship of the 6th Corps commander, Horatio Wright. The conclusions is that he did a good job as commander after the surprise attack while Sheridan was absent and may not have received the credit due him. Still, his performance in other venues in the Civil War was uneven. Here, however, he probably deserves good grades.

And so on. The essays in this volume provoke some thinking about the Valley Campaign of 1864. This is a good work to look at. The chapters are somewhat uneven (as to be expected from an edited volume), but--all in all--this is a useful examination of the subject.

Another one of Gallagher's collection of great essays of a campaign while touting the greatest historians on the subject. The authors in this case cover the 1864 Valley situation from Early's arrival to save Lynchburg to his run at Washington to Sheridan's final mobilizing drive that is momentarily derailed by Early's great shock attack at Cedar Creek that crushes the unprepared Federals. But of course, the Union's regrouping at Cedar and counter attack virtually destroys Early's army. The essays cover the key battles and strategies including the make up of Early, Sheridan and a respectful view of the not so flamboyant and thus unappreciated General Horatio Wright who held things together at Cedar Creek when Sheridan arrived on the field. The latter part of the book also includes the social effect the war had on its population particularly as the means to feed the Confederate war machine was destroyed as part of the grand union strategy. Early and the Confederate Army no doubt fought heroically enough to challenge the record of Stonewall; however, they were literally overwhelmed by numbers and better horses and equipment. Of course, once confident, Sheridan keeps the pressure on with his young lions, Custer, Merritt and Torbet. A grand example of that is Robert E. L. Krick's essay on the battle of Tom Brook between the Confederate and Union cavalry that is extremely one sided, resulting in a total crushing of the Confederate horse. It's amazing that the Confederates were able to reorganize and launch what was at first a highly successful attack at Cedar Creek 10 days later. This recovery and attack is a tribute to Early, who unfortunately used his infamous tongue lashing too harshly afterwards demonstrating one of his worst character flaws. The other great aspect of these talented authors is their research, which is so impeccable that they sort out the historical misrepresentations and get to the truth of the matter, albeit at the expense of some such as John Gordon, the great fighter and embellisher. The only negative, I wish there was a summary of the battles in date line fashion along with a map that showed where all the key battles were fought. I also wish the summary of the situation prior to Early's arrival included a discussion of General "Grumble" Jones battle of Piedmont where he lost his life trying to stop General Hunter's attack of the valley. As an additional note, these fine historians get together almost every summer and provide excellent tours of the valley, a treat worth considering.

This book of essays covers aspects of the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864. As is the case with all the volumes in this series, a number of military, social, and political issues are discussed. The essays are generally well-written and provide insights into some topics not evaluated in general histories of the campaign. Particularly good is the essay comparing the general performances of Sheridan and Early. One is left realizing that, given the resources available to each, Early actually did better than could have been expected and Sheridan made more errors than he should have. Worth the price of the entire volume, is the excellent biographical monograph about General Horatio Wright. This is the first attempt ever to provide a biographical sketch of this important but overlooked officer. The essay is balanced, well-researched, and very worthwhile to the serious student of this period.
This book is not for someone unfamiliar with this campaign but, as is the case with the rest of the series, is of value to the experienced Civil War reader.

I took this book up as a lover of biography rather than of poetry; I'll have to take the other reviewer's word for it that it isn't satisfying to poetry lovers, but it certainly didn't satisfy me. In some ways Stuart is a clumsy, or at least not fluid, writer. More to the point, I felt a little misled, as the book is only nominally about Robert Lowell, and the rest of the family, while interesting Victorian characters, don't merit a book's exploration.

With fresh black humor and a no nonsense style, Sarah Payne Stuart has written a book of family suffering that gives a vivid understanding of the terrors and fall out of mental illness. She also describes with deft strokes what monsters people are, who lack imagination, and arrange to be insulated from pain by self-regard and a great deal of money.

Perhaps the most entertaining book that I have ever read. Sarah Payne Stuart makes me howl and a second later makes me thank God that I've got both oars in the water. God Bless You SPS.

This is not a book for anyone interested in Robert Lowell or his poetry. This is a maudlin account of one woman's inability to recognize or empathize with the inner life of her famous relative, and her valiant attempts to profit by her own shortcomings. In short, mere gossip. Eileen Simpson's "poets in Their Youth" is much more interesting, and Richard Tillinghast's "Robert Lowell's Life and Work" is far more insightful, for those who care about Lowell's poetry. But as for those who don't care about Lowell's poetry, well, all I can say is, why bother to read a book by someone whose only claim on your attention is that she's Lowell's distant cousin?

Reading "My Cousin Once Removed" was like going home. Do other people besides my family name their cottages after their children? Ours was Tomberher, and it still embarrasses me to say it.

I perceived backbone and stoicism in the author. She will become a fine, undomnible Boston matron herself someday. These are people that know how to Pull-Up-Your-Socks. No one ever seems to give up. I amend that, the family will not *allow* anyone to give up. Poor Robert Lowell. His poetry must have kept him alive such as it was. The author makes an excellent point when she expresses amazement that he "lasted until he was 60." He seemed so gentle to be so mad. I couldn't resist smiling when I noted that only the Lowells would unfailingly be "God" in their deluded or "manic" states; other manic depressives might be Sam Spade, Peter Pan, or Theodore Roosevelt; but the Lowells went for the whole enchillada. My only complaint is the author neatly sidesteps giving the reader anything but broad outlines of what she was up to when the maelstorm whirled about her. Most younger writers cannot get out of the way; you are buried under their angst, but Ms. Stuart quotes her brothers to give us an idea what is going on in her generation. She's oddly elusive. I think she uses her fine sense of humor to deflect us from coming to close.

I'm going back to reread Robert Lowell. That's my idea of a successful book, one that sends you on a quest for further knowledge.