Allen Tate Books

This book is no act of idolatry, despite the author's reputation as a Southern conservative and Agrarian. Tate believes Davis was a great man, but he points out his flaws as well, his diffidence in acting sooner that might have won the South the War, his pride, his sometime aloofness, his tendency to remain loyal to generals (Braxton Bragg foremost among them) whose incompetence was all too apparent to others, and his refusal to appoint the right men for the right job.

This is an absorbing read that puts one in mind of Shelby Foote's celebrated War trilogy, although Tate's was written first. It has the same novelistic quality and drive and the same quickly drawn but utterly convincing characterizations. The book alternates between presentations of certain monumental battles and portraits of life on the "homefront." The latter is actually more fascinating than the former. We learn in vivid detail of the strength and loyalty and perseverance of the Southern people.

Poet, essayist, and Southern Agrarian, Allen Tate brings (brought) to his life of Jefferson Davis not only a tremendous narrative talent, but also a deep understanding of, and sympathy for, the Southern culture that produced Jefferson Davis. But unlike other Southern writers who made Davis a larger-than-life hero of the Lost Cause, Tate pulls no punches in his assessment of the President's weaknesses as well as his strengths, and how they may have crippled the Confederacy from the very beginning.

Tate considers Davis a man of high ideals and great personal honor. At the same time, though, he had a "peculiarly inflexible mind" ("he had not learned anything since about 1843") (p. 197) and a "feeble grasp of human nature" (p. 255). He treated his office as a sort of super-minister of defense, and was never "the leader of the Southern people as a whole" (p. 180). The South could have won the war if she had had the right kind of political leader, Tate argues. But Davis, whose rise to leadership was generally unearned (p. 79), wasn't it.

Beyond Davis the man, Tate also has a deep grasp of the Southern culture and the larger historical and cultural issues that were clashing in the War Between the States. In keeping with his Southern Agrarianism, Tate paints the South as the last outpost of European culture in the Americas, standing against -- and ultimately overwhelmed by -- the surging might of restless, expansionist, wealth-seeking "Americanism," embodied in the Yankee Northeast. Tate's grasp of Southern regionalism lets him place an emphasis on the tensions between Upper and Lower South that, for me, shone a light on the instability of the Confederate government that I haven't seen as emphasized elsewhere.

Tate's perspective and narrative form may not be in keeping with more modern styles of biography. But this book is nevertheless an excellent and insightful read, and I recommend it to any student of the men caught up in, as well as the issues behind, America's bloodiest conflict.

While this collection might appear gimmicky to some, a quick persusal of the table of contents will show that many respected poets have used fairy tale motifs in their work. Beaumont and Carlson have gathered numerous poems from a wide range of poets that reflect the enduring themes and characters we inherited through the work of the Brothers Grimm. The usual suspects, such as Anne Sexton, are here but so are some lesser known poets. The anthology is strong and represents many well-known fairy tales along with a few that are lesser known by the general public. The book is recommended for libraries and classrooms in which poetry and/or fairy tales are taught. It also makes great armchair reading for anyone interested in new interpretations of familiar stories.

THE POETS GRIMM is an essential addition to the collection of anyone who grew up with fairy tales - that is, everyone in America who ever opened a storybook that began "Once upon a time. . ." or watched a Disney movie that opened with a princess tortured by her evil stepmother. Here are the stories from the Grimm brothers collections that terrified and delighted us as children, now revisited with adult distance, wisdom, and humor. Ably edited by Jeanne Marie Beaumont and Claudia Carlson, THE POETS GRIMM embraces the breadth of poetry in English in the 20th century, from our most recent poet laureate, Louise Glück, to writers like Terri Windling and Jane Yolen, best known for their work in contemporary fantasy and science fiction. Anne Sexton's important poem, "Twelve Dancing Princesses," from her groundbreaking collection TRANSFORMATIONS, is included, as is an intensely moving poem by Amy Lowell from 1912, which strikes a surprisingly contemporary note.

A deep sympathy for the much maligned usual suspects, wolves and witches, underlies the entire volume, and frankly, if I were Prince Charming, I'd have a call in to my lawyer about a possible libel suit. Perhaps most American of all the Grimm interpretations found here is Tim Siebles' "What Bugs Bunny said to Red Riding Hood," which alone is worth the price of the entire collection.

Reading the poems in this collection bathes the old tales in a new and revelatory light; most telling of all perhaps are the poems which offer new versions of the detailed and mysterious marching orders given to every fairy tale hero or heroine who set off, willingly or not, on a quest. Neil Gaiman's "Instructions," in this vein, makes wonderful new sense of these ever-puzzling rules. Through these poems we see our own childhoods recast, and the clamor of impossibly conflicting childhood directives we all received invoked and examined.

The Poets Grimm offers a wonderful snapshot of poetry of the last half of the last century, taken through an enchanted lens, and I highly recommend it to anyone who ever felt a little cheated by the words, "And they lived happily ever after."

A Better Way starts with a girl down on her luck. The story is told with such feeling that you immediately identify with the main character and find yourself caught up in her story unable to put the book down. By the end of the story you are rooting for the girl and wishing demise on her enemies. I closed the book wanting more, and I'm looking forward to the sequel wanting the story to go on.

Mrs. Allen does a great job on her first novel capturing the reader and I look forward to reading more of her novels.

Allen Tate is one of the finest poets of the 20th Century and it is a pleasure to be able to read his poetry again in the fullest collection to date. There are some signature poems like "The Mediterranean" and "Ode to the Confederate Dead" and "The Swimmers" which would stand out in any collection of Modern Poetry. There are minor masterpieces as well, such as "Death of Little Boys" and "Aeneas in Washington" and "Seasons of the Soul" to which a reader would want to return many times. Just reading Tate's poetry at the present time makes one realize how meagre current poetry is and what greatness lies in the past century.

Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime minister are in my opinion the pinnacle of the English comedy; Classy, funny, and purely enjoyable. You will love politics when you watch this very artistic piece of fine art. You will understand politics and maybe you will end up respecting the political process and its players. This comedy fits every country and every society because every country and every society must have politics and politicians. The process is the same all over; the only thing that changes is the players. Set back, make cup of Earl Grey Tea with some biscuits, the English ones, and embrace yourself for a relaxing fulfilling comedy.

In an age where criticism sounds more and more like the sigh of a dying culture, Tate reminds us of the fundamental truth's of the human condition that are revealed by a certain poetic vision which at once transcends and underscores religion, politics, literature, and poetry. He is a writer that I find myself constantly returning to not merely to gain insight into the particular works in question, but rather to remember the importance of reading literature and poetry in the first place. Tate is one of the best poet's and critics of the 20th century (very much akin to T.S. Eliot in both form and content) but due to his sympathies for the Antebellum South which is heretical in academia, and a growing infatuation with criticism that is divorced from the poetic imagination from which literature springs, Tate is less read than he should be.

While this book, written so eloquently with the authors unique talent of writing in prose grips the reader of a man's love and trials for a woman, it takes the reader further in its depths to see that God's lessons with such experiences are simple and visible if we are astute enough to see and listen and at the end of the day, He also loves us with much more intensity for who we are and grieves with us through our trials but through our faith in Him we too, will learn to love ourselves for who we are and to always have hope that in the end, it will be alright.

Its amazing what a healthy dose of reason and logic can do for ones faith. you dont often see "faith" and "reason" in the same sentence complimenting each other however Franke synthesizes the two artfully in his debut as an author. He takes an honest look at his life and life in general and communicates functional advice for the average reader looking for a boost in spirit and happiness. thank goodness for men like him.

This is a enjoyable, relatable , detailed version of one young mans spiritual journey that led him into the folds of the Unification Church{More commonly known as the Moonies} for over 4 years, his disillusionment and his eventual defection.
Its written in a personal, accessible style that allows you a close up view of his thought processes every step of the way.
Its also a birds eye view of the first major ground swell of the Unification Church in the US in the late 60s/Early 70's.

The author, Allen Tate Wood , November 4, 2000 MoonStruck exposes the global political ambitions of Sun Myung Moon. Allen, as political leader of the Moonies in North America in 1970, went on a V.I.P. tour of Asia including Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. In Japan he met and worked with Japanese leaders of the Unification Church and with many of the key figures in the World Anti Communist League from Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America . In Korea he had a series of private audiences with Mr. Moon during which he was instructed on "Moon's plan of attack in America". In Vietnam he met with President Thieu. In Cambodia he met with General Lon Nol, the leader of Cambodia. On returning to America Allen was invited to join the Nixon White House staff as a "youth consultant". MoonStruck provides a cogent exposition of Moon's global political strategy as well as a moving first hand account of an idealistic young man who followed Moon into the abyss of religious facism.

The author, e-mail allentwood@hotmail.com,
web page http://www.allentwood.com ,
November 4, 2000
A few remarks about MoonStruck. MoonStruck is an autobiographical tour de force: a recapitulation of my life before during and after my four and one half years in the Moonies. My friend Henry Marshall described it as " a modern day pilgrim's progress with an extended stay among the Moonies,Wood's self-examination charts a way through a dark night of the soul in which many are still stranded."

~Who Owns America: A New Declaration of Independence~ are a group of agrarians and conservative thinkers with a sobering culture critique where they advance the case for decentralised politics and widespread distribution of private property! They extoled the need for vibrant regionalism within the the nation-state. They recognized that one must surely be an Ohioan, Texan or Virginian as they are an American. This book was published in 1936 as the Great Depression became more depressing. This is the classic sequel to I'll Take My Stand, but the contributors frame their critique in national terms rather than southern sectional terms. It is an anthology that is a selection of articles and essays from various agrarian and conservative writers, mostly from the South and Midwest. Moreover, the contributing authors essentially represented a cross-section of thinkers from southern conservatives to Midwestern agrarians. They have much common ground, but some differences as well. There major focus in the book was a critique of America's culture and increasingly centralized economic-political structure. They offered a prescriptive formula for a renewed America landscape and body politic. This was to be characterized by widespread ownership of private property, small-scale enterprises coupled with preservation of the American entrepreneurial spirit and a decentralised political system amenable to the people at the state and local level.

Allen Tate's 'Notes on Liberty and Property' in my estimation is the keystone of this book. Tate's essay concentrates on the correlation between political freedom and the widespread diffusion of freehold private property amongst the citizenry. Andrew Lytle's 'The Small Farm Secures the State' is also a meaningful contribution. Donald Davidson's ideas on regionalism were rather unlikable to me given that he favors establishing regional political blocs at the expense of state sovereignty. It seems evident that making politics more decentralised would not entail annihilating state sovereignty. The shared ideal embodied in the text of this New Declaration of Independence was that Americans should be independent not only of big government but its attendant companion big business. The agrarians are not anti-capitalist per say or demagogues; but as Anglo-Catholic distributist G.K. Chesterton quipped that "the problem with capitalism is that there are not enough capitalists." The contributors together reasoned that the increasing corporate collectivism and growth of collectively-managed property is tantamount to the destruction of private property, and will inevitably yield to the attendant perils that come with socialism. The authors buoy the case that there is a strong correlation between political freedom and a widespread diffusion of political power and economic resources. They were, by and large, critical of an interventionist imperial foreign policy and tended to favor trust-busting to uproot monopolistic cartels. They offered a bleak prognosis if the continuing concentration of power and capital goes unabated. The agrarian writers seem to be enmeshed with ideas of trade protectionism which would be anathema to their conservative forefathers John Taylor of Caroline and John Calhoun. While against the New Deal, a few contributors tinge on advocacy of too much government meddling in economy. I say this not to malign the spirit of the book again recollecting that they advocate political decentralization and a market economy.

Mary Fisher's essay entitled 'The Emancipation of Woman' is eerily prophetic of bad sociological trends in early twentieth century that have reached fruition today. Fisher addresses how women ostensibly seeking "emancipation" from motherhood have been pushed into a dehumanizing existence in the workplace. Today, the woman has to work to pay family's share of income tax. Erstwhile children have come to be viewed by many as a liability, a burden and something entirely undesirable. Feminism is perhaps the greatest misnomer of all time, it ran amok where it disavowed the femininity of women in favor of androgyny. The trauma of the Second World War and the Sexual Revolution exacerbated the attack on traditional womanhood and the family. Nature and tradition set the ordinary course of a woman in day-to-day life as being involved with family in her distinct role as nurturer, as the life-giver, and as a mother. Fisher's essay is alarmist, but a needed critique as the so called Emancipated Women is becoming an atomized cog in economic machine and alienated as her natural state of being is attacked by an increasingly materialistic society. Today, being a homemaker carries a stigmatism of being a pariah, which is profoundly out of kelter.

The final essay features English Anglo-Catholic distributivist Hilaire Belloc who offers a critique of 'Modern Man.'

All things considered, this book is a spirited critique of crass Yankee capitalism run amok; big business and big government go hand in hand. It offers so sound, prudent social and culture criticism with Southern and Midwestern sobriety. The ideas pressed forward in this book generally have a largely Jeffersonian flavor, a trenchant Tocqueville style of analysis and Calhoun's clarity of communicating ideas.

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There is an aura of populist conservatism with a distinctively Southern and Midwestern sense of sobriety, in such statements as:

"The diversity of regions rather enriches the national life than impoverishes it, and their mere existence as regions cannot be said to constitute a problem. Rather in their differences they are a national advantage, offering not only the charm of variety but the interplay of points of view that ought to give flexibility and wisdom... The regions should be free to cultivate their own particular genius and to find their happiness..., in the pursuits to which their people are best adapted, the several regions supplementing and aiding each other, in national comity, under a well-balanced economy." -Donald Davidson

"...The diffusion of an energetic population over our vast territory is an object of far greater importance to the national growth and prosperity than the proceeds of the sale of the land to the highest bidder in the open market..." -Andrew Johnson

"Corporate mergers and all devices of economic and legal control, usurious interest with wholesale foreclosure, unsound manipulation of the nation's volume of money by banker, broker, and politician-all these have made of us a nation of dispossessed people." -John C. Rawe

"The joint-stock corporation, when overgrown, is the enemy of private property in the same sense communism is. The collectivist state is the logical development of the giant corporate ownership, and, if it comes, it will signalize the triumph of Big Business." -Richard B. Ransom

"The elected candidate, in the President's chair and in Congress, was supposed to represent the people and to foster the general welfare. In practice, they represented the will of the Northeast and fostered the welfare of the Northeast..." -Donald Davidson

"The Northeast has manipulated the Federal mechanism so as to encourage, as a cardinal objective of national policy, a gross overemphasis on industrialism and speculative finance, with a corresponding injury and neglect of agriculture and small business, to say nothing of the general injury resulting to manners, morals, and human happiness." -Donald Davidson

If you find this book interesting than I would recommend reading economic critiques and treatises by Wilhelm Roepke, G.K. Chesteron and Hillare Belloc.

Who Owns America? is a collection of informative, challenging, iconoclastic and articulate essays on the nature of industrialism, corporate capitalism, the bureaucratic state, private property, the "good" society, and neo-Jeffersonian visions of a decentralized America. From David Cushman Coyle's "The Fallacy of Mass Production", to Frank Lawrence Owsley's "The Foundations of Democracy", to James Muir Waller's "America and Foreign Trade", to Robert Penn Warren's Literature as a Symptom", to Hilaire Belloc's "The Modern Man", these and many more observant and insightful commentaries deserve as wide a readership as possible and are highly recommended to students of American politics, economics, and history.