Susan Johnston Graf has done something quite rare in Yeats criticism. She has examined the poets occult beliefs without prejudice, accepted them for what they were, and examined exactly what they might mean to his writing, without any snide disclaimers or protestations of disbelief which usually accompanies such studies.

In the first fourth of the book Ms Graf gives a clear summary of W. B. Yeats's occult background in Theosophy, his long association with the Order of the Golden Dawn and its successors, his formation of several Celtic magical orders, and his later interests in spiritualism. The real core of the work is the detailed examination of Per Amica Silentia Luna (1916) perhaps Yeats's most understudied and most underrated book. Squeezing meaning from this work is rather like deciphering a coded document, because it is written in Yeats's most carefully crafted, measured, and completely deceptive prose. Many turns of phrases heretofore interpreted as poetic figures of speech by literary academics are revealed by Graf to be Yeats's own private esoteric terms with specific, concrete meanings. Most Yeats scholars have considered Per Amica to be an obscure prelude to A Vision (1925 and 1934), but Graf reveals it to be a unique and revealing work, in many ways expressing ideas much different and different from its better known cousin.

The final chapters deals with the series of mediumistic experienced by Yeats bride Georgie (known as George) Hyde-Lees which began to occur four days after their wedding in October 1917. These mediumistic experiences, became the basics of Yeats's new "philosophy" published the two versions of A Vision, and became the underpinning of almost everything he wrote during the later period of his life.

Graf's book forms a powerful antithesis to Brenda Maddox's recent odorous book Yeats's Ghosts (1999), which suggested that the entire visionary experience of Yeates was driven by the ticking of Mrs Yeats' biological time-clock, and that she faked the entire mediumistic experience to keep her husband's interest and to deliver instructions about their sex lives designed to produce pregnancy in the most efficient manner. Instead Graf advances a more reasonable thesis: that the Yeats were engaged in a form of sex magic, guided the supernal intelligences toward the creation of "children of a higher order," perhaps an Irish Avatar for the new age. This does not negate the ticking of George's time-clock, or her desire to have children as a motive, but recognizes and accepts the deeply held occult convictions of both of the Yeates.

Graf's book may signal a new "middle ground" approach the Yeats's occult interests such as been recently applied to the history of Theosophy by K Paul Johnson and Joscelyn Godwin. If so, she has performed an invaluable service to the study of Yeats.

The biggest problem with this book is that it has the feel of a couple of people sitting around swapping urban legends. The authors rarely back up their stories with any sort of facts or attribution. And with at least one unforgivable factual error (Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb, not Roosevelt), the authors' credibility seems suspect. Most of the brief stories presented here -- and there are many stories -- are mildly entertaining, but on too many occasions, you have to wonder where on Earth they got their information from. Sadly, too often, the reader is never told.

This is a wonderful overview of the ways we try to communicate in secret. You don't have to be a PhD to understand the methodology of the communication styles featured in the book. Recommended for anyone with a beginning interest in our "secret" history.

This is a very fine introduction to the life and love poetry of W.B. Yeats. The book begins with an extensive, 25 page biography of Yeats that includes even his distressful discovery of masturbation at age 15, his hidden love for his distant cousin Laura Armstrong, and his frustrated love for Maud Gonne, the major character of his love poems. He proposed marriage to the cold-but-beautiful and very politically minded Maud, who refused him and married a soldier. The introduction gives examples of how this most important relationship was reflected in Yeats' poems. Yeats first sexual love was with Olivia Shakespear (while estranged from her husband) and was a brief affair. The end of this episode intensified his loss of Maud Gonne and intensified the passion in his poems also. After Maude's separation from her soldier husband, Yeats proposed again to Maude, was refused again, and then he did the creepy thing of asking Maude to allow him to marry her daughter Isuelt! At age 52 he married the 26 year old Georgie Hyde Lees, whom he called "George," and had a daughter and a son. Yeats exploration of Irish folklore under the guidance of Lady Gregory, and his exploration of mysticism with Georgie are also included in this focussed introduction. The 48 short poems published here are lovely, touching, and often sad, but have beautifully sculpted lines. For example,(on pg.31)"She laid them upon her bosom, Under a cloud of her hair, And her red lips sang them a love-song, Till stars grew out of the air." Illuminating notes (34 pages) are in the back of the book. The best way to read this book is first to read the introduction, secondly read each poem followed by the notes on each poem, and finally to reread the poem if you want to catch the subtleties.

Professor Norman Jeffares is an authority on Irish literature. He has lectured in Trinity College, Dublin and written and edited the works of many Irish writers, including Joyce, Yeats, Swift, Farquhar, Goldsmith to name a few. He has written two biographies of W. B. Yeats. In this collection, Norman Jeffares displays the depth and complexity of Yeats' romantic poetry and how they have progressed over the years.

It is well known that Yeats led a movement that stimulated new understanding of Irish literature and nationalism in the late 1800s and early 20th centaury. Here, Jeffares focuses his attention on the contribution Yeats made towards romantic poetry.

The book contains a useful introduction containing Yeats' biographical notes with important events and people who influenced his work.

The poems in this anthology are presented in chronological order and categorised under three headings: romantic idealism (early poems); romantic realism (poems written over the next 15 years); and complex harmonies (poems inspired by his wife).

This anthology is a good handbook for students and general readers interested in Yeats' romantic poetry.

Given the number of photos in this slim volume - some familiar, many hard-to-find - it is a bargain for the price. As another reviewer notes, some of the photos are graphic: this is not a sanitized view of the campaign. The book also features a number of excerpts and quotes, which make for good reading.

One warning though: in terms of historical fact, "This Is Guadalcanal" should be approached with caution. WASP, for example, was nowhere near Savo Island when she was torpedoed, contrary to this book's account. A photo of US transports under attack on 8 August is placed in the account of mid-September action. The section on the mid-November brawl opens with the well-known "Proceed Without Hornet" shot aboard ENTERPRISE's flight deck: the photo was in fact taken two weeks before, during the 26 October battle of Santa Cruz, where HORNET was lost. Carriers at Guadalcanal were attacked neither by Kamikaze nor by shell fire, despite the authors' claims. Both of those unique events would have to wait until the Battle of Leyte Gulf, nearly two years after the crux of the Guadalcanal campaign.

And so on...

Great photos, good text, but this book could have used more research and care to ensure it impressed factually as much as it does visually.

It's a tough job to be a professional photographer, but the combat photographer is a special breed. It's dangerous work, but something important to both record history as it happens and to provide the public at large a chance to see the horrors of war. ...

The photos presented here were taken by military photographers in the heat of the Battle of Guadalcanal, a six month long engagement between invading U. S. forces and defending Japanese troops that began in August 1942, just eight months after much of the U. S. Pacific Fleet had been sunk by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Guadalcanal was a land, sea and air fight. It was the first Naval invasion by the U. S. in the Pacific as the American forces attempted to island hop their way to the Japanese mainland.

The six-month battle that ended in February 1943 resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans. The Japanese lost 25,000 in suicidal "banzai charges," believing it was noble to die for their emperor, whom they considered a God. Though 3,000 miles from the Japanese mainland, the battle lasted so long because the "Tokyo Express," as the Americans called it, kept slipping ships full of reinforcements and supplies to their troops.

The war at sea was no easier. The Marines were actually abandoned on the island following a sea battle between the Japanese and an Allied Navy force led by the United States Navy near Savo (sometimes called Salvo) Island, which is near Guadalcanal.

The Japanese surprised the Allied fleet on August 8 on a moonless night, turning their searchlights on unsuspecting Allied ships, then firing torpedoes and five-inch shells into them. Allied warships, mostly smaller cruisers and destroyers, began exploding, burning and sinking. The Allies fought back as well-trained men will, but those Allied ships not sunk withdrew. Behind them, four Allied ships had sunk and 1,000 Allied sailors had been killed.

The terrifying fight at sea was visible to Marines trying to dig in onland since their landings on the 90 mile long and 25 mile wide island on August 7. Flashes of light in the night, fires and then darkness where ships had once been. (A good source on this part of the battle is Robert Ballard's "The Lost Ships Of Guadalcanal.")

The island was a crazy little place, a total, thick-growth jungle full of disease and alligators, in addition to thousands of veteran Japanese troops (Japan had been at war with China since 1931 and this was their military's 11th year of war). Outnumbered more than 3-to-1, the U. S. Marines, earning their "leathernecks" nickname, sought to throw the Japanese off the island.

Within two days of landing the Marines had seized the Japanese airfield on the island, naming it Henderson Field. Six days later Marine Air Group 23 arrived in F4F Wildcat fighter planes and SBD-3 dive bombers. These land-based aircraft were a major asset in fighting Japanese air power and in providing ground support for advancing Marines.

The Marines were absolutely stunned on August 21, 1942, when Colonel Kiyoano Ichiki arrived on the island with the 28th Infantry of the Imperial Japanese Army. Within 24 hours, he led 1,000 soldiers in the darkness of the night through the Tenaru River lagoon. They ran head-long into Marine barbed wire, machine guns, tanks, artillery and small arms fire.

The Japanese charged, wave after repeated wave for two hours, until more than 800 lay dead in front of the Marine lines. Only one Japanese soldier surrendered. The remainder, mostly wounded, scattered.

Amazingly, the sector was defended by 65 Marines, according to the official Marine Corps summary of the battle.

The U. S. Navy again engaged the Japanese at sea on August 24-25. This time much larger surface warships were onhand, including battleships and aircraft carriers, with the support of the land-based air units (including B-17 bombers) on Guadalcanal.

Two American carriers, the USS Enterprise and the USS Saratoga, launched their planes against the Japanese fleet on August 24. The Japanese carrier Ryujo and 75 Japanese planes were destroyed with a loss of 25 U. S. planes.

On August 25, a Japanese convoy with supplies and troop ships was attacked. The Japanese, after inflicting damage of the USS Enterprise, withdrew. The Enterprise was forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs (the U. S. had very few carriers at this time. In 1942 alone, the U. S. carriers Lexington, Yorktown, Langley and Wasp were all sunk by the Japanese during Pacific battles.)

The loss of the carrier USS Wasp occurred at Guadalcanal on September 15. Unseen Japanese submarines closed through U. S. defenses to 1,000 yards and fired six torpedoes at her. She was hit in two crucial places, her gasoline storage tanks and her "magazine" (the place where her ammunition was kept) --- a series of explosions erupted on the ship,which began to list immediately and soon sank. There's a stunning series photos of the Wasp burning amid a furious fire, while nearby another ship, the USS O'Brien, also is burning (but she survived the battle).

By September, the Japanese had managed to build their Army on the island to 30,000 men and the U. S. had managed to build its land force to 27,000 men.

In October, Lt. Col. "Chesty" Puller, a Marine legend, found himself commanding his Marines against a surprise attack by the Japanese against Henderson Field. In two days of fighting, 86 Americans died, but 2,200 Japanese had been killed in suicidal bayonet charges, an amazing waste of human life.

On Oct. 26, the U. S. Navy again engaged the Japanese at sea in the Battle of Santa Cruz. The carrier USS Hornet was singled-out by the Japanese. Hit by two torpedoes, five bombs and two kamikazes (the Japanese pilots, called kamikazes, crashed their planes into the ship), the Hornet sank. Again, the series of photos of the ship under attack, including shots of Japanese planes crashing into the ship and a shot of a U. S. Navy plane being shaken off the ship's deck by an explosion, are stunning.

Nov. 12-15, as Marines continued to fight stubborn Japanese troops in the jungle, the U. S. Navy again engaged the Japanese at sea. The battle of Nov. 12 saw a Japanese victory, with five American and three Japanese ships being sunk (costing the lives of some 2,000 sailors total),

Nov. 14, the Japanese tried to land troops from nine troop ships. Six of the ships were sunk and three turned back, so needed Japanese reinforcements were lost to the island's defenders.

American battleships then went into action Nov. 14-15, supported by land-based aircraft and planes from the repaired USS Enterprise. The U. S. won this final round decisively: eight American ships were sunk, but the Japanese lost 23 warships.

Victory is a short-lived thing, though. On Nov. 30 the U. S. Navy was nearly demolished by the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Tassafaronga. This time American cruisers (smaller than battleships but bigger than destroyers) attacked a Japanese convoy bringing supplies to the island.

Somehow several Japanese destroyers went unnoticed by the American fleet. These ships turned and fired 44 Long Lance torpedoes at the American battle group --- one after another, U. S. cruisers erupted from explosions as the USS Minneapolis, USS New Orleans and USS Pensacola were hit, resulting in the deaths of 400 sailors. The Japanese were turned back after four of their destroyers were sunk.

Beginning in January 1943, Japanese troops were gradually evacuated from Guadalcanal by barges, destroyers, submarines and any means the Japanese Navy could find.

Total Japanese losses are estimated at 25,000 (some sources site more, some less). U. S. losses are known, however (these figures are from this book):

On land: 1,598 killed (including 1,152 Marines). 4,709 wounded (including 2,799 Marines).

At sea: 5,041 killed. 2,953 wounded. ...

What is clear in the book is the bravery of the fighting men, the epic nature of the struggle and the horrors of the battle (some photos, mostly of the dead, are quite gruesome, so be forewarned). That Americans could endure such horrors to the final victory over Japan in 1945 speaks very well of their determination to win and protect their beloved freedom.

I believe Admiral "Bull" Halsey summed the battle up best when he said, "Before Guadalcanal, the enemy advanced at his pleasure. After Guadalcanal, he retreated at ours."

The book:

This is a jam-packed, photographic history of the battle told through some brief summaries of the a

Obviously, it is the selection and not the poetry itself which merits the low rating. I ordered this text after consulting Books in Print; "Selected Poems" seems reasonable enough. In fact, the poems cover only the first half of Yeats's career, and thus many of his finest works are not represented. Caveat emptor!

This book is for the classic Yeats reader who wants a greatest hits book, without the exhausting detail of the author's every waking moment. Expertly categorized, his great poems are woven into this book, with excellent type and font that is very readable. The cover is also elegantly designed (you can see it online).

This ensemble tale by 15 writers is quite good for the continuity of the tale it manages to maintain, and I would suggest this is a testament to the skill with which some of these authors write. The continuity of skill is not as unerringly high and this is partly because they tried to force certain marquee names in to bits of writing they have not shared with the public in the past, and in at least one author's case, it is good that he has not.

No one does a better job than Roddy Doyle who opens this 15 chapter book and sets a high water mark that the balance of fourteen must either match, approach or miss miserably. Having this particular writer lead off, in hindsight, may have been an error, for the best the reader could hope for was that others would keep up, or keep quite close. And when they did not the chapters are jarringly poor.

The book is worth the read not because the story is unique and clever, it is neither. The story is one you have read variations on before, and as it progresses it runs out of the cleverness it does manage, and only barely at times, and consistently and without pause begins a slow slide to the end. The irony is that the end of the tale, which can be most charitably described as not only raunchy, but just plain poor in its execution, was done by an author that probably had the least claim to be here. Frank McCourt wrote his original memoir that has a firm spot in literary history, its sequel was a shadow of the original, and this chapter numbered 15 will hopefully soon be forgotten. It is true he has sold a mountain of books, but doing it many times is a feat he has yet to prove. Playing anchor, batting clean up, was not the appropriate spot for him here.

A good tale requires more than a pair of marquee names as bookends; it requires two solid sides, not one. The best rationale for reading this book is for the gems of writers you will find in between the two men I have named. This is a case where the whole is much less than the sum of its parts, an interesting exercise, but one not tightly controlled or edited. So enjoy the quality and discard the balance, what is left is much shorter than the 15 chapters but you are sure to find several new authors you will follow with great satisfaction.

Yeats Is Dead! is the collaboration of 15 Irish writers all contributing a chapter to what must be one of the strangest mysteries ever (if you can call it a mystery). Wherever outcomes would seem predictable, the next writer reverses the tide of the story. Chapter 2 mentions none of the characters that Chapter 1 does, for example, and whenever a character is being built up they seem to be killed off by the next writer. One point where its a ridiculous turnaround is chapter 11-12. Chapter 11 ends:

"Paschal Greer was all out of options. So he did what he should have done many weeks ago. He stepped, forwards, took Grainne O'Kelly in his arms and kissed her. Now there was no more need for words."

And Chapter 12 reverses it totally:

"Well, now. Flip it now. That's just the last straw, thought Sergeant Greer as Inspector O'Kelly punched him bang in the kisser just as he was about to slip the tongue in."

The book is full of mirth and its set-up allows to make what would otherwise be a less good book into a great one. 4 stars.

Fifteen Irish writers take their turn (one chapter each) at ratcheting up the silliness while developing a story centered on the discovery of James Joyce's final unpublished work. Organized crime, organized crime fighters, and Irish society in general take on a generous helping of ribbing while each author does his or her best to out do the previous. What is funny is how many of the authors take what was written before and then throw in a bizarre twist. Or just simply kill off a character nurtured and developed by a previous writer. One poor soul about halfway through makes some attempt at stabilizing the story, only to be completely blown out of the water by the next. And yet at the same time, a couple of gags presented near the beginning of the book find their way into every chapter up to the end.

All in all it is a very fun collection of work, and edifying as well in the sense that the reader may find a new author or two to try out after putting this one down. Because of the nature of this type of work, naturally the writing styles and quality vary greatly from one chapter to the next. This fact in itself will disturb the reader that attempts to take the novel too seriously. Although why this feat is even attempted when you are reading about a ginger haired young Irishman who likes to speak in American ghetto slang is beyond me.

In case your one of the 96% who never really looks at the "size" of a book when you order it, make sure you do for this one. It's only a pocket version of Lady Gregory's book, and, although the website does not tell you so, this is an ABRIGDED version.

Just know what you're getting.

I have read this book and find that the first part is fairly accurate when I compare it with other translations of the stories about Finn and the Fianna. However, I read the notes section for the stories about Cuchulain and noticed that Lady Gregory states that she compiled these stories, while the book jacket states she translated them. Unfortunately she has used several different sources for one of my favorite tales (Deirdre and Naoise) and it makes me wonder how accurate her version of this tale is. She has some elements in the ending that I have found attributed to later versions of the tale (she uses the later version of Deirdre stabbing herself instead of her dashing her head on the rocks), but the fact that she admits in her notes to editing and compiling the tales as she sees fit makes me wonder what else she edited because she didn't like. Personally, I am searching for a translation that is more accurate when it comes to Irish tales, because I feel that the original meaning becomes muddled when tales are edited to match a person's taste.

Even though I've never read Irish Myths and Legends, I can assure you I would like it. I'm always interested in the mythology of my heratige. There might be some of My personal favorites; Cuchculain, Finn McCoul, and The Voyage of Bran. That's why I, Jacob Behnke, a ten year older from Hastings, Minnesota, highly recomend Irish Myths and Legends.

Most of these photos are in many other books. Essentially nothing new. Topped off by some serious errors- casualties on the left flank of Omaha labeled as being at Pt Du Hoe, Utah pics claimed to be Omaha, mention of "cliffs" at Utah beach, and shots from the Southern France landing added in without mention of their correct origin. A waste of time and money.

These extraordinary photos were selected, we are told, from 60 plain gray boxes each containing approximately 100 photos located in the National Archives II. As noted by another reviewer here, the captions leave much to be desired. We are told a DUKW is an amphibious tracked vehicle, which is a landing craft designated as an LVT. In fact, no LVTs were at Normandy, much to the chagrin of Major General Charles Corlett. The three companies of the 2nd Rangers who took Pointe du Hoc (D, E and F) are identified as "two divisions". Equally bizarre is the photo of British soldiers going ashore on "Utah Beach". As excellent as the photos are, greater care should have been exercised in their labeling. But do not let that stop you from obtaining a copy. The book contains 128 pages of great photographs, a number of which are familiar, including those taken by Robert Capa. But many, most in fact, were new to this reviewer. Perhaps if Keeney and Butler had presented more photos and few words, this book would still be in print.

This book gives you a image tour through what is one of the most amazing and interesting battles of World War II. To graphically see what it was like transports you back to the beaches on that day. The commentary along with the photography give a chlling account of D-Day.

I used this book for research on Yeats' Byzantium poems, & I must admit that Adams presents many wonderful ideas about WBY, but he does so in a way that is so difficult to decipher, it hardly seems worth the effort. I am by no means a literary mastermind, but neither am I a terribly "slow" individual, & I found this book to be fairly difficult reading. I had to read several passages over, & very slowly, to decipher Adams' "academese." He could very easily have expressed the same ideas without such pretentious jargon and structure. All in all-- it is filled good ideas which are rendered virtually incomprehensible by their presentation. I suspect that most people who make an attempt at it won't last very long (I dredged through it solely out of neccessity). What a waste :o(

Maddox's focus is on the people that revolved around Yeats--his wife, lovers, relatives, and peers. She relays several intimate anecdotes concerning Yeats's troubled relationships with his parents, his obsessions with women like Maude Gonne and her daughter, Iseult, and his interaction with a long line of "mother figures" (most notably, Lady Gregory).

Reading this book gave me the impression that Yeats wrote not just because he was inspired by Ireland and metaphysical themes; but as a need to escape his stifling environment.

While providing many interesting details about Mrs. Yeats's "abilities" with automatic writing, Maddox goes far in portraying Georgie as more of a controlling wife than a powerful medium. This, along with Yeats's own "psychic experiences" may lead a skeptic to wonder just how sane the poet actually was.

The section dealing with his term as a Free State Senator was good, in terms of illustrating Yeats' ongoing battle against censorship and civic divorce (in contrast with his reported stances on fascism and eugenics). Readers can revel in how Yeats, while conservative in such things as parenting, thoroghly enjoyed playing the "dirty old man" in various media--print, theater, and radio. As far as a deeper insight into Yeats as mystical poet, though, the book's treatment of the man is sketchy at best.

Imagine a poet who is so absorbed in his interior life and imagination that his wife resorts to speaking with the dead and the spirit world--simply to keep the man interested. That's what Barbara Maddox insists in her wonderfully inclusive biography, "Yeats's Ghosts."

By nearly every assessment, W. B. Yeats stands as the greatest poet of the 20th Century. The ultimate symbolist, Yeats, however, remains an exceptionally difficult poet to fully appreciate--mainly because of the arcane and personal perspectives and references that litter nearly every one of his poems. Many readers, in fact, find it necessary to purchase a concordance of his work, and one publisher even offers a guide to the works of a poet who himself chose to speckle his books with countless footnotes and clarifications. Which, only naturally, are together a godsend.

"Yeats's Ghosts," a controversial biography by the award-winning Barbara Maddox, may help readers to understand the milleux in which Yeats wrote--the current events that engendered work after work, the personal friends to and about whom many were originally composed, and the continual wash of Celtic mythology--but what's especially entertaining about the book is its unique take on one of the most contentious issues regarding Yeats.

Yeats, after all, was a mystic--a mystic in the old Celtic Tradition--caught between scientific rationalism on the one hand and orthodox Christianity on the other. Like many Irishmen living on the cusp of the modern age, Yeats actively hoped for a renaissance of ancient Irish virtues--something along the lines of prewar Germany's obsession with getting rid of influences that had garbled and partially eradicated national and racial identities.

A member of the famous Order of the Golden Dawn (along with the maleviolent Aleister Crowley), Yeats, according to some, indulged in the occult; others find that probability suspect, citing that it is hard to believe that a poet of such gifts would be such a pushover for what most people consider "spurious information." Whatever the case, as Maddox quickly reveals, Yeats as a personality was definitely not of this age, an age that has yet to make a compromise with the imagination as a cultural and artistic force. In fact, without an understanding of the occult nuances hidden within his poems, most readers will find themselves frustrated with another collision with the inpenetrable words of a brilliant man and seminally Irish poet.

The book begins with Yeats's marriage on-the-rebound--at fifty-- to Georgie Hyde-Lee, an attractive bohemian he'd met through the Golden Dawn. But he's still obsessed with his almost mythical femme fatale, Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne--and infatuated with her daughter Iseult. Yeats was probably not as conducive to marriage as he wanted to be, and, according to Maddox, his new wife quickly sensed it. When she began a regimen of automatic writing to contact the spirit world, however, Yeats's interest rapidly rose, and over the course of their marriage, it may have been Georgie's flirtations with the occult that held the marriage together.

There are, of course, other "ghosts" in Maddox's life of Yeats, his relationship to an emotionally unavailable mother amongst them, but many of Maddox's assertions are too much of a flirtation with another relatively spurious paradigm, Freudianism. Some of her readings in the yellow light of psychoanalysis are really a reach--she's really digging, really really digging--and it's necessary to remember that Yeats's poetry is not defiant of definition but out of its realm completely. Not surprisingly, Maddox's drive to find a reasonable explanation for an inner life completely enthralled with the imaginary tends to limit what she is seeking to convey--a fully understandable vision of a poet who, for all practical purposes, spurned the idea of personality, at least in its more traditional manifestations. Consequently, Maddox's pictures seem more like snapshots that tend to trivialize a man who, more than likely, will never be fully understood. Often the object of Maddox's well-written tale comes off as a deluded old fool--although anyone who has read and wondered over the majesty of his poetic works can't help but wonder if there really wasn't something to the imaginary world in which he thrilled.

Look, Brenda Maddox is a journalist not a scholar. She has little to say about the poems and her sources are nothing new. But she writes a lively prose with a deft eye for the human angle in describing the parade of remarkable women who passed through Yeats's later life. I don't think she's out to replace the more detailed biographies other reviewers mention so much as add color and detail to the standard portrait of the 'smiling public man.'

The book's centerpiece is the early years of Yeats's marriage to his wife George, a cultivated woman twenty-seven years his junior who turned what looked to be a marriage of convenience into a source of great poetic inspiration. George began channeling spirits on their honeymoon which, over the next two years, revealed to Yeats an entire philosophy of history and the soul's fate after death while also dictating how an older, indifferent lover ought to treat a young new wife. Maddox leaves the question of the Script's authenticity open, pointing out on the one hand how well it suited George's purposes and on the other how sincerely she shared Yeats's occult beliefs. Halfway through the book though, after a short, out of place chapter on Yeats's mother, she leaves George behind to concentrate on the eccentricities of Yeats's later years. Yeats had a capacity for staying 'forever young' that led to some odd connections; he involved himself, especially after the Steinach operation, with a cast of dubious individuals who took him away from the unwanted responsibilities of home and family.

I don't think Maddox is trying to pull Yeats off a pedestal--she clearly believes the poems he wrote in these years are great. She's also fair-minded in dealing with Yeats's Fascist sympathies, his late passion for eugenics and the bad rap he's gotten from feminists. But showing how much care and indulgence his work required from others, especially the women he chose to attend to his needs, reminds you that greatness is often a collaborative effort. Giving credit where credit is due for Yeats's late achievement, especially in the case of his long-suffering wife George, takes nothing away from his achievement. Just the opposite; I admired the poetry all the more knowing the personal hopes and (sometimes) blindnesses it grew out of. A fun, instructive read.