Pound's forays into the realm of the past, evinced by his interest in the Provencal trouvéres and the ancient Chinese and Japanese poets (whose works he rendered into English from notes made by the Sinologist Ernest Fenollosa) formed the basis of his early poetic enterprise. In terms of style, these early poems display a rarely paralleled originality, in combination with reserves of hermetic knowledge. This collection, which includes the translations (or paraphrases) of "Cathay", the impersonations of "Personae" and the renovations and improvisations of "Ripostes" and "Lustra" contains the best of Pound's poetry. It is not laden with the overlearnedness and pedantic eccentricity that make "The Cantos", (falsely called Pound's "masterpiece") such a brilliant failure, even by Pound's own admission. Moreover, they are possibly the most refreshing and original of Pound's works, displaying a remarkable novelty and a healthy erudition. Highly recommended.

"The Collected Early Poems of Ezra Pound" is mostly a book for people who had already read Personae - the 1926 edition of Pound's standard collection of his own minor poems - or are interested in the former career of Pound. These will be pleased to find the famous poems (e.g. "Redondillas") which they only knew by name and references, as well as famous books here collected for the first time (especially 1908's "A Lume Spento," "Canzoni" (1911), and the " Miscellaneous Poems," not previously collected). It's a fine edition with useful notes and reproducctions of all the original title pages.

Tench Coxe is one person very few school children read about...and for good reason. A Philadelphia merchant during the citical period of the 1760's through the 1820's, Coxe is a case study in switching political affiliation. As the Revolutionary War rages on, Coxe is a Loyalist and even attends the lavish Philadelphia balls with the British officers. When the war is over, however, Coxe switches his alliances, emerging at the forefront of those fighting for ratification of the new Constitution. He is rewarded with a job in George Washington's Treasury Department. However, Coxe becomes disillusioned with the Federalist Party as he begins to campaign for the Democratic-Republican, Thomas Jefferson. In his later years, Coxe spends much time campaigning in Pennsylvania for various political candidates, trying to manage his extensive land holdings and begging, usually fruitlessly, for a patronage job. The author attempts to show how Coxe, although running the gauntlet of political affiliations, has never let go of his core beliefs. He does not quite convince this reader, but he does make an intersting case. Even more important than Cooke's historical interpretation of Coxe's life is the fact that reading this fine biography helps one to more fully understand and appreciate the work that political underlings do, especially as it relates to early American political intrigues. One criticism I have of this book, and I admit it is more of a matter of personal preference, is that the author chronologically jumps around too much. In my opinion, this leaves the reader somewhat confused with regards to how some aspects of the subject's life interact with other aspects. Cooke does this especially with regards to Coxe's land speculation. It takes away from the overall quality of the book when Cooke describes Coxe's buying and selling of land in the Carolinas and I'm spending time trying to figure out what else is going on in Coxe's life. This is not a book written for curling up next to the fire, but rather for those who fancy themselves scholars.

This book is set at a very interesting time in Oz history - right after Ozma is transformed from the boy Tip and takes the throne in the Emerald City. It's plot fits right between L. Frank Baum's second and third Oz books: The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. In The Marvelous Land of Oz the boy Tip escapes from Mombi the witch and has many adventures that culminate when he is returned to his true form as Ozma. The Mysterious Chronicles of Oz, written in 1985, over 80 years after Baum's two books, focuses on the transition Ozma goes through in her behavior and her mind to change from the mischievous boy Tip to the girl ruler of a fairy kingdom.

One morning shortly after her transformation Ozma wakes up tired of regal protocol. She dons the clothes she wore as Tip and slips out of the Emerald City with her old friend the Sawhorse determined for one last adventure. The tale is full of both flashbacks and foreshadowing of Baum's "future" works. In this book we find the origin of the Sawhorse's Red Wagon and Ozma's Magic Picture. We learn how the Cowardly Lion and his friend the Hungry Tiger come to live in the Emerald City. We are also told Jellia Jamb's history before she came to live in the Emerald City and the origins of the first Nome King, Roquat the Red. Most intriguing is the true story of the Hammerheads and the reason for their belligerence. Mr. Madden even details Ozma's first contacts with Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter, Quox, the dragonette, and the Great Djinn Tititi-Hoochoo. Yet the biggest mystery of the book is the OPALOZ and the power it has over the whole magic land. The plot is great and J. Noel's line drawings illustrate the book well. Six tipped-in color plates and a color wrap-around book jacket illustration are special treats and absolutely charming.

So why didn't I give the book 4 or even 5 stars? There are over 50 Oz books in existence and so there are conventions that should be followed in writing one. Mr. Madden maddeningly renames all four lands of Oz calling them The Land of Sky Blue Waters, The Land of Purple Mountains, The Golden West, and Rosewood Meadows. Other Oz authors quickly and briefly fill in character backgrounds so as not to interrupt the story but Mr. Madden goes through long digressions to relate stories told in other books. So basically it is a great plot told with uneven writing that is distracting, but not enough to ruin the book.

What the book does best is tell in loving detail the mental transformation of the unruly boy Tip into the kind and loving ruler Ozma. It is a great tale and a good read for dedicated Ozophiles.