davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15
Books on Archaeology, Art History
Share Wave of Popularity This Year

these books has a small seIec-
ton Of photographs.
The ability Of modern color
photography to reproduce the
splendor of archaeological
treasures is evident in the
DesrOcheS-N oblecourt volume
on what has been the most
spectacular archaeological
discovery Of all time, the
tomb Of young Tutankhamen,
found In 1922 by Howard
Carter and Lord Carnarvon.
Even those who have actually
seen some Of these rich OBJ
jects in museums will find
unsupported beauties in the
reproductions in this volume.
In contrast, Marcel Brion's
two volumes, although in a
decorative box, are, at first
glance colorless: Almost 600
pages Of small type in two
small volumes with IS glossy
photographs and so drawings
in the text. But the book has
considerable novelty, since a
major part of it Is concerned
with relatively unfamiliar
areas and sites, In India, the
Americas, Central Asia, Indo-
china, and Africa. Moreover,
much Of the information is
derived from French excava-
ton reports which are much
less known than they deserve
to be. AS a result. these vol
umes have a host Of interest
ing facts and suggestions, not
all Of which should be accept
ed at their face value.
For Christmas
At first glance the last two
works listed, from Alfred
Knopf and McGraw-Hfn look
like direct competitors for the
Christmas trade. In fact, their
chief common traits are rela-
lively high price and multiple
authorship. The two volumes
edited by Mrs. Hawkes. have
brilliant dust jackets and a
colorful box, but within are
rather dull, both In the text
and the 48 plates Of photo
graphs. The text consists Of
100 pages by the editor
on the nature and history Of
archaeology from the English
provincial point Of view fol-
lowed by about Us extracts OF
writing on archaeology dating
from Hesiod, Herodotus, and
LucretiuS to our own day.
These vary In length from a
single page to over so pages
and we're obviously selected
because they form part Of the
history Of archaeological work
rather than because they
contributed to our contem-
porary archaeological ideas,
since dubious writing by nom
psychologists, like the Rev.
Samuel Lyons. an Old TeSta-
ment fundamentals, and from
D. H. Lawrence are included.
The Edward Bacon volume,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

praiseworthy as they are
praiseful.
At the anhpodes from Wat
kins, and rooted In native soil,
RACES Gregory Corso, LONG
LIVE MAN New Directions;
S1.6O). These pop poems,
tender snippets, apocalyptic
claps and musing obServa-
tons document his emergence
from the side Of Ginsberg, In
the full glare Of City Lights,
to his ravenous exploration Of
the mellow Augean scene. But
whether In Puerto Rican
Harlem or Tangier, culturally
cowed or critically carping,
Corso inhabits a dramatic
present, which he urges upon
us with slapdash recklesSnesS.
That temperate solpsist Mar
garet Fuller once commended:
81 accept the world" to
which Carlyle CURLY
retorted: "She'd better"
More assertive, but no more
definitive, Corso hymns his
species: MAN is the victory
of life" This thumper sug-
gestS Thurber's emendation Of
Pope: "The proper study Of
mankind is man-says man."
Frederick Seidel's FINAL
SOLUTIONS (Random House;
$3.50 comprises a shocking
but brilliant set Of character
revelations. The bitter candor
of the dramatic monologues
and third-person portraits
alike is etched in mordant
imagery and couched in sin
envy lines. Readers of Han
nah Arendt's study of the
Eichmann trial will remem-
Der the chill of the Hitlerian
euphemism final solution.
Each of Seidel'S characters,
in crisis or stalemate, gains
insight into a blackness that
approximates that dire cir
cumstance. This first volume
of a 27-year-old poet was
denied the prize awarded it
by a jury consisting of Louise
Began, Stanley KunitZ, and
Robert Lowell, possibly on the
grounds of indiscretion, in
that Seidel manages to maign
several eminent persons. But
as a work suggestive of Rob
ert Lowell's probing Life
Studies" though powerfully
distinctive, Final Solutions"
insists on reconsideration.
ApropoS prizes and recogni-
ton, so little was publicly
known of William Strafford's
TRAVELLING THROUGH
THE DARK (Harper & Row E;
$500 after its first appear
ance that when it was de.
clared winner of the 1868 Ma.
tional Book Award, the pub.
Usher did a double-take and
re-iSSued copies for review.
These poems break no trails
but such consistency of attain.
ment is singular. Every poem
is an occasion fulfilled, mos
Strikingly perhaps by means
of a prosody that In its natu
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

the quality Of the product
varies greatly. from journals
tic potboilers to rather techni-
cal tones. This range is not
the same as the even wider
gamut from very poor works
to excellent ones, because
some of the volumes from the
most authoritative writers are
bad books, either because
they are poorly organized or
because they show little abili-
ty to communicate what their
authors unquestionably know.
On the other hand some OF
the potboilers, such as one
listed above by Leonard Cot
trell, are surprisingly sound
and informative. These offer
ings also vary greatly in size
and price. In general, illustra-
tons are usually excellent,
and those in color are often
spectacular, as in the volume
on King "Tut." Some Of these
books are so elaborate and
expensive that they seem
chiefly to be aimed at the
Christmas gift market. They
remind me Of the huge tones,
filled with expensive engrav-
ings, which the newly rich
Victorian middle classes put
on their library or living room
tables not to be read but to
demonstrate thu cir genteel
culture to visitors. It will be a
shame If some Of these recent
volumes 60 similarly unread,
for they cannot fail to in
crease the American peoples
social and cultural per-
spective at a time when this
is much needed.
Among the Best
A number Of these volumes
are cooperative works, In
which each period, each ar
Genealogical site, or each
chapter is written by a differ
ent expert. Although this
inevitably provides an uneven
and Unlicensed presentation,
some of these edited volumes,
especially the one from Nc
Graw-Hill above, are among
the best. Diverse authorship
does not really detract from a
book which is expected to be
sampled in a random fashion
rather than read straight
through.
OF the volumes listed, EN-
pires in the Dust" by a pro-
life writer Of science fiction,
deals with the obvious ar
Genealogical sites in an OBJ
vious way, but it Is written in
a vivid and Straightforward
style which should have spe-
cial appeal to younger read
ers. "Realms Of Gold" does
something similar, from a
better informed writer, and
on a much narrowed topic, to
present our knowledge Of the
Mycenaean Greeks. Each Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15
Brief Reviews of Books for YuIetide

tronomer. The dramatic histo-
~ Of lunar observation and
the description Of q possible
human colony on the moon
will interest the general read
er.
FLOWER ARRANGE
MENTS TIL ROUGH THE
YEAR. BY Patricia Easter
brook Roberts. viking;
$5.95.) This is mainly a ref
erence book from which the
homemaker gets ideas. 1t has
IL monthly flower charts with
illustrations s owing how
flowers Of that month can be
arranged.
GETTYSBURG: The Long
Eneampme emit. BY Jack
Mclaughlin. (Appleton-C entu-
ry; $685. This book gives
the background Of the Battle
of Gettysburg, with detailed
descriptions Of the terrain,
the battle positions and the
men who were involved.
Some Of the 200 photographs
have never been published
before.
McCAI4L'S SEWING BOOK.
BY the editors Of Mccall.
(Random House; $3.50 For
anyone who likes to sew,
whether expert or beginner.
For the initiate, there are step
by-step instructions on sewing
techniques. For the expert,
brand-new methods and skills
are presented. There are over
a thousand charts, diagrams
and illustrations.
CHICAGO STORIES. By
George AIDE with illustrations
by John T. M C C ut c h e on.
(Regnery; $3.50 Franklin ].
Meme, who selected and edit
ed this anthology of stories
and drawings, says In the
foreword: Emphasis b as
been put upon those sketches
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

such parody as "A Thin Fa-
cade for Edith Sitwell," he
ranges through social COM
ment to reflective and elegaic
verses. On all levels his
command Is sure and his
craft unfailing.
FOREIGN IMPORTS
From abroad come three
poets certain to have roper
cussionS In the chambers Of
American poetry. The Irish
French Samuel Beckett,
POEMS IN NGLISH
Grove; $2.75), plays as seri-
ously with word, form and
theme in this slim gathering
as he does In his fiction and
plays. Audiences have already
been splashed with this quick
silver and therefore know its
magic.
But who is adequately pre-
pared for probably the finest
long poem written in English
in this century,? This is W.
H. Auden's summary judg-
tent Of ANATHEMATA
(Chilmark Press; $5.75), by
David Jones. Like some pre-
Cambrian cataclysm, from
Wales erupts this Supplying
miasma Of verse and prose,
illustration and footnote,
erudition and vision, myth
and liturgy. Despite Auden's
heroic attempt at clarified
ton, since this work defies
Illuminating analysis, it pre-
cludes evaluation. Jones'
preface only compounds the
enigma. Momentarily Joyce,
Pound, Eliot and St. John
PerSe-SometimeS in melange
rear from this Mabinogian
mound. But why say further
than the medieval historian
NenniuS, who is quoted as an
epigraph: Il have made a
heap Of all that l could find"
Perhaps less Significant"
but more rewardingly notable
are the quiet, disciplined
lyrics Of the Irish poet Rich
ard Murphy, SAILING TO AN
ISLAND (Chilmark; $3.50
and the Englishmen Charles
Tomlinson, A PEOPLED
LANDSCAPE (Oxford; 1879
and Michael Hamburger,
WEATHER AND SEASON
(Atheneum; $3.50.
From Sweden comes a quite
different, but also widely
acclaimed work, Harry Mar
tinson's ANIARA (Knopf; ~.
This banal fantasy, which
purports to emphasize 1.-THE
terror and pathos and spirit
ual isolation of mans diem
ma" is, badly, science fic-
ton. In Sweden $4,000 copies
have been sold. AS translated
by Hugh MacDiarmid and
ElSpeth Schubert, the poem
may well prove a seminal
volume in the history Of Eng
lish letters" - so says The
London Times. Hopefully, not
so. Aniara, the space-Ship:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15
GENERAL

HISTORY OF THE OLYM-
PIC GAMES. By Lynn and
Gray Poole. Qvan 0bolensky;
$3.50. A history Of the 0lym-
pic games Of antiquity and
the modern version, which
began In 1896. Simple,
Straightforward and informa-
tive and with excellent pic
lures. Mr.. Poole Is director
Of public relations at Johns
Hopkins University and he
and Mrs. Poole have written
many books for children.
This one, however, is for
adults as well.
DISCOVERING THE UN-
DERSEA WORLD. BY Ley
Kenyon. (Sterling; $2.95.) The
author relates his experience
Of finding q hidden city off a
Greek island on q diving ex-
petition. He explains the rea-
sons men dive and shows the
reader how to 60 about be-
coming an amateur diver.
GILBERT. By Eric Quincy.
(Prenuce-H all; s2.s5) The
story Of Gilbert, Mr.. Cur
ney's cartoon puppy, who, or
phaned early In life, was
adopted by a mother cat. The
story Of how, with the help Of
a psychiatriSt, the adult Gil
bert learns to live with his
unique upbringing is amusing
ly related In this book Of car
toons.
MR.. GANDHI. BY Ranjee
Shahani. macmillan; $4.95.)
A portrayal Of a man whose
influence, not confined to In
dia, continues to grow in pres
ent-day Africa and America.
Focusing on the inner stress
es and fires that forged his
character. 1t shows Gandhi as
a man Of extraordinary faith
and capacity.
THE YANKEE COOK
BOOK. BY Imogene Wolcott.
(Washburn; $4.95.0 Includes
some Of the best traditional
recipes Of New England cook
cry. Many special articles
and stories by New England
writers provide entertaining
reading for those who like a
colorful background for their
recipes.
100 MOST HONORABLE
CHINESE RECIPES. BY Yu
Wen Mel and Charlotte
Adams. (Crowell; $3.50 A
cookbook in which all five ma
jor schools Of Chinese cooking
are represented - Shanghai
Picking, Yang Chow, Szechuan
and Canton. Special features
include chapters defining rare
ingredients, clarifying cooking
instructions and a list Of mail.
order shops that will supply
ingredients difficult to find.
PICTORIAL GUIDE TO
THE MOON. BY DinsmOre
Alter. (Crowell; $685. The
more than 100 clear photo
graphs and detailed explana'
ton Of the moons surface
will interest the amateur as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

This volume gathers the verse
Of the 1905, aside from the
five books Of Paterson"
("The Collected Earlier
Poems" preserves the verse
written before World War II,
and pictures From
Brueghel"- awarded Q Pull
itzer Prize this year-contains
the verse since 1861 It Is a
welcome addition to the cor
pus that has been at last
formally honored - however
pOSthumously-an Is now
pervaSively influential.
John Grove Ransom's Sc
LECTED POEMS (Knopf; 81,
revised and with one poem
even duplicated" is suffi-
cient to explain the signifi-
canoe Of a man who at the
age Of rs still writes from
the firm center Of q tradi-
ton he helped to found.
This Is sound source, not the
derivative echoes that have
racketed down the decades.
In COLLECTED AND NEW
POEMS Chill & Wang; 500
Mark Van Doren, the indomi-
table formal lyricist, publish
es his Vesuvian output Of
40 years. It is q monument
to his secure reputation In
American letters.
After electrifying the chair
Of poetry at Oxford for two
years, Robert Graves, NEW
POEMS Doubleday; $2.s5), is
now back in Majorca, whence
emanates this slim but choice
collection. Here is the custom
airy grace, but also enough
bite to show that this literary
warrior does not consider
himself one Of those
Ueterdns discharged
From the dirty iDdrs OF lite.
A contemporary Of T. S.
Eliot at Harvard, Conrad
Aiken, THE MORNING SONG
OF LORD ZERO Oxford;
$4.75), is only now acquiring
critical enthusiasm for what
must surely be the finest
imaginative perceptivity In
10th century verse. The re-
sources Of his eloquence are
bottomless, and his fecundity
Is unsurpassed. In this selec-
ton, as In the previous, and
elsewhere as photographer
and critic, his concern Is to
explore the reaches Of con-
seriousness. knowledge Is won
from experience by the har-
monious play Of mind, heart,
and the senses-that faculty
known as the poetic magma
ton. Never of a coterie, never
exploiting city, never
seduced from his meter to
act the culture prophet-Ai-
ken answers the poets calling.
May he continue ito chart
disturbances Of the heart" in
the ambiguous language
By which ipe come to see
and mean
and he
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

WORLDMARK ENCYCLO-
PEDIA OF THE NATIONS
IN FIVE V0LUM ES.
(Boxed.) Edited by Moshe Y.
Sachs. (Harper & Row; 1895
through December 81, 1885
thereafter.) The volumes Of
this encyclopedia are divided
into Africa, Americas, Asia
and Australia. Europe and a
whole volume for the United
Nations, the last being a COM
prehensive explanation Of the
organization and its machin-
cry. This Is q valuable guide
to the student Of current
world affairs.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

Nina, the diety as TV set
cum computer; "phototurbs,"
"protators," "gopta"-all the
trappings are here. But the
thing is preposterous as
science, verse or fiction, and
withal it Is pretentious to the
point Of tedium. Back to Ray
Bradbury.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Both Henry Rago, A SKY
OF LATE SUMNER MAC
milan; 1885, and Stanley
Burnshaw, Gagged IN AN
ANIMALS MIND (Holt,
Rinehart & Winston; 81 are
better known as publishers
and editors than as poets. But
his Poetry Magazine prints as
a staple no more graceful
verse than that of Rago's
subtly articulated volume. To
the contrary, Burnshaw says
that he presents random
pieces of his time tumbled
luckily on a page" But this
disclaimer grants nothing to
the central unifying vision, Of
History groUing dliue
In the euer danger of dying.
THE ESTABLISHMENT
Meanwhile, continuing to
mulch this varied crop are
the fertile progenitors in their
'brooding and blissful hal
cyon days" With vigorous
insiStence they bridge the
hungry generations" There
are few surprises in the n
poems Of Carl Sandburg's
HONEY AND SALT (Har-
court, Brace & World; $4.75).
In characteristic accents, he
rings changes on themes and
moods that he has made his
own In more than 40 volumes
of poetry, biography, fiction,
history, folklore and Journal
ism.
II the tides of taste have
withdrawn from beneath
San d urg, William Carlos
Williams, THE COLLECTED
LATER POEMS New Direc-
tons; 81, rides a high crest.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

EMPIRES IN THE DUST:
Ancient Civilizations
Brought to Light. BY Robert
Silverberg. (Chilton Books;
S4.95)
REALMS OF GOLD: A Jour-
ney In Search Of the My
cenaeans. BY Leonard Cot
trell. New York Graphic
Society; $3.50
TUTANKHAMEN: Life and
Death Of q Pharaoh. BY
Christane Desroches-Noble-
court. New York Graphic
Society; S15.0
THE WORLD OF ARCHAE-
0L0GY. BY Marcel Brion.
q volumes boxed; Macmil-
Ian; $15.)
THE WORLD OF THE PAST.
Edited by Jacquetta
Hawkes.. q volumes boxed;
Knopf; 500
VANISHED CIVILIZATIONS
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Edited by Edward Bacon.
(McGraw-Hill; $2S.5O0
II would seem that the flood
Of writing on the Cold War is
about to be overtaken by two
lesser and overlapping waves
Of books on archaeology and
on art history. A small selec-
ton Of the former Of these is
listed above. In England,
interest In prehistory and
archaeology Is Of long stand
ing and has been catered to
by numerous local archaeo-
logical and antiquarian socie-
ties, with major discoveries
being announced to a wider
public In the weekly issues Of
the illustrated London
News" But In the United
States outside Of New Eng
Land and Philadelphia, there
gas little interest until Life
Magazine began to show
concern, a dozen years ago,
Us part Of its series Of well
written and sumptuously illus
trated articles on nature,
religion, and art. A little
earlier, the Archaeological
Institute of America had little
success, either in attracting
audiences to its excellent, but
poorly publicized, rowing
lecturers each winter or in
obtaining subscribers to its
more popular monthly Gar
chaeology" (started 194S),
which supplemented its more
technical quarterly, "T h e
American Journal OF Ar
chaeology" (started 1880.
In the Magazines
Now the publishing world
has burst into the market for
archaeology and art history
revealed by Life. Naturally
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

which are important for their
value IN revealing the social
life Of Chicago.
PICTORIAL ASTRONOMY.
BY Dinsmore Alter, Clarence
H. CleminShaw and John G.
Phillips. (CroWell; s6.s5.) This
simply written but compreben-
sive book gives the layman a
firm grounding on the facts
and theories Of astronomy up
to the present day.
NOA N0A. Translated by
Jonathan Griffin with a post
script by Jean L0ize. (Rey-
nal; $13.95.) The unedited
version Of Paul Gauguins d.
airy illustrated with faithful
facsimiles Of all the watercol-
ors the artist painted for the
earlier version.
SEABIRDS IN SOUTHERN
WATERS. By Prince Philip.
(Harper 4 Row; 1851
Prince Philip, Duke Of Edin-
burgh, relates his adventures
on two yachting expeditions
and describes tn e tropical
and southern seabirds he had
seen during the trips. A stu
dent Of wildlife, he describes
the birds living habits with
authority. There are more
than so photographs, some Of
which were taken by the su-
thor. The clear and smooth
language contributes to max
ing it an engrosSing book.
MUSIC
THE JOSH WHITE SONG
BOOK. (Simon & Schuster;
$2.s5.) A large-sized paper
back song book containing the
songs and music Of the most
famous pieces sung by one Of
our greatest folk artists
There is a biography by Rob
ert Shelton.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15
BY PHILIP HERZBRUN

p 1.-THE poetry Of earth is
never dead. :" Thus John
Keats, whose transactions
with the truth yielded us
many such requests. What
better time to sense this than
the onset of winter when the
dark chill of our recent be-
reavement is to be alleviated
by the birth Of promise-our
warming solace in solstice?
At Christmastide the text is
Life. The news is declared
and its imperative pulse
quickens our souls. From the
ashes Of winter rise the voices
Of the living in perennial
celebration.
For ". H. Auden poetry,
which "makes nothing hap
pen," functions as a potent
restorative agency. The poets
vocation is to
tolloU right
To the bottom of the night,
With your DEMONSTRATING
Doice
stu persuade US to rejoice:
With the farming OF d UerSe
Make a Uiney1rd OF the curse,
Sing OF human unSuccess
In a rapture of distress:
In the deserts OF the heart
Let the healing fountain
start,
In the prison of his days
Teach the free man hotD to
praise.
Much recent verse, vigorous
and various, confirms Auden's
paradoxes. In considering
these volumes we confront
both a memorial and a prom
issory harvest of poetry root
ed in the rich humus Of hui
mainly, that feeds its pith,
certifies its integrity, and
assures its continuity.
Past and Present
This fertile loan is simply
"The latest dead, the latest
dead" With these words the
Welsh lyric elegist Vernon
Watkins. AFFINITIES New
Directions; $3.50, celebrates
the memory of Dylan Thorn
as, the friend whose reveal,
ing correspondence he recent.
ly published. But in his fruit
full season we are reminded Of
other losses, these to poetry;
Frost, LETTERS, Cummings
Williams, and, most recently
Roethke. These too could give
the rest
So much to HE for till
the grave
and beyond. All these semi
nal voices will have theil
issue, like Wordsworth's
"quickening tn e returning
year" to restore "his land
scape and his dead" In thi:
volume Watkins turns hi!
gaze from the Welsh land
scape to the province Of art
and his feelingly wrough
com m e nor a tons are a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15
CARTOON BOOKS
FOR CHRISTMAS

LAUGHTER PLEASE. BY
Russ Hill. (Vantage;
$500 A collection Of
cartoons by a former
Washingtonian, all Of which
have never been published
before except one which
won the prize given by Art
Instruction, Of Minneapolis,
for the Best Professional
Cartoon.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

lin, Allen Tate and Robert
Penn Warren locate the work
Of their friend, the eminent
Irish diplomat-poet, within a
definitely Christian orbit"
Catholicism is the ground Of
Devlin's being, but the gen.
GRAFTON of Valery and Yeats
are the singing-masters Of his
soul. And at best moments
song sustains substance:
Where prayer tDds
praise, o Lord! the
Temple trumpet
Cdsc1ded dotDn Thy
sunny pauilions OF air.
SOCIAL RESPONSES
Paul Goodman's THE
LORDLY HUDSON (Macmil-
Ian; $500 and the COLLECT
ED POEMS (Knopf; 81 of
Kay Boyle bear comparison.
Both volumes contain verse
written over a span Of 80
years. Miss Boyle is known
best for her fiction; the poly
math Goodman has written on
everything from social psy-
chology to community plan
ming. And both were at one
time smitten by the thunder
of the political left. Whatever
their separate means and
motives, Mr.. Goodman's
modest contention that he has
mot tried much for individual
beautiful poems" is applicable
to both. However, as evoca-
ton Of robust faiths and lost
loyalties, Of an intellectual
vanguard in crisis, these
volumes are significant docu-
ments in the literary record.
John Malcolm Brinnen,
SELECTED POEMS (Atlan-
tic-Little, Brown; $4.75), has
long fostered the interests Of
the cultural community-as
director of the famous New
York Poetry Center, transla-
tor, biographer Of Dylan
Thomas and Gertrude Stein.
But foremost he is a poet.
This sampling reveals his
astonishing versatility. From
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-12-15

JAPANESE PAINTINGS.
From Buddhist Shrines and
Temples. Introduction by
Philip 8. Rawson.