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Poet Robert Lowell, Nazi's Hitler Topics of New Books

© Robert Powers

One of the fine poets of the just-departed century was Robert Lowell, whose words continue to fascinate admirers despite his death two decades ago. A new book examines Lowell's work and his efforts to merge his personal and public expression.

Robert Lowell's Shifting Colors (Ohio University Press, $36.95) presents a somewhat different view of Lowell than would be found in a biography or in a book of commentary on his work. Author William Doreski, who is a professor at Keene State College, has made a probing look into Lowell's life and work, which was filled with incongruities. Doreski shows how Lowell finally was able to find a way for his public poetry to measure his private views and othertimes did not. Seeking to meld those areas of life became Lowell's obscession. What that meant to the reader is what Doreski is after, seeking how Lowell was able, over the years, to reach a sense of harmony between public and private life.

For those fascinated by poetry and have an interest in the poet, Robert Lowell's Shifting Colors will prove intriguing.

A GREAT ESCAPE

World War II continues to hold a fascination for us. Anyone who wants to learn just what it all was about will find some answers in The War Journal of Major Damon 'Rocky' Guse: The Firsthand Account of One of the Greatest Escapes of World War II (Hyperion, $21.95)

The diary of this American pilot was finally uncovered from a footlocker where it had stayed hidden for a half century. In it, Gause described his escape from the March of Death staged by Japanese troops on both American and Filipino prisoners of war. The time was the last days of Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines of 1942.

Gause was one of 78,000 soldiers captured, with nearly 60,000 dying in captivity. The story is a stark one, told in a matter-of-fact style that makes it even more compelling.

HITLER'S MIND

The people of Germany were ready for the imergence of a god-like figure to lead their nation in the days before Adolf Hitler came onto the scene. A new book suggests that Hitler deftly used his charisma to become "a magician of the folk" who cast a spell on his subjects.

According to author Jay Y. Gonen, Hitler deftly exploited the Zeitgeist. He was able to read the average German, turning himself into what he cleverly determined was wanted. The Roots of Nazi Psychology: Hitler's Utopian Barbarism (University Press of Kentucky, $25) should be added to the library of anyone who seeks out the psychology of Hitler.

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