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* R E A D I N G F O R P L E A S U R E *
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* Issue #16 *
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* Editor: Cindy Bartorillo *
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* Reviews by: Travis Adkins, Cindy Bartorillo, Drew *
* Bartorillo, Howard Frye, Peter de Jager, Darryl *
* Kenning, Robert A. Pittman, Peter Quint, Carol *
* Sheffert, Annie Wilkes *
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* Featured Author: Raymond Chandler *
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Line #
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
What's News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Lost Stories by Peter de Jager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Cowboys of the Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Top 25 Fiction/Nonfiction Bestsellers of 1990 . . . . . . . 573
Gallup Poll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902
Books About the Persian Gulf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1256
Computer Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1658
Genre Sections:
Murder By the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1737
Frightful Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3056
Loosen Your Grip On Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4001
Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5021
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EDITORIAL
As I type this, it finally looks like we might get a little spring
weather here in Maryland. We've been trying to get some gardening done
around RFP Central, but so far it's either been freezing cold,
raining, or both. Hope it's nice where you are.
I've been meaning to say something about the authorship of the text
included in RFP. Whenever you see uncredited text about a book, the
chances are that it has been written either by the author or by the
publisher. As a free publication we have more-than-usually finite
resources here; most notable is our lack of personnel and time. So we
can't always give every book that comes our way the attention it
really deserves. But nothing is in any issue of RFP because someone
paid us to put it in, it's there because we thought you'd be
interested in reading it. Many books, catalogues, and Press Releases
come our way; we pass along only those that look the most promising.
Our next issue, #17, will be released on June 1, 1991, and is our 2nd
Anniversary Issue. We already have a number of great books lined up to
tell you about, some of which you'll see mentions of in this issue. We
also have two new columns that will debut in #17: a column about
mysteries you might miss that will be written by Jack Curtin, and a
regular piece about good reading for adults that can be found in the
children's literature section written by Janet Peters.
I want to thank all the writers who have taken the time to get in
touch with me about their work--we appreciate getting the information
and so do our readers. If you have any book-related news that you'd
like to share with RFP, just stuff it in the mail or send us an
electronic message. Our addresses can be found under the masthead on
the first page/screen.
^*^ Cindy
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WHAT'S NEWS
* Warner has finally set a date for the release of Alexandra Ripley's
sequel to Margaret Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND. Warner Books will
release SCARLETT on September 25, 1991.
* The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has wisely decided to drop
the controversial anti-obscenity pledge that artists were being forced
to sign in order to receive federal grants.
* Most people don't realize that filmmaker John Sayles (RETURN OF THE
SECAUCUS 7, EIGHT MEN OUT, etc.) started out as a writer. His first
novel, PRIDE OF THE BIMBOS, came out in 1975, and his latest, LOS
GUSANOS, will be released by HarperCollins this June. It's about the
history of Cuba, focusing on one family from the 1930s through 1981.
And, as the author says, "...it is also a book about information,
about free will and responsibility--and my feeling that if you are
going to hold people responsible and expect them to exercise free
will, the thing they have to have, and never do, is information."
* This could turn out to be a Don DeLillo year. Not only will his
latest novel, MAO II, be released by Viking this June, but three more
DeLillo novels could show up in theaters this year: LIBRA, WHITE
NOISE, and RUNNING DOG.
* Two years ago, Lyle Stuart sold his publishing business and all of
its imprints (Lyle Stuart, Citadel Press, and University Books) to
Steven Schragis. Now Stuart is starting a new publishing house called
Barricade Books Inc. (PO Box 1401, Secaucus, NJ 07096). The new
company will emphasize controversial books, and begins operations
already owning two. One is THE ANARCHIST COOKBOOK by William Powell, a
book about all kinds of weapons, that Lyle Stuart had published before
and was the only Stuart title that Schragis didn't want (Stuart bought
the rights back for $75,000). The other is ISRAEL: REVOLUTION OR
REFERENDUM by Rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane was assassinated several days
after meeting with Stuart to discuss publicity. New titles that are on
Barricade's first list, coming this fall, are: POISON PEN by George
Carpozi Jr., a biography of Kitty Kelley; an "unusual" novel by
Gregory ("Fletch") McDonald; and the autobiography of Eartha Kitt.
* BURDEN OF PROOF, Scott Turow's sort-of-sequel to PRESUMED INNOCENT,
appears destined to be a made-for-TV movie or mini-series, rather than
a theatrical feature like the first.
* Eugene Fodor, founder of Fodor's Travel Guides, died February 18,
1991, at the age of 85. Fodor's famous series of travel books began
with one book: 1936 ON THE CONTINENT, which was the very first
guidebook ever published with the year in the title to ensure
timeliness. Fodor's Travel Guides are now published by Random House.
* Coming this September is the autobiography of Brian Wilson, the lead
songwriter and producer for the Beach Boys. The book will be called
WOULDN'T IT BE NICE? and publisher HarperCollins says it's "searingly
candid". It will tell about Wilson's complete psychological collapse
in the 1970's, violent abuse as a child, his unusual sex life, his
weight problem (he weighed 350 pounds at one point), and his 20 years
spent as a recluse.
* Roald Dahl, master of the macabre as well as a renowned children's
author, died on November 23, 1990 at the age of 74. His adult writing
includes the novel MY UNCLE OSWALD as well as collections of short
stories: SOMEONE LIKE YOU; KISS, KISS; and SWITCH BITCH. Some of his
stories were adapted for the Alfred Hitchcock TV series, and Dahl
himself wrote screenplays for the short-lived-but-highly-acclaimed WAY
OUT. He also wrote screenplays for YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and CHITTY
CHITTY BANG BANG. His stories for children include JAMES AND THE GIANT
PEACH, THE MAGIC FINGER, and the famous CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE
FACTORY (filmed as WILLIE WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY).
* I mentioned in RFP #15 that Jonathan Carroll's BLACK COCKTAIL would
be published someday in the U.S. (my review was based on my British
copy). Well here it is: BLACK COCKTAIL is due to be released by St.
Martin's as a trade paperback in September 1991.
* Attention Vonnegut fans! FATES WORSE THAN DEATH (nonfiction), is due
in hardcover from Putnam in August 1991, and a paperback reprint of
HOCUS POCUS is on Berkley's schedule for November 1991.
* Michael Bishop's novella, BRITTLE INNINGS, is about Dr.
Frankenstein's monster coming back to earth during World War II
disguised as an outfielder for a minor league baseball team. His
secret is uncovered by his roommate, a mute shortstop, largely because
of his ornate Victorian speech. The story has been optioned for
theatrical development by producer Robert Laurence and 20th
Century-Fox. Can't you just picture Schwarzenegger as the monster?
* Anya Seton died on November 8, 1990, at the age of 86. She was the
author of novels such as THE WINTHROP WOMAN, GREEN DARKNESS, and
DRAGONWYCK.
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AWARDS
Awards given by the Association for Library Service to Children
division of the American Library Association:
1991 Randolph Caldecott Medal: BLACK AND WHITE by David Macaulay
1991 John Newbery Medal: MANIAC MAGEE by Jerry Spinelli
NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
Fiction: THE MIDDLE PASSAGE by Charles Johnson (Atheneum)
Nonfiction: THE HOUSE OF MORGAN: AN AMERICAN BANKING DYNASTY AND THE
RISE OF MODERN FINANCE by Ron Chernow (Atlantic Monthly Press)
Distinguished Contribution to American Letters: Saul Bellow
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS
Biography/Autobiography: MEANS OF ASCENT: THE YEARS OF LYNDON JOHNSON
by Robert A. Caro (Knopf)
Criticism: ENCOUNTERS AND REFLECTIONS: ART IN THE HISTORICAL PRESENT
by Arthur Danto (FSG)
Fiction: RABBIT AT REST by John Updike (Knopf)
General Nonfiction: THE CONTENT OF OUR CHARACTER by Shelby Steele
(St. Martin's)
Poetry: BITTER ANGEL by Amy Gerstler (North Point)
NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Octavio Paz
PULITZER PRIZES
Biography: MACHIAVELLI IN HELL by Sebastian de Grazia (Princeton)
Fiction: THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE by Oscar Hijuelos (FSG)
General Nonfiction: AND THEIR CHILDREN AFTER THEM by Dale Maharidge &
Michael Williamson (Pantheon)
History: IN OUR IMAGE: AMERICA'S EMPIRE IN THE PHILIPPINES by Stanley
Karnow (Random House)
Poetry: THE WORLD DOESN'T END by Charles Simic (Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich)
ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA
Best Traditional Novel: RHAPSODY IN BLOOM by Wendela P. Kilmer
(Silhouette)
Best Long Contemporary Novel: THE ICE CREAM MAN by Eileen Dreyer
(Silhouette)
Best Short Contemporary Novel: NIGHT OF THE HUNTER by Alison Hart
(Silhouette)
Best Young Adult Novel: RENEE by Vivian Schurfranz (Scholastic)
Best Single Title Contemporary: PRIVATE RELATIONS by Diane
Chamberlain (Berkley/Jove)
Best Series Historical: SILVER NOOSE by Patricia Gardner Evans
(Harlequin)
Best Single Title Historical: THE BRIDE by Julie Garwood (Pocket)
Best Regency: THE RAKE AND THE REFORMER by Mary Jo Putney (NAL
Signet)
Best Romantic Suspense: PERCHANCE TO DREAM by Eileen Dreyer
(Silhouette)
Best First Book: OUT OF THE BLUE by Alaina Richardson (Silhouette)
Golden Choice Award: MORNING GLORY by LaVyrle Spencer (Putnam)
L.L. Winship Award: AMONG SCHOOLCHILDREN by Tracy Kidder (Houghton
Mifflin)
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_______________________
< >
< LOST STORIES >
< by Peter de Jager >
<_______________________>
This issue we take a look at two very different stories with a subtle
common element. They focus on what we as individuals can achieve when
we set our minds to the task.
All too often we take the attitude that an individual has little, if
any, impact on our society. These stories will entice you to rethink
that attitude. The setting for the first is our recent history, the
other a possible future.
A MESSAGE TO GARCIA
by Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
Written: February 22nd 1899, The Roycroft Shop
(Available through Peter Pauper Press ISBN 0-88988-434-7)
This review could easily be longer than the story! 'A Message to
Garcia' is a tiny piece, less than 1,600 words. By 1913, governments
and companies had printed more than 40,000,000 copies worldwide in all
written languages. It is impossible to estimate how many copies exist
today. I read it about ten years ago. It has stuck in my mind ever
since.
It is not a 'story' in a traditional sense, more a description of an
incident during the Cuban War. When the Spanish-American War broke
out, President McKinley needed to get a message to General Garcia.
Nobody knew where he was. The closest thing to a mailing address was
'somewhere in the Cuban mountains'. Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan was
the messenger. He delivered the message.
What is it about the piece that is so compelling? It does not contain
any detailed character descriptions of Garcia or Rowan. There is no
battle between good or evil, no violence, no sex, no examples of great
prose. What is there about this piece that has prompted people to
print it more than 40 million times?
It is 'just' a description of someone taking responsibility for a task
and following the task through to completion. This type of
responsibility was obviously rare in the 1890's. How common is it
today?
Several thoughts cross your mind when you read this piece. Firstly you
wish that all people were as reliable as Rowan... and then you ask
yourself a soul searching question. 'Are you as reliable as Rowan?'
'A Message to Garcia' has motivational impact. If you want to feel
hopeful about people, if you want to have a role model in a time when
role models are hard to find...perhaps even passe...then read 'A
Message to Garcia', it will only take about ten minutes, but the
impact will last a lifetime.
WASP
Eric Frank Russell (1905-1978)
Written 1957
Has a wasp ever got into your car while you were driving? If so, then
you understand the basic premise of WASP. A small irritant can have an
effect larger than it deserves.
Russell takes this idea and weaves a superb spy story around it. He
drops a single spy on an enemy planet way behind the front lines.
Supplies him with a bag of relatively simple tricks and leaves him to
irritate the enemy. The effect is wonderful and a joy to behold.
The tricks do not include mass mayhem and destruction, that would be
too obvious. Instead, the Wasp does little things. Messages on
windows, taking credit for accidents, creative use of the press and
misdirection of all sorts.
The authorities begin to believe a huge underground is operating
against them. To combat this, they start rounding up suspects (thus
creating discontent in the populace). They overreact to the situation,
never suspecting that a single individual is responsible for their
problems.
Russell writes a simple story. No sub-plots, no complexities, no
hi-tech, just plain words and a wry sense of humor. WASP is a perfect
example of his style. He brings chaos to an entire planet with only a
few strategically scrawled messages. He could have given the hero a
huge selection of high tech weapons and gadgets, instead he chooses
items that most of us could get our hands on...
This of course is part of the attraction in WASP. It becomes a game,
what else could he be doing to annoy the government? You don't just
read WASP, you get involved and cheer for the ultimate underdog, one
man against a planet.
WASP is not a serious novel. There are no hidden meanings, it is just
an example of one person winning against great odds. So, next time the
government or the authorities have got you down, pick up WASP and read
about an individual getting the upper hand for once.
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COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS
by Richard W. Slatta
(1990, Yale University Press, $35 plus $2.75 shipping)
Here's what people are saying about COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS:
"This is an outstanding work. Abundantly illustrated, superbly
organized...It is factual without being pedantic, yet has just enough
wistfulness to make us dream."
(William Dieter, renowned Western novelist, in SMITHSONIAN, Nov. 1990)
"This unique panoramic history is an absolute delight to read."
(Howard R. Lamar, historian of the West, Yale University)
RFP found Dr. Slatta in his office in the History Department of North
Carolina State University and persuaded him to talk to us about his
favorite subject.
RFP: COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS is not just another examination of our
national Hollywood stereotype. Can you tell us a little about your
book and what makes it so special?
Dr. Slatta: Cindy, thanks for taking on interest in COWBOYS OF THE
AMERICAS. You are right. I did not set out to write just another
cowboy book. I chose to work on a very large canvas. I compare the
history and mythology of North and South American cowboys. The effort
seems be be paying off. Most reviews have been quite favorable. The
National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City has honored the book
with its Western Heritage Award for nonfiction. This is a work of
social history, so the focus is on people, working ranch hands, and
how they lived their lives. I examine cowboys of Alberta, Canada and
the American West, Hawaii's "paniolo," Mexico's "vaquero," Venezuela's
"llanero," Chile's "huaso," and Argentina's "gaucho."
I tried to structure the book somewhat like an old Western film. It
opens with quick vignettes that highlight the various cowboy types.
Flashbacks reveal the remote origins of the cowboy as a wild-cattle
hunter. The cowboy hero rides onto the plains. Close-ups show his
appearance, character and values. The camera then draws back for a
sweeping shot of the range rider's environment--the great plains
stretching toward an infinite horizon.
In the heart of the book, I try to evoke the dust, smoke, and sweat of
life on the range. The reader rides along on roundups and trail drives
and eats a meal by a campfire. I take the reader with the fun-loving
cowboy to horse races, saloons, and houses of ill repute. But I also
reveal the harsh reality of frontier racial conflict and Indian wars.
As the movie nears its end, we see rapid changes engulfing the cowboy.
Farmers, foreigners, and new technology push across the open range and
largely end the cowboy's old way of life in the saddle. The cowboy
rides off into the brilliant desert sunset, but his image and memory
live on in myth and popular culture.
I wrote the book for both general readers and specialized,
professional scholars interested in cowboys and frontier life. Many
readers will not be familiar with all the different cowboy types. The
book includes seven photo-essays with nearly 140 illustrations to show
the reader these fascinating characters.
I trust that general readers will find stirring, sometimes humorous
references to cowboys in mythology, literature, and popular culture.
But the book also challenges comfortable assumptions about the
"uniqueness" of US history by presenting evidence of historical
similarities in North and South America.
I try to address several important questions concerning frontier
history. One area of concern is the century-long critique of Frederick
Jackson Turner's frontier thesis. The book does not reject entirely
Turner's thesis. Rather, it modifies it along lines suggested by David
M. Potter ("People of Plenty") by examining the role of relative
natural abundance in shaping cowboy character. I analyze and compare
the contradictory images of plains regions everywhere as desert and
garden.
COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS challenges the "cowpens" theory of Terry
Jordan (see his TRAILS TO TEXAS) and many others that trace the roots
of western ranching in the colonial Carolinas. My evidence indicates
that the meager cultural trickle from the Carolina Piedmont through
the Old South to the coast of east Texas was a minor sideshow in the
development of the Western ranching industry. Spanish influence from
Mexico dominated and shaped the Western cattle culture. The
Anglo-American cowboy, in my view, learned his trade from Mexico's
vaquero. Spanish terms, equipment, and technique spread from Texas and
California throughout the Western United States, Canada, and Hawaii.
In sum, this book is not a micro-study. It uses a broad, comparative
perspective along lines called for by Spanish Borderlands scholar
Herbert Eugene Bolton in the 1930s. Narrow, regional works can make
important contributions, but broad comparisons enrich our
understanding of history.
RFP: GAUCHOS AND THE VANISHING FRONTIER (1983) and now COWBOYS OF THE
AMERICAS (1990)--obviously this is more than just a passing fancy for
you. How did you come by your abiding interest?
Dr. Slatta: First, Cindy, my present location notwithstanding (North
Carolina), I am a Westerner. I grew up in small towns in North Dakota,
Wyoming, California, Oregon, and Washington. I still call Oregon home.
I later studied and taught history in Texas and Colorado. As an
undergraduate, I studied western history and loved it. I still travel
to and explore the West when I get a chance. For example, I hosted
some sessions at the 7th Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, in
late January. I'm helping plan the 1992 program, which will highlight
the Spanish heritage of the West.
I joined the Peace Corps in 1969, trained in the mountains of Puerto
Rico, and worked with residents of a squatter settlement near Panama
City. Work in Panama and travel throughout Central and South America
convinced me that I wanted to learn more about that beautiful but
troubled region.
After an undistinguished two-year stint in the Army, I earned a
Master's Degree in Latin American history from Portland State
University. I continued with doctoral studies at the University of
Texas at Austin. I am a social historian. I focus on how ordinary
people lived, worked, and played. As a work of new social history,
COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS reveals the real lives of a rural
underclass--working ranch hands who tended cattle in ranching
frontiers of North and South America. I tried to combine social with
intellectual and culture history by comparing the social reality of
historical cowboys with later images in political and popular culture.
RFP: We've heard that there is another book in the works. Can you
tell us just a little about it?
Americans and people around the world identify the cowboy as a
national symbol. COWBOYS OF THE AMERICAS focuses mainly on the cowboy
as a historical figure in the 19th century. I do trace later cultural
images attached to the cowboy in the final two chapters. My next book,
THE COWBOYING OF AMERICA, takes up the growing cultural significance
of the cowboy in the twentieth century. I'll explore how the cowboy
(and related frontier symbols) have become an integral part of US
political rhetoric, advertising, and popular culture. I believe that
romanticized cowboy virtues and values become embedded in the fabric
of American culture.
As with the COWBOYS book, I hope to provide many illustrations to help
readers visualize what I am talking about. I believe that this
examination will be fun and colorful. I think that it will illuminate
twentieth-century U.S. values. Am I overrating the cowboy's influence?
I don't think so. I will argue that much of Ronald Reagan's immense
popularity stems from his skillful mobilization and manipulation of
what the public perceives as traditional cowboy virtues. Advertisers
and filmmakers have long recognized and cashed in on the cowboy's
appeal to children and adults. And, of course, I'll delve into popular
western literature. Thanks for taking an interest in my work on
cowboys, Cindy. Adios and happy trails.
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THE TOP 25 FICTION BESTSELLERS OF 1990
(according to Publishers Weekly)
1. The Plains of Passage by Jean M. Auel
2. Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
3. The Burden of Proof by Scott Turow
4. Memories of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon
5. Message From Nam by Danielle Steel
6. The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum
7. The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition by Stephen King
8. Lady Boss by Jackie Collins
9. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
10. September by Rosamunde Pilcher
11. Dazzle by Judith Krantz
12. The Bad Place by Dean R. Koontz
13. The Women In His Life by Barbara Taylor Bradford
14. The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough
15. Dragon by Clive Cussler
16. Longshot by Dick Francis
17. Under Siege by Stephen Coonts
18. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
19. Buffalo Girls by Larry McMurtry
20. A Ruling Passion by Judith Michael
21. Sullivan's Sting by Lawrence Sanders
22. The Golden Orange by Joseph Wambaugh
23. Vital Signs by Robin Cook
24. Bittersweet by LaVyrle Spencer
25. Coyote Waits by Tony Hillerman
THE TOP 25 NONFICTION BESTSELLERS OF 1990
(according to Publishers Weekly)
1. A Life on the Road by Charles Kuralt
2. The Civil War by Geoffrey C. Ward with Ric Burns & Ken Burns
3. The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Heritage by Jeff Smith
4. Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
5. Financial Self-Defense: How to Win the Fight for Financial Freedom
by Charles J. Givens
6. Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child by John
Bradshaw
7. Wealth Without Risk by Charles J. Givens
8. Bo Knows Bo by Bo Jackson and Dick Schaap
9. An American Life: An Autobiography by Ronald Reagan
10. Megatrends 2000: Ten New Directions for the 1990s by John Naisbitt
& Patricia Aburdene
11. By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer
by Victor Ostrovsky & Claire Hoy
12. Get to the Heart: My Story by Barbara Mandrell & George Vecsey
13. Millie's Book: As Dictated to Barbara Bush by Mildred Kerr Bush
14. Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball by George F. Will
15. The Cat and the Curmudgeon by Cleveland Amory
16. Don't Shoot, It's Only Me by Bob Hope with Melville Shavelson
17. Trump: Surviving at the Top by Donald Trump with Charles Leerhsen
18. Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt by Harvey Mackay
19. You Just Don't Understand by Deborah Tannen
20. Powershift by Alvin Toffler
21. Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough & John Helyar
22. Dave Barry Turns 40 by Dave Barry
23. Secrets About Men Every Woman Should Know by Barbara DeAngelis
24. Martha Stewart's Christmas by Martha Stewart
25. The Wreath Book by Rob Pulleyn
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HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT
by Whitney Otto
(Villard Books, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
This imaginative and unconventional novel provides insight into the
passages of women's lives through the eight women of the Grasse
Quilting Circle, and metaphorically with seven sets of historical
quilting instructions. The circle includes one woman whose dreams are
pushed aside by marriage and motherhood; two sisters whose love for
each other ultimately transcends betrayal; a quiet, detached woman who
follows her own path despite town talk; a wife who forgives her
husband's numerous affairs; and a half-black, half-white woman and her
daughter who must come to terms with their heritage.
I don't believe it's possible to give you an accurate idea of the joy,
the pain, the vibrant life that is contained in this one short book.
The stories of these women are not just about marriage and family,
they touch on independence, prejudice, the economics of gender, and
war. First-time author Otto shows that a woman's life doesn't always
turn out as advertised, and yet happiness, fulfillment, and peace can
still be patched together from the scraps of her life. HOW TO MAKE AN
AMERICAN QUILT is simply luminous prose--not to be missed.
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MAGIC HOUR
by Susan Isaacs
(HarperCollins, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Magic Hour is the name given by Hollywood to that time just around
dawn, and again around twilight, when the lighting is perfect, and
this image underscores this entire story, illuminating the ways in
which life can be--but seldom is--perfect. Stephen Brady, a native of
Long Island's the Hamptons, went to Vietnam and came home with a major
drug habit which over the course of years mutated into alcoholism. His
drinking got him a demotion in his career as a homicide cop, but now
he's sober and has a girlfriend he's going to marry. Everything is
perfect, except it isn't.
For one thing, he loves his girlfriend, he respects her, he feels a
need for her, but he just doesn't have any FUN with her. For another
thing, big-time movie producer Sy Spencer, in town making his latest
film, gets himself murdered and Brady has to solve this very touchy,
newsworthy case side-by-side with the tiresomely dense and dangerously
ambitious Robby Kurz. And to top everything, Brady finds himself
falling in love with the prime suspect, Sy's former wife Bonnie.
Brady, no more logical than any of the rest of us, reacts with anger
to his obsession with Bonnie and initially works hard to develop the
case against her. Then, once he's got everyone else on the force
convinced of her guilt, he changes his mind and starts to look for
other suspects. But the case proceeds regardless of Brady's
orientation, and the clues pile up, mostly pointing toward Bonnie.
Following the twin threads of MAGIC HOUR--the labyrinth of Brady's
relationship with Bonnie and solving Sy's murder--is a joy from start
to finish. Isaacs' portrait of the movie types is hilarious as well.
(Could this part of the story come from the experience of filming her
first book, COMPROMISING POSITIONS? What happened to that movie,
anyway? The story was so good, and the cast was so talented; why was
the film so lackluster?)
Isaacs has a lot to say in MAGIC HOUR, about addictions and
obsessions, about natives versus "summer people", about class
divisions and pretensions, about the Hollywood power hierarchy, about
what you need versus what will make you truly happy. It's a great
story filled with interesting characters, and I recommend it to
everyone. (I also recommend COMPROMISING POSITIONS, which is not quite
as ambitious as MAGIC HOUR, but is laugh-out-loud funnier.)
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HENRY FIELDING
by Donald Thomas
(St. Martin's, 1991)
Henry Fielding is best known as the father of the English novel,
author of TOM JONES and JOSEPH ANDREWS. In fact, he was a man of many
careers. He was a popular playwright, a political and social essayist,
and his legal career culminated in his becoming a magistrate and one
of the founders of the Bow Street Runners, the earliest police force.
Within Fielding lay a powerful intelligence that sought nothing less
than a revolution in English society. Beneath the generous and
good-natured panorama of JOSEPH ANDREWS and TOM JONES lay a vigorous
impetus for change. Scorned for the "indecency" of his writing and, as
a magistrate, for dabbling in "the sinks of vice and misery", Fielding
dealt almost singlehandedly with the great crime wave of the 18th
century in his final years.
From little-known legal documents and unpublished correspondence,
Donald Thomas brings evidence of family feuds and personal tragedy. He
shows Fielding as both the last of an old order and the precursor of
revolution; as the man whose plays brought censorship on the English
stage yet who worked for the overthrow of social corruption; as a
novelist condemned for indecency who was to emerge as a giant of
fiction and morality. And he reveals how the winning and losing of one
woman was the greatest drama of Fielding's life.
(Good, readable material about Henry Fielding is tough to come by,
making this biography essential for any reader interested in the
English Novel. --Cindy)
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A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE:
Past, Present, and Future
by Charles Van Doren
(Birch Lane Press, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Representing a lifetime of learning, A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE is a
one-volume examination of every major step in the progress of human
knowledge (although not all steps were in a forward direction). In
fifteen chapters, from "Wisdom of the Ancients", through "The Middle
Ages: The Great Experiment", "What Was Reborn in the Renaissance?",
and "The Twentieth Century: Art and the Media", to "The Next Hundred
Years", Charles Van Doren tells the story of the human thirst for
understanding, and in the last chapter he uses what has gone before to
predict where we are headed in the immediate future.
For the autodidact, the lifetime student, A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE is
indispensable. In addition to providing the grand scope of human
endeavor, this volume makes a wonderful catalogue of pockets of
knowledge. You may find yourself intrigued by Descartes, or the
Industrial Revolution, or the caste system in India. A HISTORY OF
KNOWLEDGE, and a library card, could just be the beginning of the best
learning experience of your life.
Charles Van Doren is the former editorial director of the ENCYCLOPEDIA
BRITANNICA, the author of THE JOY OF READING, and the co-author of HOW
TO READ A BOOK (all of which are in the top ten of my Most Read
reference books). A new Charles Van Doren book is a very special
occasion--be sure not to miss A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE. If you local
store doesn't have it, ask them to special order it for you.
NOTE: For another perspective on the same general subject, try THE
DAY THE UNIVERSE CHANGED by James Burke. Not as comprehensive, or as
disciplined, as A HISTORY OF KNOWLEDGE, but Burke's charm and wry
humor make the book a delight.
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IN THE COMPANY OF WRITERS: A Life In Publishing
by Charles Scribner, Jr.
based on the Oral History by Joel R. Gardner
(Scribner's, 1990)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
You will have a difficult time finding a more charming and interesting
volume of bookish memoirs. Charles Scribner was born into the
publishing firm that was founded by his grandfather in 1846 and whose
stable of authors has included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway,
Thomas Wolfe, James Jones, Edith Wharton, and many others. When
Scribner first went to work at Scribner's, it was the old world of
publishing, where agents were practically unheard of and where the
corner office of their fifth floor was the home of the legendary
editor Maxwell Perkins, ruling the world of belles lettres with a sure
hand.
Perhaps most astonishing of all is Scribner's objectivity. An expert
in the field of Science History, his intellectual grounding has
enabled him to achieve a remarkably detached perspective. He speaks at
length, and with obvious affection, of Ernest Hemingway, and later
segues into a description of James Jones, none of which is flattering.
And yet when he mentions that Hemingway didn't like Jones either, he
points out with insight and honesty that Hemingway's animosity was
more likely due to jealousy over Jones' success with FROM HERE TO
ETERNITY rather than to the personality defects that irritated
Scribner.
There are delightful anecdotes on every page, and with Joel R.
Gardner's careful handling you can actually HEAR Scribner speaking.
Here's a small sample of Scribner on several authors:
On Hemingway: "Working with Hemingway was rather like being strapped
in an electric chair. All the electrodes were always in place, and it
would need just the flicking of a switch to ruin me."
On James Jones: "Here was a young man who had a real gift and didn't
know exactly what it was for and how best to develop it."
On Charles Lindbergh: "He was the most fussy of authors, living or
dead...To him, every detail in the book had as much significance as if
it were a moving part in his airplane."
On Alan Paton: "He thought of himself as I thought of him--as a
genius."
On P.D. James: "We hit it off immediately...Conversation with her was
entertainment in itself."
IN THE COMPANY OF WRITERS is a delight from the first page to the
last. Highly recommended.
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CHEERLEADERS CAN'T AFFORD TO BE NICE
by Susan Sullivan Saiter
(Donald I. Fine, 1991)
CHEERLEADERS CAN'T AFFORD TO BE NICE, the fiction debut of Susan
Sullivan Saiter, is a poignant, humorous and at times heart-rending
evocation of growing up midwestern during the 1950s. Blending irony
with real warmth, Saiter explores familial love and betrayal and the
often illusory promises of the American Dream as she recounts the
antics and aspirations of the Rawson family: Crosby Rawson, the book's
narrator and the pretty and smart daughter who is wise beyond her
years; Ben, Croz' younger brother, who might be a lunatic or a genius,
but is definitely a certified pain in the neck; their father, a tire
salesman who makes Willy Loman's life look secure; and their earthy,
chain-smoking mother who never quite manages to redecorate and wears
too much "Cherries in the Snow" lipstick. These reminiscences of
midwestern youth alternate with the complexities of Croz's adult life
in California, which is dramatically interrupted when brother Ben
disappears in New York City and it is up to Crosby to find him.
With an unforgettable array of characters, always striving for
happiness, success, and a truly American lifestyle, CHEERLEADERS CAN'T
AFFORD TO BE NICE is a remarkable story about America's heartland that
introduces a sparkling new talent.
Susan Sullivan Saiter is a former reporter for the Chicago SUN-TIMES
and a stringer for the Chicago bureau of the New York TIMES. At work
on her second novel, she is the mother of two daughters and makes her
home with her husband, author N.R. (Sonny) Kleinfield, in New York
City.
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COUNTER STRIKE
by Sean Flannery
(William Morrow and Company, 1990)
review by Robert A. Pittman
It is somewhat surprising but always gratifying how often good writers
anticipate and describe change. Sean Flannery has done this in his new
thriller COUNTER STRIKE. His platform is the story of an assassination
attempt on USSR President Gorbachev. It is to be carried out by a
hired assassin who is an American and is also a veteran of Vietnam, a
sociopath and a holder of the medal of honor. The assassination is
planned and ordered by a high level dissident group in the Soviet
military and is to take place at an international meeting where the
President of the United States will also be present. The plot is
discovered by the Moscow home militia, which is supportive of
Gorbachev, and the race is then on to prevent the killing and to
capture the assassin. The contest pits the "good Russians" and the
"good Americans" against the "bad Russians" and the "bad American."
The attitudes, backgrounds and interests of the various characters
give the author the means of creating situations which express many
representations of change that is currently occurring between the USSR
and the USA. Trust, for example; when the Russian police inspector and
the American detective need to cooperate and share information, they
do not do so easily. They test and probe each other and very
tentatively arrive at a state of harmony in which they can proceed
with their common job. This does not mean to imply that the book
offers a lesson in psychology or drifts into any type of deep message.
It is just a good thriller that sits comfortably in today's
environment of political change between two great world powers.
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GALLUP POLL OF READERS
Some results of a recent Gallup Poll about readers and their reading
material:
Favorite Author Living or Dead:
#1---Stephen King
#2---Danielle Steel
#3---(tie) Louis L'Amour, Sidney Sheldon
#4---(tie) James Michener, V.C. Andrews
#5---(tie) Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, John
Steinbeck, William Shakespeare, Tom Clancy
#6---(tie) Robert Ludlum, Isaac Asimov, J.R.R. Tolkien, Dick Francis,
Alex Haley
Favorite Living Author:
#1---Stephen King
#2---(tie) Danielle Steel, James Michener
#3---Tom Clancy
Percentage Who Have Read A Book By...:
Mark Twain---86%
Stephen King---43%
Herman Melville---24%
Leo Tolstoy---21%
James Joyce---16%
John Updike---12%
Saul Bellow---6%
Gustave Flaubert---3%
48% of Americans read fewer than 5 books in 1990
16% of Americans did not finish even 1 book in 1990
45% of Americans say they "expect to read more in the future"
THE STORY GETS WORSE: Bookstore sales for December 1990 were
terrible. Compared to December 1989, this past December was down 25%
for hardcovers, 21% for trade paperbacks, and 19% for mass-market
paperbacks.
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THE PERPIGNON EXCHANGE
by Warren Kiefer
(Donald I. Fine, 1990, $19.95, ISBN 1-55611-227-0)
review by Travis Adkins
Dahoud El Beida, alias David Perpignon, is a half-Palestinian,
half-French, self-taught computer expert and con man. Nearing forty
and having spent the better part of his existence hustling a living
around Europe and the Middle East--pleasantly battling his weakness
for beautiful women and Viennese pastry--Perpignon/El Beida is ready
to bury his Arab identity and live out the rest of his life as a
Frenchman.
Far from a major criminal, but always trying to stay one step ahead of
the law, he boards a flight to Athens--only to find himself in the
midst of a hijacking. After a week-long odyssey of fear and fatigue,
the plane lands in Libya, where he is mistaken for the mastermind of
the hijacking and is embraced (all-too-tightly) by Qaddafi-backed
terrorists. At the same time, he is recruited as a double agent by an
international coalition plotting a rescue operation. Boxed in on all
sides, needing to find a way to save his own life, as well as those of
his fellow passengers, the resourceful El Beida/Perpignon gambles on a
chance to emerge as the hero--and get the swag.
Though the story is a little far-fetched and at times borders on the
unbelievable, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I particularly enjoyed
Perpignon/El Beida's uncanny ability to get into precarious situations
and come away unscathed. The story is well paced and very difficult to
put down. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this book an 8.
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Horace Bent's award for the oddest title of 1990 (in The Bookseller
magazine) went to THE LESBIAN SADOMASOCHISM SAFETY MANUAL. Runners up
included: KNIFETHROWING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE, WHAT BIRD DID THAT?,
ITALIAN WITHOUT WORDS, and THE TEACH YOUR CHICKEN TO FLY TRAINING
MANUAL. Wow, I'm just not going to the right bookstores.
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DICKENS
by Peter Ackroyd
(HarperCollins, 1990)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
"The danger, in outlining the characters of those who make up this
history, is that in some sense we place them within the context of our
own period. In fact everything has changed to such an extent that the
social and economic relations between individuals are not easily to be
recaptured. Nor is the atmosphere and quality of the world in which
they moved--we must think of it as a less secure, a more invidious, a
more ANGULAR, world. If a late twentieth-century person were suddenly
to find himself in a tavern or house of the period, he would be
literally sick--sick with the smells, sick with the food, sick with
the atmosphere around him. It is an unimaginable journey we must take,
therefore, a journey back through time."
---from DICKENS
Charles Dickens is without doubt the most beloved writer in the
English language, and he has created more enduring characters than
anyone except possibly Shakespeare. Now the acclaimed novelist, poet,
and biographer, Peter Ackroyd, has given us what is already being
acknowledged as the definitive biography of this consummate creative
artist.
The story reads much like one of Dickens own novels, with more dark
corners than most readers will anticipate. Ackroyd has studied
original sources and brings together all the people that made up the
private Charles Dickens: the guilty and lonely child, the
already-famous writer in his youth, the social critic, the performer,
and the burnt-out middle-aged man. You'll discover in these pages a
character more fascinating than any he put in the pages of his
stories, and with Ackroyd's careful and energetic prose you'll enjoy
every page.
Peter Ackroyd has written an earlier biography (T.S. ELIOT), a volume
of poetry (THE DIVERSIONS OF POETRY), criticism (NOTES FOR A NEW
CULTURE), and some absolutely wonderful fiction (THE GREAT FIRE OF
LONDON, THE LAST TESTAMENT OF OSCAR WILDE, HAWKSMOOR, CHATTERTON, and
the recent FIRST LIGHT). His HAWKSMOOR was reviewed in RFP #11.
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THE MISSION
by Jerome Tuccille and Philip Sayetta Jacobs
(Donald I. Fine, 1991, $18.95, ISBN 1-55611-199-1)
review by Travis Adkins
Nearly fifty years have passed since Rudolf Hess, Deputy Fuhrer of the
Third Reich, crash-landed in the Scottish countryside. He spent the
remainder of his life in Berlin's Spandau prison, a lasting symbol of
Hitler's ravages. To this day, the reasons for Hess' clandestine
mission have not been revealed. Now, in a tense espionage thriller
reminiscent of Ken Follet's EYE OF THE NEEDLE, authors Jerome Tuccille
and Philip Sayetta Jacobs dramatically uncover the secret behind the
mysterious flight of Rudolf Hess:
Journalist Philip Renfield suspects the true identity of the downed
German pilot who has been recently apprehended. Determined to locate
and approach the man he believes is really Rudolf Hess, Renfield
begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Rudolf Hess is locked
in the Tower of London...but what about the man Renfield saw being
spirited away to an out-of-the-way safehouse? Renfield finds he's
become a pawn in a high-level contest of secret diplomacy between Nazi
Germany and Churchill's strife-torn government. As the novel races
toward its climax--and its ultimately shocking revelation--Renfield
realizes he's no longer pursuing a story, he's trying to save his
life, as well as that of the woman he loves.
As a general rule, I try to avoid fictionalized histories because I do
not like the idea of adapting an historical event into something it
was not. However, much to my surprise, THE MISSION did not completely
adulterate history as I feared it would. Nevertheless, I would rate it
only a five on a scale of one to ten. The book was slow-paced and left
me waiting for a climax that never really occurred. The historical
background was quite intriguing and did provide an interesting
foundation upon which the story was built.
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RED OAKS AND BLACK BIRCHES
The Science and Lore of Trees
by Rebecca Rupp
(Garden Way Publishing, 1990, $10.95, ISBN 0-88266-620-7)
review by Darryl Kenning
RED OAKS AND BLACK BIRCHES is not a title that would inspire me to
pick this book up for almost any kind of reading that I habitually do.
Nonetheless, I found this an incredible fascinating, and well written,
potpourri of the science and folklore of trees. With a wealth of
information covering 20 varieties of trees, this book should satisfy
even the most ravenous seeker of information. Included are types of
trees from the mighty oak, one of whose uses is to produce corks, to
the towering redwoods. A nicely prosaic description of each--in
non-technical terms--is included. A slice of intriguing historical
data is also included and a dash of seasoning in the form of less
often remembered facts has been stirred in. The nutritional
composition of nuts was fascinating, as was the BTU content from
various trees when used in the stove or fireplace. Occasionally we are
treated to a colonial recipe for pickled walnuts or sycamore wine,
reminding us of how much better our ancestors used the natural
environment available to them than we care to.
I do recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in trees, to
anyone who enjoys a well written book, and especially to anyone who is
a collector of forgotten facts and folklore. It will find a permanent
place on your bookshelf and you will find yourself picking it up over
and over again. I for one am looking forward to seeing more by Rebecca
Rupp.
This books rates a 5 on my scale of readability
0 = Ugh 5 = A real keeper
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HEART'S DESIRES
by Katharine Marlowe
(Donald I. Fine, 1991)
"At random moments, often when she was happiest, she'd have a sudden
viewing of that scene. Like a full color slide from someone else's
collection slipped mistakenly into the midst of her own, it would
click into focus and she'd gaze at the carnage, breath held, eyes gone
wide. She'd study the image then force it away, shaking her head to
clear it of those lives, that long-gone horror..."
In HEART'S DESIRES, the literary debut of Katharine Marlowe, childhood
traumas reverberate through the life of a woman who is successful and
happily married with children, but who is unable to fully escape the
dark memories of her past.
Growing up in 1950s Manhattan, the daughter of divorced parents and a
mother who is "ahead of her time", Aly is used to her mom's special
overnight friends--most of them married--but takes an immediate,
inexplicable dislike to one very eligible bachelor, a plainclothes
detective with the NYPD. Left alone with him one evening, Aly's worst
fears are realized. When her mother dismisses Aly's accusation of
abuse as a figment of her young imagination, Aly decides to move in
with her father. Shortly thereafter, a tragic act of unspeakable
violence shatters her life. The memory of this horror haunts Aly
throughout adulthood, affecting her choice of career and men--and
distorting her perception of herself--until she finally confronts the
subconscious truths controlling all she feels and does.
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FORBIDDEN CHANNELS
The Truth They Hide From TV GUIDE
by Penny Stallings
(HarperPerennial, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
Normally, as you know, we maintain a high level of dignity and
taste here in RFP. Now, however, the time has come to throw off the
shackles of good breeding and dish some dirt. As the unbridled (but
accurate) cover text says: "FORBIDDEN CHANNELS blows the lid off the
rumors, the scandals, and the deepest, darkest secrets of your
favorite small-screen stars". What you have here is the NATIONAL
ENQUIRER for college graduates. Who could resist reading about what
the TV stars are like when the cameras aren't rolling--the feuds, the
secret pasts, the plastic surgery. FORBIDDEN CHANNELS has the answers
to these fascinating questions:
What did Eva (GREEN ACRES) Gabor wear under her wigs? (Hint: It
involves advanced engineering.)
What really went on between takes on the set of HOWDY DOODY?
What was it that Oscar Levant said that got his show canceled?
Who did they originally want to play STAR TREK's Mr. Spock?
Who was originally cast as DALLAS' Bobby Ewing? Pam?
What really went on between Desi and Lucy, Sonny and Cher, Bruce and
Cybill?
How did Steve McQueen get off WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE?
Did Flipper really commit suicide?
Did you know that these actors used to appear on daytime soap operas:
Ellen Burstyn, Armand Assante, Kathleen Turner, Ted Danson, Sigourney
Weaver, Roy Scheider, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Martin Sheen,
Jack Lemmon, James Earl Jones, Hal Linden, Eva Marie Saint? Did you
know that Dustin Hoffman made TV commercials for Volkswagen?
And the pictures are wonderful. Familiar stars caught in unfamiliar
roles, or as babies or children. Old, old photographs from long
forgotten episodes of live television with familiar faces in them.
FORBIDDEN CHANNELS is the guilty pleasure of Spring 1991, and also
makes a dandy photograph album for all of us who grew up in front of a
television set. Author Penny Stallings is a pop-culture essayist on
THE MacNEIL/LEHRER NEWS HOUR, author of FLESH & FANTASY and ROCK AND
ROLL CONFIDENTIAL, and managing editor of TITTERS: THE FIRST ANTHOLOGY
OF HUMOR BY WOMEN.
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RUPERT MURDOCH
by Jerome Tuccille
(Donald I. Fine, 1991)
Now available in paperback, with new and updated information, RUPERT
MURDOCH, by Jerome Tuccille, is the most complete and objective look
at the man many observers call the "Citizen Kane" of his time. While
other Murdoch biographies have been predominantly critical works,
Tuccille, a veteran investigative financial journalist, focuses on the
facts--the hows and whys of Murdoch's deals--and leaves critical
judgement to the reader.
Through interviews with numerous sources both inside and outside the
Murdoch media empire, including a rare session with Murdoch himself,
the author reveals little-known facts about the man behind the public
face, and explores how--in spite of skeptics who claim he is
overextending himself--he manages his widespread international
operations in a remarkably hands-on manner, while continuing to add to
his unprecedented string of successful acquisitions.
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WORD WATCHER'S HANDBOOK (Third Edition)
A Deletionary of the Most Abused and Misused Words
by Phyllis Martin
(St. Martin's, 1991)
review by Howard Frye
"All our lives we've been urged to add words to our vocabularies.
Isn't it time we were encouraged to delete feeble phrases and abused
or misused words from our speech and writing?"
---from WORD WATCHER'S HANDBOOK
Going through the pages of WORD WATCHER'S HANDBOOK is by turns
educational (when you pick up new information), embarrassing (when
author Martin condemns one of your long-standing speech habits), and
provoking (when you disagree with Martin's insistence on conservative
and formal word usage). In the "Deletionary" section, containing words
and phrases that should be removed from your speech, I winced to be
reminded that my beloved "hopefully", and "curiously enough" are
ungainly and make many listeners gag. But I think that replacing the
often-heard "aren't I?" with the correct "am I not?" is going to make
most people think you're quoting Victorian poetry.
In the chapter on usage, I was happy to see that Martin confirms the
plural status of "scissors". I've heard several speakers recently use
the word in the singular, even catching one character in a television
show asking for "a scissors". On the other hand, it seems odd to
insist on an old definition of "decimate", to "select by lot and kill
one in every ten". In my vocabulary "decimate" has been modernized to
refer to a more contemporary form of destruction.
My favorite sections of WORD WATCHER'S HANDBOOK are the pronunciation
guides. I don't know about you, but I bet I have hundreds of words
stored away in some corner of my brain, words that I know the meanings
of but I can't use because I don't know how to say them. For instance,
we all know that a wine gets aged (one syllable, long a). But when
referring to an elderly individual is it really correct to say AY-jed?
(Yes.) Do you really pronounce the "k" in knish? (Yes.) Also, lately
I've heard "species" pronounced on TV more often as SPEE-sees, rather
than the SPEE-sheez that I've always said. Who's right? (I am.) And is
"schism" pronounced SKIZ-em or SHIZ-em? (Neither--it's SIZ-em.) There
are also pronunciation guides to French and Italian menu items as well
as place names. For instance: is it New OR-lee-anz or New or-LEENZ?
(New OR-lee-anz.)
With many examples, exercises, and lots of good advice, WORD WATCHER'S
HANDBOOK is just the thing for cleaning up the words and phrases you
use now, and for getting the rest of your vocabulary out of the closet
and into your conversation. Phyllis Martin is also the author of
MARTIN'S MAGIC FORMULA FOR GETTING THE RIGHT JOB.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
BOOKS ABOUT THE PERSIAN GULF
This list of recommended reading on the Persian Gulf was broadcast on
National Public Radio and has been very popular.
A Peace to End All Peace: Creating the Modern Middle East by David
Fromkin (Holt, Avon paper)
The Rape of Kuwait by Jean P. Sasson (Knightsbridge, paper)
Republic of Fear by Samir al-Khalil (Univ. of Calif., Pantheon paper)
The Modern History of Iraq by Phebe Marr (Westview)
Iraq: Eastern Flank of the Arab World by Christine M. Helms
(Brookings)
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin
(Simon & Schuster)
Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf by Judith Miller & Laurie
Mylroie (Times Books, paper)
From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman (Anchor, paper)
Middle East and the West by Bernard Lewis (HarperCollins)
The Future Battlefield: The Arab-Israeli Conflict by Hirsh Goodman &
W. Seth Carus (Transaction)
The Persian Gulf and the West: The Dilemmas of Security by Charles A.
Kupchan (Unwin & Hyman)
Arms & Oil: U.S. Military Strategy & The Persian Gulf by Thomas L.
McNaugher (Brookings)
The High Walls of Jerusalem: A History of the Balfour Declaration &
The Birth of the British Mandate for Palestine by Ronald Sanders
(Holt)
Arabia, the Gulf, & the West: A Critical View of Arabs & Their Oil
Policy by John B. Kelly (Basic)
The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr & the Shia of Lebanon by Fouad Ajami
(Cornell Univ.)
Lessons of Modern War, Vol. 2: The Iran-Iraq War by Anthony H.
Cordesman & Abraham R. Wagner (Westview)
If War Comes: How to Defeat Saddam Hussein by Trevor Dupuy (Dupuy)
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
WHERE ON EARTH?
A Refreshing View of Geography
by Donnat V. Grillet
(Prentice Hall, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
"Many people say that geography is their favorite subject. Yet about
half of the American young people polled couldn't locate the United
States on a map. Many said that Washington, D.C., is in the state of
Washington or IS the state of Washington. More than a quarter of young
Texans could not name the country that lies "south of the border, down
Mexico way."
Furthermore, as author Grillet points out, this ignorance has some
very real consequences:
"The Dust Bowl of the 1930s reflected a general ignorance of
topography and climate. The killer air-pollution attack on Donora,
Pennsylvania, in 1948 reflected a lack of environmental knowledge. The
discharge of liquid waste in a disposal well near Denver, Colorado,
between 1962 and 1965 led to earthquakes, further demonstrating our
lack of understanding of geology. Building structures on unstable
ground contributed to devastation in the 1964 quake in Alaska."
"Other recent geographically influenced events included the dust storm
in the Iranian desert that aborted arguably the most important US
military mission since Vietnam...the deaths near Mount Saint Helens's
eruptions...the numerous landslides and mudslides and floods in
California...the ongoing fight to clean up toxic waste and air
pollution."
Several groups, notably the National Geographic Society, have decided
to do something about our most overlooked academic discipline. One
example of this push is the National Geography Bee, sponsored
nationwide by the NGS. This book of 14 multiple choice quizzes and 50
map quizzes will help youngsters study for the Geography Bee, and help
adults shore up some gaps in their education.
The quizzes cover such areas as: Agriculture/Food, Animals, Cities,
Climate, Continents, Countries, The Planet Earth, Islands, Landmarks,
Mountains, Natural Resources, People, The United States, and Waters of
the World. In addition, there is a Geographic Dictionary to define
words like biome, equinox, karst, loess, moraine, taiga, etc. And
sprinkled throughout there are pages of "Oddish Facts" such as, "The
western tip of Virginia is 25 miles west of Detroit, Michigan."
Between the multiple choices and the map quizzes, there are about 660
questions in all. I decided to go through the book's tests, and give
my score as representative of the average American citizen who has had
a normal public school education and a little college, and who has
received high grades throughout. I had 327 correct answers, which
author Grillet judged "Very good. You have more than a passing
knowledge of the world." Please notice, however, that I still scored a
bit under 50%, which would have been a flunking grade in any of the
schools I ever attended. (When did they put Suriname in South
America?) I'm planning a trip to the bookstore to buy an atlas
tomorrow, and vow that WHERE ON EARTH? is soon to become one of the
most-thumbed volumes on my shelf.
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WRITER'S NOTEBOOK PRESS
Writer's Notebook Press is the nonfiction imprint of Pulphouse
Publishing. There are two periodicals being produced by them that you
might be interested in:
THE REPORT: A writer's magazine, filled with writers talking about
all aspects of writing. Digest-sized, over 60 pages, it is full of the
most recent market information, how-to-write articles, business
articles, and lots of fun and controversy. It's $2.95 each, $10 for
four, and $30 for 12 monthly issues.
MONAD: A Journal of Science Fiction Criticism edited by Damon Knight.
This is irregular, and only one issue has appeared so far. It's $5 for
trade paper, $15 for the limited cloth, and $18 for a four-issue
subscription.
Send orders to: Pulphouse Publishing, Box 1227, Eugene, OR 97440.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
LOVESICK: THE MARILYN SYNDROME
by Elizabeth Macavoy, Ph.D. and Susan Israelson
(Donald I. Fine, 1991)
Marilyn Monroe suffered from it. Millions of women ignore its symptoms
every day and face the consequences of ill-fated romances and
devastating "fatal attractions". LOVESICK: THE MARILYN SYNDROME, which
DIF published on February 15, 1991, is a book for women who didn't
find the valentine of their dreams because of this destructive,
emotional illness that affects those who don't love themselves and
can't accept love from others.
Written by Dr. Elizabeth Macavoy, a psychologist who runs "Women Who
Love Too Much" workshops, and Susan Israelson, one of her recovered
patients, LOVESICK rises above the pack of relationship books by not
only diagnosing the symptoms of this illness, but also providing a
step-by-step recovery plan. Similar to the philosophy behind
Alcoholics' Anonymous, LOVESICK concludes that sufferers will be
lovesick for life, BUT, with preemptive measures, they can spot the
warning signs, avoid the pitfalls of unhealthy romances and even find
true love.
LOVESICK also traces the roots of this affliction--it is often a
product of growing up in a dysfunctional family--as well as some of
the side-effects (such as substance abuse), instructing readers how to
achieve not only healthy love lives, but balanced professional and
familial relationships too.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
MM II: THE RETURN OF MARILYN MONROE
by Sam Staggs
(Donald I. Fine, 1991)
In his novel MM II: THE RETURN OF MARILYN MONROE, Sam Staggs combines
intensive research with bold imagination to explore the provocative,
and--as rendered here--startlingly plausible scenario that Marilyn
Monroe is alive and well and living in New York.
Almost eerily capturing her voice and the soft-spoken, smoldering
sexuality that catapulted her to stardom, as well as her
often-suppressed witty sense of humor, Staggs' novel--a lovely "what
if"--supposes that Marilyn's 1962 "suicide" was orchestrated by the
powers-that-were to prevent her from making good on her threat to go
public about her relationship with John F. Kennedy. An emotionally
fragile alcoholic, Marilyn is abducted to a small mining town in
Colorado. But under the strain of captivity, Marilyn surprises
everyone, including herself, by summoning the strength of the woman
she kept hidden inside--Norma Jean. She escapes to New York and,
disguised as a redhead, pursues a serious acting and singing career
under an alias, supporting herself with odd jobs, including
waitressing and clerking at Doubleday's flagship bookstore on Fifth
Avenue and 57th Street... Until a suspicious former colleague appears
and a talent search is launched for the "real" Marilyn Monroe as we
might know her today.
AUTHOR SAM STAGGS DISCUSSES THE MARILYN MYTH:
"Many others have attempted to solve the mystery of what really
happened in August 1962 in Marilyn Monroe's house in Brentwood. But
because I'm writing fiction, not biography or history, I am permitted
to step across the usual boundaries and meet a very different Marilyn
Monroe, one who goes on living into 1963, 1964, 1965... Have I started
something? Is this the next phase of the Marilyn Monroe myth? No one
really wants to relinquish Marilyn. That's why her image is alive
everywhere today--on magazine covers, in advertisements, in the shop
windows of Hollywood, New York and countless other cities. So in a
very real sense Marilyn is alive; certainly her glamour and her
unforgettable image are alive. Every time I walk on Fifth Avenue near
57th Street, I half expect to see a woman in a red wig, with an
unmistakable figure and a dazzling smile, rushing into Doubleday, late
as usual, but pausing just enough to whisper 'Sorry' in that classic
breathy voice and then laugh, mostly to herself."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
THE BARNHART DICTIONARY COMPANION
A Quarterly to Update General Dictionaries
David K. Barnhart, Editor
(Springer-Verlag, 1991)
As the pursuit of knowledge advances, a new language is created to
express new ideas, concepts and discoveries. The revised editions of
dictionaries cannot keep up with the avalanche of new terminology. On
the leading edge of scientific research, Springer-Verlag expands its
boundaries to include the science of language with THE BARNHART
DICTIONARY COMPANION.
The only publication of its kind in the world devoted to updating
general dictionaries, THE BARNHART DICTIONARY COMPANION has recorded
nearly 4,000 new terms and expressions recently added to the English
language. An essential addition to the modern library, the dictionary
covers: science and technology; the social sciences; business,
economics and finance; the arts; contemporary lifestyle; sports; and
common vocabulary.
Pioneering the classification of knowledge, THE BARNHART DICTIONARY
COMPANION features:
* new words and meanings not in current dictionaries
* word usage and commentary
* explanations of word formation
* variation in forms of entry word
* comprehensive classification of usage features
* word origins explained with attention to related and earlier forms
* quotations from a wide range of literary, scientific, and general
news sources
...and much more!
Send $49 ($60 Institutional Rate) for a 1991 subscription to Volume 6
(4 quarterly issues) to: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., Attn: Dean
Smith, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Or you can charge it by
calling 1-800-SPRINGER.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
OFF TO A GOOD START
by Mary Ann Bartusis, M.D.
(1991, Donald I. Fine, $18.95, ISBN 1-55611-186-X)
review by Travis Adkins
Getting married should be one of the happiest times in a person's
life. But there are all kinds of hidden pressures that arise in
planning a wedding and honeymoon that can strain even the truest of
loves. To help engaged couples avoid the pitfalls and perfect their
wedding, marriage therapist and psychiatrist Mary Ann Bartusis has
written Off TO A GOOD START: A Guide For Engaged Couples and
Newlyweds Of All Ages.
Whether you're marrying your first love or your fourth spouse, whether
you are young or middle-aged, starting out with anyone new is always a
new start. Now, for the first time, Mary Ann Bartusis guides couples
through the many concerns of the newly married, including easy to
identify trouble spots such as:
* money questions
* lifestyle expectations
* pressure from parents, in-laws and other family members
* attitudes toward work and education
* career choices
* conflicting work schedules.
As a newlywed myself I was particularly interested in OFF TO A GOOD
START, hoping that it might reveal the secrets of a successful
marriage. Although it didn't reveal any secrets, it did provide
common-sense solutions to problems that couples typically face in
their new life together. I recommend this book not so much for the
advice that it gives, but for the issues it raises.
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THE WORLD BOOK RUSH-PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE'S MEDICAL CENTER
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Your Guide to Good Health
(World Book Inc., 1991)
review by Howard Frye
A comprehensive, understandable, and practical encyclopedia of over
4,500 alphabetically-arranged entries (over 1,000 pages) that explain
parts of the body, medical terms, pharmaceuticals, medical procedures,
diseases, seemingly everything anyone would need to know about their
health and its care.
Copiously illustrated, with photographs, charts, and drawings, this
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA is easy and quick to use. Many first aid
procedures are explained with a series of illustrations, making them
particularly easy to put to practical use. Extra sections in the back
give you help in accessing entries by symptom--useful when you don't
know exactly what to look up. Other sections discuss health care
issues by age group and cover nutrition and exercise.
THE WORLD BOOK RUSH-PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE'S MEDICAL CENTER MEDICAL
ENCYCLOPEDIA is a one-volume health care reference book that will
serve the entire family. Highly recommended, particularly for its
readability.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
ACES
by Robert Denny
(Donald I. Fine, 1991, ISBN 1-55611-225-4)
review by Darryl Kenning
ACES is a story about the bomber crews that went into German
territory, day after day from 1942 until the end of the second World
War. To a lesser extent it is a story of the dwindling German
resources as well. Mr. Denny, with some discipline, stuck to his
original story throughout the book and was able to keep the reader's
attention well focused. In a way that's too bad, because a number of
comparatively minor incidents and personalities would certainly be
worth additional time and space (perhaps another book?).
In many ways the author seems to have captured the story of the events
taking place on one narrow strip of the broad canvas of the war. The
personalities might have been a bit more defined. It is clearly a
difficult task to write a novel about such a momentous slice of
history with a lot of the heroes still looking down at your
typewriter. In fact the very writing makes it clear that the author
participated in the historic events of that time and place.
Aficionados of this period won't want to miss this one.
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FILMED BOOKS AND PLAYS
A List of Books and Plays from Which Films Have Been Made
1928-1986
by A.G.S. Enser
($59.95, Gower Publishing)
FILMED BOOKS AND PLAYS is a unique and valuable reference work,
containing a list of books and plays from which English language films
have been made between the years 1928 and 1986.
The commencing date of 1928 was chosen because from that year on most
films produced for public viewing were talking pictures. This edition
brings it right up-to-date and includes films made especially for TV
and indicates which filmed books and plays are available for home
video viewing.
Add 3% for postage and handling and send to: Gower Publishing Company,
Old Post Road, Brookfield, VT 05036. For fastest service, call
1-800-535-9544 (orders only) or FAX 802-276-3837.
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CASTING THE CIRCLE
A Women's Book of Ritual
by Diane Stein
(The Crossing Press, 1990)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
I was brought up with the rule that it is generally impolite to talk
about sex, religion, or politics in polite society, mostly because
emotions tend to run rather high in these areas. I quickly realized,
however, that banning these three fascinating topics leaves one with
not much more than the weather and baseball statistics as
conversational pivots, and my generation has suffered because of this
popular rule of etiquette. Many of us find ourselves in lives that
have no visible purpose, and no worthwhile foundation. And some of us,
particularly if we are women, find that the popular western religions
seem foreign to our nature, not the fundamental spiritual base that we
need. CASTING THE CIRCLE addresses just this problem.
Women's Spirituality is a fairly new subject for several reasons. To
begin with, it's only recently that women have had the social and
economic clout to get books by and about women published. And it's
only recently that archaeological evidence has emerged that indicates
that civilization was not always the patriarchy we have grown
accustomed to, nor was God always a Him. CASTING THE CIRCLE is a book
for women who feel a need for spiritual sustenance in their lives, a
spirituality that doesn't punish and demote them for their gender, but
rather celebrates the creativity and nurturing that are the
distinctive features of women everywhere.
CASTING THE CIRCLE gives women a foundation of historical spirituality
upon which they can base their own religious lives. The reader will
discover what is known about the ancient goddesses and the ways in
which women have traditionally manifested their spiritual selves. The
largest part of the book is devoted to women's natural relationship
with the moon and its phases, and to the important spokes of the
Neverending Wheel of the Year and the rituals common to them. Each
ritual is given with specific ideas for songs, words, music, and
symbolic talismans, but Diane Stein always reminds the reader that
each element should be personalized to the needs of the woman, or
women, involved. This is one of the chief attractions of Women's
Spirituality, as I see it---it's willingness to encompass the
individual nature of its practitioners. Where many religions attempt
to mold each person into a single form, Women's Spirituality
encourages each woman to seek what she needs in her own way.
It should be noted that CASTING THE CIRCLE is not the only book
available concerning Women's Spirituality, but it is an excellent
volume to begin with. Diane Stein is the author of a number of other
related books: THE WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY BOOK, THE GODDESS BOOK OF
DAYS, etc. And there is a bibliography in the back of CASTING THE
CIRCLE that will give the reader many other interesting titles. I
recommended CASTING THE CIRCLE highly, and is best thought of as a
gift---for yourself or for a female friend.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*******************
* COMPUTER CORNER *
*******************
COMPLETE GUIDE TO VENTURA PUBLISHER
by G. Keith Gurganus & Gary Katz
(ScottForesman Professional Books, 1991, $21.95)
review by Drew Bartorillo
Learning to use Xerox's Ventura Publisher can be very challenging. The
documentation that comes with the Ventura Publisher software package
is very cumbersome and confusing to use. Even after a couple of years
of experience using Ventura Publisher and its documentation, I find it
usually easier to learn a new feature by trial and error than to look
it up in the documentation.
COMPETE GUIDE TO VENTURA PUBLISHER shows you how to use the Ventura
Publisher desktop publishing system. It assumes only a basic knowledge
of computers and requires no previous experience using Ventura
Publisher. Step-by-step tutorials logically introduce you to Ventura
Publisher's commands while showing you how to produce a publication.
After the tutorials, the book discusses advanced Ventura Publisher
topics and continues with a complete reference section to all the
Ventura Publisher commands.
Following is a breakdown of the chapters in the book:
o Chapter 1: Preparing for Desktop Publishing
o Chapter 2: How Ventura Publisher Works
o Chapter 3: Basic Layout with Ventura Publisher
o Chapter 4: Creating Large Documents with Ventura Publisher
o Chapter 5: Using Ventura Publisher's Built-in Graphic Tools
o Chapter 6: Importing Graphics into Ventura Publisher
o Chapter 7: Ventura Publisher's Menus and Commands
Appendixes A through E include important information about installing
Ventura Publisher, the Ventura Publisher character set, text
attributes for importing word processed documents, third-party
software utilities for Ventura Publisher, and a printout of Ventura
Publisher sample chapters.
All-in-all, I found COMPETE GUIDE TO VENTURA PUBLISHER to be very easy
to use and a valuable addition to the suite of tools necessary to
master Ventura Publisher. I especially liked the simple graphic and
text explanation that was given to each of the pull-down menus and
each command that is available within each of those menus. Even after
having used Ventura Publisher for a couple of years I found I still
had a few tricks to learn. Appendix D, listing third-party software
utilities available for Ventura Publisher, is extremely valuable for a
source of software that can make creating Ventura Publisher documents
a little less painful. The name of the vendor that produces each of
the add-on utilities is listed. It would have been very helpful if
their addresses would have been listed also.
One serious omission from COMPETE GUIDE TO VENTURA PUBLISHER is any
discussion whatsoever of the features available with the Ventura
Publisher Professional Extension add-on. The VERY powerful tabling
feature is included in this extension along with vertical
justification and others. Mention is made in the front of the book
that the Professional Extension exists, but that is the last time it
is ever mentioned. A TRUE complete guide to Ventura Publisher would
also have included this valuable extension package. The new Gold
versions of Ventura Publisher include the Professional Extension as
part of the basic package. COMPETE GUIDE TO VENTURA PUBLISHER could
have been easily used with the latest version of Ventura Publisher
also if this information would have been included.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Coming in Reading For Pleasure #17, The Anniversary Issue, I will be
reviewing two computer user guides written by Richard Maran (both from
Hypergraphics Inc. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada):
Simplified User Guide for Microsoft Windows 3.0
and
MS DOS Simplified User Guide
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# MURDER BY THE BOOK #
#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#:#
editor: Cindy Bartorillo
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder By The Book is a division of Reading For Pleasure, published
bimonthly. This material is NOT COPYRIGHTED and may be used freely by
all. Catalogs, news releases, review copies, or donated reviews should
be sent to: Reading For Pleasure, 103 Baughman's Lane, Suite 303,
Frederick, MD 21702.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Featured Author:
RAYMOND CHANDLER
(1888-1959)
article and reviews by Howard Frye
"If being in revolt against a corrupt society constitutes being
immature, then Philip Marlowe is extremely immature. If seeing dirt
where there is dirt constitutes an inadequate social adjustment, then
Philip Marlowe has inadequate social adjustment. Of course Marlowe is
a failure and he knows it. He is a failure because he hasn't any
money. A man who, without physical handicaps, cannot make a decent
living is always a failure and usually a moral failure. But a lot of
very good men have been failures because their particular talents did
not suit their time and place. In the long run I guess we are all
failures or we wouldn't have the kind of world we have."
---Raymond Chandler (RAYMOND CHANDLER SPEAKING, 1962)
Born into a well-to-do family in Chicago, Raymond Chandler's mother
took him to England when he was a boy and he received a classical
education at Dulwich College in London, later attending a business
college in Paris. He worked as a teacher and a freelance journalist
before returning to the United States, and during World War I he
served with the Canadian Gordon Highlanders in France and won two
medals. After the war Chandler lived in Los Angeles, briefly working
as a reporter, then as an accountant, finally becoming a very
successful executive with several oil companies. He married Pearl
Cecily Bowen, 17 years his senior, in 1924, and was devoted to her
until her death in 1954. (Deteriorating health and alcoholism,
possibly caused by depression over his wife's death, took his life
only 5 years later.) It wasn't until the Depression, when he found
himself broke and out of work, that he took up writing, selling his
first story to the pulps (BLACK MASK) in 1933 ("Blackmailers Don't
Shoot").
Chandler wrote 20 novelettes for the pulps, in which the hero was
occasionally nameless, occasionally Carmody, Dalmas, Malvern, Mallory,
and finally became Philip Marlowe. His stories added weight to the
new, more realistic form of "hard-boiled" detective fiction.
One of Chandler's most famous pieces of writing was an essay called
"The Simple Art of Murder", published in the ATLANTIC MONTHLY in
December of 1944. In this essay you will find one of Chandler's most
famous lines:
"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is
neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must
be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete
man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a
rather weathered phrase, a man of honor, by instinct, by
inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying
it."
Another insight into Marlowe's character is provided by Robert B.
Parker, whose name appears more prominently later in this article:
"The hard-boiled hero belongs, therefore, not to the Marxist but to
the chivalric tradition--a tradition he shares in this country with
the Westerner. He is not of the people; he is alone. His adventures
are solitary statements. His commitment is to a private moral code
without which no other code makes any sense to him. He regularly
reaffirms the code on behalf of people who don't have one."
---Robert B. Parker ("The American Tough Guy" in MURDER INK
by Dilys Winn)
You will find that one of Chandler's chief themes was the class system
in America. By keeping Marlowe lower-middle class and having him rub
shoulders with the wealthy, Chandler was able to play the social
critic by highlighting the pros and cons of being wealthy or poor in a
capitalist system. Like Hammett and Hemingway, Chandler wrote about an
unpleasant world in a realistic fashion, creating detective stories
that, while enjoyable, certainly are not escapism.
THE FILE ON PHILIP MARLOWE:
Philip Marlowe was born in 1906 in Santa Rosa, California, and
attended two years of college in Oregon. He began work as an insurance
investigator, eventually winding up working in the L.A. County DA's
office as an investigator, at least until he was fired for
insubordination.
* He's an unmarried white male just over 6 feet tall, 190 pounds, with
dark hair and brown eyes.
* He can most often be found wearing a hat, a trench coat, and
horn-rimmed sunglasses.
* He smokes quite a lot--usually Camels, but a pipe helps him figure
out tough cases when he's in his office.
* He drinks quite a lot, and keeps a bottle in the bottom drawer of
his desk.
* His office is 1-1/2 rooms on the 6th floor of the Cahuenga Building
on Hollywood Boulevard. He has no secretary, nor does he have an
answering service. (His phone number, by the way, is GLenview 7537.)
* His apartment is also on the 6th floor--$60 a month buys him 3-1/2
rooms.
* He drives a Chrysler and carries a gun in a shoulder holster.
* For fun he works on chess problems and goes to the movies.
* He gets $25 a day plus expenses ("mostly gasoline and whiskey"), and
he doesn't do divorce work.
TRIVIA: Raymond Chandler's London solicitor was a colleague: mystery
writer Michael Gilbert.
THE BIG SLEEP
(1939)
"I'm on a case. I'm selling what I have to sell to make a living. What
little guts and intelligence the Lord gave me and a willingness to get
pushed around in order to protect a client."
---from THE BIG SLEEP
"Neither of the two people in the room paid any attention to the way I
came in, although only one of them was dead."
---from THE BIG SLEEP
As soon as I got PERCHANCE TO DREAM, Robert B. Parker's new sequel to
THE BIG SLEEP (see review below), I sat down and reread the original
novel to refresh my memory. You remember THE BIG SLEEP. General
Sternwood, old, sick, and very rich, hires Philip Marlowe to take care
of a blackmail threat for him. Who could forget that first meeting
between the two men in the Sternwood greenhouse? Marlowe sweating in
his shirt sleeves and drinking the General's fine brandy, while the
General sits nearly immobile in his wheelchair. Marlowe likes the
General, which is the start of (now) two books' worth of trouble.
The General tells Marlowe about his family. There's oldest daughter
Vivian, painted as predatory and hard as nails. And there's her most
recent husband, Rusty Regan: a former bootlegger who became fast
friends with the General and disappeared about a month ago. And then
there's the youngest daughter Carmen, who giggles a lot and spreads
trouble wherever she goes. Now the General has received several
gambling IOUs from a man named Geiger, apparently signed by Carmen.
Marlowe figures that there's a hidden agenda here--not only does the
General want the blackmail taken care of, he wants to be reassured
that Rusty doesn't have anything to do with it.
Almost immediately people assume that Marlowe has been hired to find
the missing Rusty, which seems to upset everyone. Despite his initial
decision to stick to the blackmail, Marlowe gets caught up in the
mystery of what happened to Rusty. THE BIG SLEEP successfully juggles
these two main plotlines, making it a more complex, and more
interesting, mystery.
TRIVIA: THE BIG SLEEP was an created, in part, from two of his early
pulp stories: "Killer in the Rain" (1935) and "The Curtain" (1936).
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY (1940)
Moose Malloy, "a big man but not more than six feet five inches tall
and not wider than a beer truck", wants to find his girlfriend Velma,
who disappeared while he was in prison. Reluctantly, Marlowe begins to
look for Velma, and his search will turn up a blackmailer, an elderly
alcoholic with a secret, an Indian, a phony psychic, a crooked doctor
managing a psychiatric clinic, a gambling ship, crooked cops, and
women of loose virtue. But will he ever find Velma? And will he ever
housetrain Moose Malloy?
TRIVIA: FAREWELL, MY LOVELY makes use of three earlier pulp stories:
"The Man Who Like Dogs" (1936), "Try the Girl" (1937), and "Mandarin's
Jade" (1937).
THE HIGH WINDOW (1942)
A rare coin worth $10,000 is missing--stolen, according to Marlowe's
client Mrs. Murdock, by her son's wife. Marlowe has only to get the
coin back and arrange for a quiet divorce for the young Murdock.
Sounded pretty simple, that is until the bodies started piling up.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE (1943)
Once again we have a missing female: Derace Kingsley, an executive at
a perfume company, hires Marlowe to find his wife, Crystal. In this
case Marlowe will do much traveling, and will even find another man
whose wife is missing. Chandler often seems fascinated by unlikely
and unsuccessful marriages.
TRIVIA: THE LADY IN THE LAKE makes use of three earlier pulp stories:
"Bay City Blues" (1937), "The Lady in the Lake" (1939), and "No Crime
in the Mountains" (1941).
THE LITTLE SISTER (1949)
The title character wants to find her missing brother, and Marlowe
explores the seamy side of Hollywood uncovering drugs, blackmail, and
murder. In this book you will find the evidence of Chandler's
increasing dislike of Los Angeles, which Marlowe characterizes as
having "no more personality than a paper cup". It is possible that
this antagonism was caused by his experiences as a screenwriter.
(While we're on the subject, you can read more about the horrors of
screenwriting in Harlan Ellison's THE GLASS TEAT, about television,
and in William Goldman's ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE. Both are
fascinating reading.) Chandler received Oscar nominations for the
screenplay for DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), written with Bill Wilder, and
THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946)
THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER (1950)
This collection includes his famous essay, "The Simple Art of Murder"
(originally published in the ATLANTIC MONTHLY), a story originally
published in the SATURDAY EVENING POST ("I'll Be Waiting"), and eleven
stories from the pulps: "Red Wind", "Finger Man", "Goldfish", "Trouble
Is My Business", "Smart-Aleck Kill", "Guns at Cyrano's", "Pearls Are a
Nuisance", "Nevada Gas", "Spanish Blood", "The King in Yellow", and
"Pick-Up on Noon Street".
THE LONG GOODBYE (1953)
Marlowe befriends Terry Lennox, an alcoholic living the high life.
When Terry's ex-wife gets herself killed, he flees to Mexico, where it
is said that he wrote a confession and shot himself in a hotel room.
Marlowe senses a cover-up and his sense of honor forces him to
discover what really happened to his troublesome friend.
PLAYBACK (1958)
I haven't been able to locate a copy of this novel, and the only
information available from my references is that the book is not very
good. Whether that's "not very good" for Chandler, or just "not very
good" in general, I don't know.
TRIVIA: Chandler wrote a screenplay called PLAYBACK, published by
Mysterious Press in 1985.
KILLER IN THE RAIN (1964)
This collection contains the other 8 novelettes, which had been
"cannibalized"--Chandler's term--becoming parts of THE BIG SLEEP,
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, and THE LADY IN THE LAKE.
THE SMELL OF FEAR (1965)
This is a short story collection published after Chandler's death that
contains the only story originally written about Philip Marlowe, "The
Pencil".
POODLE SPRINGS
(1989)
See the review in RFP #14.
PERCHANCE TO DREAM
by Robert B. Parker
(1991, Putnam, $18.95)
"How you been, Marlowe?" he said.
"Nobody's hit me with a sap this month," I said.
"Surprising," Gregory said.
"Month's not over yet," I said.
---from PERCHANCE TO DREAM
We all knew that Robert B. Parker could mimic the style of Chandler
when he finished the four chapters Chandler left at his death and it
was published as POODLE SPRINGS (see the review in RFP #14). Now he
not only borrows Chandler's style, his characters, and even one of his
old plots in this sequel to THE BIG SLEEP. In PERCHANCE TO DREAM we're
back with the Sternwoods--the General is gone, but Vivian is still
around, and still just as attracted to Marlowe. Morris the butler is
still there, Bernie Ohls is still in the DA's office, Captain Gregory
is still at the Missing Persons Bureau, and Carmen is still causing
trouble. And casino owner Eddie Mars is back, this time more of an
ally than an adversary.
This time Carmen has disappeared from the sanatarium where she was
getting treatment. According to who you talk talk to, she's either
escaped, been kidnapped, been released normally, or is still there and
just not well enough to receive visitors. Usually the Sternwood money
would be enough to open any doors, but it seems that Dr. Bonsentir,
the man who runs the clinic, has even bigger connections, connections
that have the power to affect even the police. But Marlowe has been
given $1 by Morris to find Carmen Sternwood, so no amount of money or
political pull will scare him off the case.
During the course of this new Carmen Sternwood case, Marlowe will deal
with fraud, police corruption, sexual kinks, and drugs. He'll also
find out about what water rights mean in the western part of the U.S.,
and what they're worth. And Vivian still looks awfully good, and
Carmen is still nothing but trouble.
I liked PERCHANCE TO DREAM even better than POODLE SPRINGS. Parker has
captured the character of Marlowe to perfection, and that's the core
of all the Marlowe stories. Phillip Marlowe is an amazing character.
For one thing, he's enormously self-assured--most insults are
responded to with gentle humor, not defensive anger. And Marlowe's
smart. Not just in the way he is able to solve the mysteries, but in
the way he handles himself and others. He often gets into jams, but
never out of ignorance, it's just that his job requires him to take
calculated risks with some frequency. The only exception to his
understanding of human behavior is in his own relationship with women;
he either sees his own sexual/romantic responses imperfectly, or he's
not sharing his insights with us.
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"The private eye could only have happened first in those years after
World War I, the years of Prohibition. There had always been
aggressive, straight-shooting fiction heroes. But it took the mood of
the twenties to add cynicism, detachment, a kind of guarded
romanticism and a compulsion towards action. The disillusionment that
followed the war, the frustration over the mushrooming gangster
control of the cities, affected the detective story as much as it did
mainstream fiction."
---Ron Goulart (in AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF THE PULP MAGAZINES)
"It has been said, and with some justification I think, that the
reason why the pulp detectives were so popular was that the average
American had lost faith in the society in which he or she lived, and
therefore needed heroes who cared about real values--even if they were
only in the pages of magazines."
---Peter Haining (in MYSTERY! AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF CRIME &
DETECTIVE FICTION)
"The English may not be the best writers in the world but they are
incomparably the best dull writers."
---Raymond Chandler
"Best character and suspense writer for consistent but not large
production, Elisabeth Holding. Best plodding detail man, Freeman Wills
Crofts. Best Latin and Greek quoter, Dorothy Sayers. Writer with best
natural charm, Philip Macdonald. Best scary writer: none, they don't
scare me. But Dorothy Hughes does it the most. Most intriguing
character I can think of offhand, the M.C. in Margaret Millar's WALL
OF EYES. Best idea man: Cornell Woolrich."
---Raymond Chandler, in a letter to Alex Barris, April 16, 1949
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Clever, colored artwork gives an intriquing glimpse into the novels
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whom have won Agatha, Anthony, Edgar and Macavity awards.
How will Annie Laurance Darling, Carolyn G. Hart's sleuth, meet murder
in THE CHRISTIE CAPER? Will Barbara D'Amato's Cat Marsala survive
being thrown overboard in HARDBALL? What's the latest with: Susan
Dunlap, Charlotte MacLeod, Lia Matera, Nancy Pickard, Sharyn McCrumb
and some hot new authors--44 of your favorite or soon-to-be favorite
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This collector's edition is available for $8 from Sisters in Crime, PO
Box 10111, Blacksburg, VA 24062-0111, or for multiple orders at a
discount contact: Murder One at 800-522-5833.
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WHO WROTE THE ELLERY QUEEN BOOKS?
Most mystery readers know that the byline "Ellery Queen" was actually
a collaboration between Manfred Lee and Frederic Dannay. It has been
revealed recently that in later years a number of their novels were
ghostwritten by others, sometimes by writers well-known in their own
right. As rumors fly about which novels were written by who, and how
much was Lee/Dannay material, Douglas Dannay and Richard Dannay
recently decided to set the record clear about three particular
novels. The following is excerpted from a letter that was printed in
THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVE (Winter 1991, Volume 24, Number 1):
"THE PLAYER ON THE OTHER SIDE was NOT completely ghostwritten by
Theodore Sturgeon. Frederic Dannay prepared/created a 42-page outline
of the book, and Sturgeon wrote the novel based on the outline.
Manfred Lee then extensively revised the Sturgeon manuscript. There
were also other revisions by Frederic Dannay.
"AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY... was also written from an outline
prepared/created by Frederic Dannay, an outline of 66 pages. Avram
Davidson wrote the novel based on this outline, and the novel was then
extensively revised by Dannay and Lee.
"THE FOURTH SIDE OF THE TRIANGLE was again written from a Frederic
Dannay outline, this time of 71 pages. Again it was Davidson who
finished the novel, and he based his work on the outline. The book was
revised by Lee and Dannay."
---Douglas Dannay & Richard Dannay
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STEFANIE MATTESON
article by Cindy Bartorillo
There's a new detective now available at your local bookstore---her
name is Charlotte Graham. She's an aging movie star with four Academy
Awards on her mantel and four marriages in her past, or as she
describes herself, "an over-the-hill movie star with a weakness for
manhattans and marzipan". In her early sixties, she's smart, a bit
cynical, and wants nothing more out of life than a good play or film
script.
She was first noticed in bookstores in the pages of MURDER AT THE SPA
(Charter/Diamond, 1990) in which she helps her old friend, Paulina
Langenberg, head of a large company of beauty products and health
spas. Someone seems to be trying to sabotage her spa in upstate New
York with rumors about the radium levels of the mineral waters the
High Rock Springs Spa is famous for. Soon after Charlotte checks into
the spa for the 10-day Rejuvenating Plan a woman dies in her mineral
water bath. The woman was a pill junkie, so death is easily passed off
as heart failure despite the odd arrangement of the body--head
underwater and legs dangling over the end. When another guest dies in
their mineral bath shortly after, with the body in the same position,
we know something is very wrong at High Rock Springs.
Is it Paulina's wastrel son? Or maybe her ambitious nephew? Or is it
part of a corporate takeover by her business neighbor who sells the
bottled mineral water? Even more suspicious is the charming "doctor"
who has no medical license and sells worthless, and very illegal,
injection "treatments" to ward off the effects of aging. Then again,
maybe one of the spa's other employees is dissatisfied or crazy, or it
could even be a psychotic guest.
MURDER AT THE SPA is a terrific mystery, worthy of the Golden Age when
plots were more carefully constructed than is now the norm. There is
little violence, making this a decidedly "soft-boiled" story. (Have
you ever wondered why the hard-boiled stories, with their weaponry,
violence, and cynical plots, are called "realistic"? How many people
do you know who carry guns? How often do you get beat up? I don't
think I want to meet anyone who lives in that kind of reality.) MURDER
AT THE SPA has it all: intricate and interesting plot, recognizable
characters, and a well-drawn setting. Just the book for readers who
want a good think and an cheerful tone.
Charlotte Graham's next case is MURDER AT TEATIME (Diamond, March
1991), in which she takes a vacation after two years on Broadway and
stays with friends on a small island off the Maine coast. No sooner
does she arrive on the island than she discovers a dog who has
apparently been poisoned. The dog's owner is Dr. Thornhill, a botanist
and collector of rare botanical books. Thornhill has been the victim
of various hostile pranks lately, because of his refusal to sell his
land to the Chartwell Company, who want to turn the island into a
vacation resort. Was the dog killed as a warning to Thornhill to sell
his land? When Thornhill himself is later poisoned, the question
becomes even more important.
Who poisoned Dr. Thornhill's tea? Was it his boozy housekeeper,
jealous of his upcoming marriage? Or his niece, who believed the new
wife would turn her out of her home? Or his daughter and her
hot-tempered husband, afraid that Thornhill would change his will? It
could have been the bookseller Felix Mayer, who stands to make a great
deal of money on Thornhill's death, and who desperately needs it. Or
could it have been Gilley, the destitute lobsterman whose ancestors
gave Gilley Island its name? Once again, Charlotte solves the crimes,
giving a Fourth of July performance that makes a thrilling climax for
the story. MURDER AT TEATIME becomes Charlotte's (and author
Matteson's) second big success.
NOTE: In addition to the great story, characters, and setting,
Matteson's Charlotte Graham novels also are very educational. In
MURDER AT THE SPA you'll learn about mineral water and what it's like
to go to, and run, a health spa. In MURDER AT TEATIME you can pick up
a few details about lobstering, and quite a bit of information and
folklore about herbs. And both books are punctuated with quotes from
plays. MURDER AT THE SPA reminds Charlotte of Henrik Ibsen's AN ENEMY
OF THE PEOPLE (a wonderful play to read, by the way, just as bitingly
funny as it was when it was written), while MURDER AT TEATIME sticks
to Shakespeare, mostly MACBETH (another great play to read).
Fans of Charlotte Graham will have to wait until this fall (November
1991) for her next case---MURDER ON THE CLIFF, set in Newport, Rhode
Island, the summer social capital of the Gilded Age. The fourth
Charlotte Graham mystery will be set in western China and is
tentatively titled MURDER ON THE SILK ROAD.
RFP managed to catch Charlotte Graham's creator, Stefanie Matteson,
between chapters, and we asked her to tell us about our favorite new
amateur detective. Here's what she had to say:
"Charlotte Graham is a world-famous movie star who turned to Broadway
when her age resulted in a dearth of movie roles. Her career in the
movies and on Broadway has spanned fifty years. Having made her first
movie in 1939, she is a composite of the great actresses of the
forties. I chose Charlotte because I wanted a woman and I wanted an
amateur. But amateur female sleuths who meddle in police affairs seem
to me to have an insignificance that strains the reader's credibility.
In order for a woman to meddle believably in murder, I thought, she
ought to have some kind of distinction, and, distinction, I concluded,
is conferred on women in our society only by age, money, power, or
beauty. (Sad to say, brains don't count, though Charlotte has plenty.)
I chose a legendary movie star because such a character possesses all
of these attributes, plus an appealing dose of glamor. Another reason
I chose Charlotte is the modernity of her life story: although she
belongs to the older generation, her life was shaped by the major
women's issue of today: the conflict between career and family.
Married four times, and with no children (by the time she was
confident enough to stand up to the studios on this issue, it was too
late), she--like many successful career women in other fields--has
ended up facing life entirely on her own. Finally, I chose Charlotte
because of her versatility. As well-known (and as beloved) to several
generations of Americans as a member of their own family, she can be
planted by the author in almost any kind of situation and still retain
the reader's credibility.
"As for my relationship with her, she's a much tougher cookie than I
am. Though she is outwardly gracious and refined, the circumstances of
her turbulent personal life have resulted in extraordinary inner
strength. But at a cost: although she is independent and resourceful,
she is also often lonely and sometimes sad. Also, she is far more
adventurous than I. In the 1930s, my mother, who as a young woman was
beautiful and glamorous, used to fly airplanes as a hobby; I suppose
Charlotte is the fulfillment of my mother's fantasies of what her life
might have become had it taken a less conventional turn. The same
might be said of myself, and probably of my readers as well."
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Here's four more women of mystery you should know about: Linda
Paulson, Joyce Morden, Jo Davies, and Barb Adams. Collectively they
run Death At Your Door: Mail Order Mysteries, selling mystery books,
audio cassettes, and mystery-related gift items. As they describe it,
"For those of you who are new to our catalogue, we feature women
authors/protagonists and Northwest mystery writers and locales. Our
books tend to fall at the 'cozy' end of the mystery spectrum; we try
to stay away from books with graphic or gratuitous violence and
exploitative sex." They also accept special orders and sell gift
certificates. Write for a catalogue (and I'd enclose a couple of
dollars to be polite) to: Death At Your Door, PO Box 2452, Sequim, WA
98382-2452. They take checks, money orders, VISA, and MasterCard.
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THE DOUBLEDAY MYSTERY GUILD AWARDS
Book of the Year: "F" IS FOR FUGITIVE by Sue Grafton
Second Place: THE CAT WHO WENT UNDERGROUND by Lillian Jackson Braun
Third Place: THE OLD SILENT by Martha Grimes
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A LITTLE GENTLE SLEUTHING
by Betty Rowlands
(Walker, 1990)
review by Carol Sheffert
Melissa Craig, better known to her readers as crime novelist Mel
Craig, has just moved into a small cottage in the Cotswolds. This is a
first, tentative stab at independence for the fortysomething woman,
from her overprotective boyfriend and her domineering agent. Now out
in the country, the only near neighbor is the cottage next door,
inhabited by Iris, a colorful vegetarian artist, and her cat Binkie.
An abandoned shepherd's hut gives Melissa the idea for a new novel,
and soon she's settled into a comfortable routine, interrupted only by
mysterious phone calls for a "Babs", from a young man who sounds very
distraught. The young man desperately wants to meet Babs at "the usual
place". Who is Babs, and why does the man never wait to hear Melissa
tell him he's got the wrong number?
Thinking about these calls and the possible explanations gives Melissa
some more ideas for her novel, and working out the plot of her novel
is giving her more ideas about what is happening in reality. When Iris
finds a long-dead body in the woods, Melissa is soon wondering if it
could be the missing Babs, who disappeared almost a year ago. The
tangling and untangling of real events and the plot of Melissa's new
novel is just one of the pleasures provided by Betty Rowlands first
full-length novel. Another is watching the development of Melissa,
from the uncertainty she displays in the first few pages to the
confident and independent woman she has become by the last chapter.
The language is a delight as well. I have no idea if it's authentic or
not--but if it isn't, it should be.
The only indication of this being a first effort is the pacing, which
is a bit slow, even for a "cozy" mystery. The characters and the plot
are all interesting enough, but the element of suspense could have
been turned up a notch. In any case though, this is a most promising
first novel and readers will surely look forward to many more
mysteries from Betty Rowlands. I know I'd love to read some more about
Melissa Craig (and of course the cantankerous Iris). Recommended.
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THE OLD CONTEMPTIBLES
by Martha Grimes
(Little, Brown, 1991)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
This is Martha Grimes' eleventh novel featuring Superintendent Richard
Jury of Scotland Yard and his wealthy friend Melrose Plant. This time
there's a new twist--Richard Jury is under suspicion himself in the
death of Jane Holdsworth, who died from an overdose of sleeping pills.
Jury had not only been dating her, but had even purchased a ring to
give to her as a token of the seriousness of their relationship.
Jane's teenaged son Alex is the one to find the body, and he refuses
to believe that his mother committed suicide. He is also worried about
being shipped to Tarn House, where his dead father's greedy family
lives. Alex likes his great-grandfather Adam, but can't stand any of
the others. Apparently Adam Holdsworth doesn't like his family any
better, because he now voluntarily lives at a nearby rest home, where
he meets the delightful, wealthy kleptomaniac Lady Cray.
After Jane's death, attention shifts to the remainder of the
Holdsworth family, a family that has suffered more than their share of
"accidental" deaths and suicides. To find out who killed Jane, and
possibly others, Jury sends Melrose Plant to Tarn House to be a
librarian for the boringly pretentious Crabbe Holdsworth. It takes
Jury, Plant, Alex, Adam, Lady Cray, and the delightfully precocious
11-year-old Millie to solve the curse of the Holdsworth family, and
Martha Grimes' prose style makes getting there at least half the fun.
After an initial detour with an unnecessary plot thread concerning
Melrose Plant and his friends, THE OLD CONTEMPTIBLES settles into top
notch form, adding another success to Martha Grimes' career. Highly
recommended.
THE NOVELS OF MARTHA GRIMES
(All named after real-life English pubs)
The Man With a Load of Mischief
The Old Fox Deceiv'd
The Anodyne Necklace
The Dirty Duck
Jerusalem Inn
Help the Poor Struggler
The Deer Leap
I Am the Only Running Footman
Five Bells and Bladebone
The Old Silent
The Old Contemptibles
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The killer was too clever to be caught.
Charlie was too smart for her own good.
She knows how to find him.
HE knows where she lives.
Playing with fire, it's easy to get burned.
MOTH TO THE FLAME by Kathleen Dougherty
A Shattering Novel of Psychological Suspense
coming in April
The Berkley Publishing Group, Diamond imprint $4.50
"Terrifying and riveting, Kathleen Dougherty has created that rarest
of entities: a finely-written, ORIGINAL thriller. The most intriguing
blend of crime fiction, sci-fi and horror since FALLING ANGEL."
---Jonathan Kellerman
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THE IRISHMAN'S HORSE
by Michael Collins
(1991, Donald I. Fine, $18.95, ISBN 1-55611-185-1)
review by Travis Adkins
Hired by the wife of an earnest young diplomat to find her husband,
who has just disappeared from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City,
Fortune stumbles upon a murder at a warehouse that appears to be a
front for a drug-smuggling operation. He is rescued from the ensuing
shoot-out by a suave, enigmatic stranger--the Irishman--who soon draws
him into an international scandal involving the CIA and a Columbian
drug cartel. Fortune's search takes him through the sultry Guatemalan
jungle and builds into a frantic climax in Mexico City.
I must admit when I read the inside cover of this book and found out
Dan Fortune was a one-armed private eye living in Santa Barbara, I
harbored some doubts. The description of Dan Fortune didn't coincide
at all with my idea of a private investigator. Fortunately, I didn't
let my narrow-mindedness keep me from reading this very entertaining
mystery novel. Though this was my first "Dan Fortune" novel, it
certainly will not be my last.
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KILL THE MESSENGER by Elizabeth Daniels Squire was a March 1991
paperback release from St. Martin's. Hope you haven't missed it.
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In any of the Sara Paretsky novels you've read, did you ever picture
private detective V.I. Warshawski as Kathleen Turner? Neither have I.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see how that works out in the
upcoming movie, WARSHAWSKI, directed by Jeff Kanew, screenplay by
David Aaron Cohen.
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ONE MAN'S POISON
by John R. Riggs
(1991, Dembner Books)
review by Carol Sheffert
This was my first Garth Ryland mystery, and I sure hope it won't be my
last. ONE MAN'S POISON allows us to spend a short time in Oakalla,
Wisconsin, where Garth Ryland owns/publishes/edits the town's weekly
newspaper, and throughout the novel, the focus remains on the town of
Oakalla and it's varied inhabitants. As the story begins, a mild
earthquake shakes up the town, and several days later everyone's water
tastes like rotten eggs. Simultaneously, Rowena Parker reports that
her ex-husband Jimmy hasn't returned her son (little Jimmy) after his
scheduled weekend custody. Sheriff Roberts isn't feeling well and asks
Garth Ryland to help out in finding the little boy.
Garth manages to find little Jimmy all right, but not big Jimmy. And
when he finds the body of Oakalla's most prominent citizen,
now-retired Judge Glick, stuffed into a toxic-waste barrel, the
mystery deepens. What do the toxic-waste barrels have to do with
Oakalla's tainted water? What is in the cave in the Barrens, and who
is it that's hanging around there? Why did Judge Glick all of a sudden
kick his sister out of his house and then retire from the bench five
years ago? Is big Jimmy really little Jimmy's father? Who is the
strange Indian that is following Garth? Garth will need the answers to
all of these questions, and a few more besides, to get life back onto
an even keel in the small town.
The mysteries are interesting, but not as fascinating as the residents
of Oakalla, and Riggs focuses ONE MAN'S POISON on the characters and
their reactions to the various conflicts and questions. A thoroughly
enjoyable story from beginning to end, my only complaint is that the
story wasn't longer. The characters and plot threads could well have
borne the weight of an extra hundred pages (over the given 220), and
some of the plot sped by a bit faster than I would have preferred. I
guess I'll just have to wait for the next Garth Ryland mystery to get
some more insight into the citizens of Oakalla, Wisconsin.
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JUROR by Parnell Hall (reviewed in RFP #15) has been optioned for film
development by Joel Silver at Warner Brothers. Parnell Hall himself
has been hired to write the screenplay
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HARDBALL by Barbara D'Amato was a February 1991 release in paperback
from Worldwide Library. Hope you didn't miss it.
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IMMACULATE DECEPTION
by Warren Adler
(1991, Donald I. Fine)
review by Cindy Bartorillo
"The primary mission of the MPD, was to protect the politicians, the
bureaucrats and diplomats in the nation's capital, protect their lives
and property and their ability to function. The system was
politicized, top to bottom."
--from IMMACULATE DECEPTION (Chapter 14)
IMMACULATE DECEPTION is the latest installment in Warren Adler's
police procedural series featuring Washington, D.C. homicide detective
Fiona FitzGerald. The first of the series, AMERICAN QUARTET, was named
as one of 1982's ten best crime novels by the New York TIMES BOOK
REVIEW. AMERICAN SEXTET is the only other Fiona FitzGerald novel.
The mystery this time surrounds the death of Congresswoman Frances
("Frankie") McGuire, a right-to-lifer found siting in bed with a glass
of wine spiced with cyanide. An autopsy finds that, despite her
long-standing lack of marital relations with her husband, she was six
weeks pregnant. A case of Immaculate Conception, or is it more likely
deception? Fiona's boss, oddly nicknamed the Eggplant, immediately
declares that his instincts all point to murder, but just about
everyone else is hoping it's simply a suicide.
One of the most fascinating aspects of IMMACULATE DECEPTION is the
working out of the political strands involved in the case. We come to
realize that despite our moral insistance that a human life has ended
and justice must be done, this death is undeniably a political event.
On one level, the police must determine who brought about the death
and prosecute the guilty party if such person is still around. On
another level, the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers are going to have
to deal with whatever happens, minimizing bad press and exploiting the
positive aspects. On yet another level, the Congresswoman's death has
left a vacant seat that some lucky politician will get to fill and
several unlucky ones won't. We come to realize that separating
politics from a death is impossible when that life was devoted to
politics.
Continuing the wheels-within-wheels structure of this story, Fiona has
decided to conceive a child by her current lover without his consent
or knowledge. This gives the McGuire case a particular resonance to
Fiona as she shares in many of the conception/deception issues.
Indeed, the depth of Fiona's character lifts a mundane mystery into
more rarefied territory as she constantly surprises and engages us
with her many strengths and weaknesses. IMMACULATE DECEPTION is not
for the ethically squeamish, but is highly recommended reading for the
rest of us.
Warren Adler, by the way, is the author of THE WAR OF THE ROSES, the
novel from which the film was made. He is also adapting his
forthcoming novel PRIVATE LIES for a Tristar Pictures 1991 release,
and is currently at work on the next Fiona FitzGerald novel, SENATOR
LOVE, to be published in August 1991 by Donald I. Fine, Inc.
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BY SUSAN DUNLAP: PIOUS DECEPTION (a Kiernan O'Shaughnessy story) is
in Villard hardcover and Dell paperback; TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE (a Jill
Smith story) is a Dell paperback; A DINNER TO DIE FOR (Jill Smith) is
a Dell paperback; DIAMOND IN THE BUFF (Jill Smith) is a May 1991
paperback release from Dell; and ROGUE WAVE (Kiernan O'Shaughnessy) is
a June 1991 hardcover release from Villard.
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THE ADVENTURES OF PAUL PRY
by Erle Stanley Gardner
(1989, Mysterious Press)
review by Carol Sheffert
Erle Stanley Gardner is best known as the creator of America's most
famous criminal lawyer--Perry Mason. Relatively few know that before
his long series of PM novels, he had an illustrious career writing for
the pulps, side by side with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler
(and many, many others). This book collects a few of his stories about
Paul Pry, all originally published between 1930 and 1933, and all
appearing in book form for the first time.
Series sleuth Paul Pry is a professional opportunist who preys on
criminals, assisted by Mugs Magoo, an alcoholic one-armed ex-cop with
a photographic memory for faces. Mugs' downfall from the police force
is described with typical economy: "A political shake-up forced him
out. An accident took off his right arm at the shoulder. Booze had
done the rest." Mugs sells pencils on a street corner and fingers
big-time crooks for Paul Pry, who then follows them to see what
they're up to. Paul Pry's genius is such that he not only figures out
what the bad guys are going to do and exactly how they're going to do
it, he also foils their plans and puts himself in line for a large
reward.
But we're not done with Pry's idiosyncrasies quite yet. He dresses
like a dandy and carries a sword-cane, which he apparently knows how
to use. And he relaxes by playing one of his extensive collection of
American Indian drums, an odd practice but one that helps him solve
many perplexing mysteries of the underworld. The Paul Pry stories
won't make anyone forget Perry Mason, but they show earlier stages of
Gardner's career and are an interesting peculiarity in their own
right.
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"I figured out long ago that a negative review meant one of two
things: either the critic doesn't like the kind of thing I do, in
which case I figure who can argue with taste? or the critic didn't
UNDERSTAND what I was trying to do, in which case I say, who cares
what an idiot thinks?"
---William L. DeAndrea
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THE BLONDE IN LOWER SIX: Plus 3 Short Novels
by Erle Stanley Gardner
(1990, Carroll & Graf)
review by Carol Sheffert
If you don't think that fiction has to be brand new to be interesting,
you should always keep an eye on what Carroll & Graf are publishing.
They are first rate at finding older material that's out of print and
shouldn't be. Like some of the little-known non-Perry Mason material
written by Erle Stanley Gardner. THE BLONDE IN LOWER SIX, like DEAD
MEN'S LETTERS, brings back a handful of Gardner's stories about Ed
Jenkins, "The Phantom Crook", misunderstood friend of the underworld
and all-around righter of wrongs.
The major offering here is the title novel, an elaborate and sometimes
confusing mystery about mistaken identities and corporate
shenanigans. Ed Jenkins is found in his usual habitat, San
Francisco's Chinatown, as he accepts a job from the head of the
Chinese underground, Soo Hoo Duck. It seems that a woman named Betty
Crofath has important information about about the Japanese military,
information that would be very useful to the Chinese. She is taking a
train from New Orleans to San Francisco and Ed must join the train at
Tucson and keep an eye on her. She'll be easy to find, she's "the
blonde in Lower Six". Unfortunately, the first time Ed catches sight
of the blonde in Lower Six, she's dead. But is it really Betty Crofath
or an impostor? Why do the newspapers say that the dead woman is
Daphne Strate, a woman suspected of embezzling from the chemical
company she worked for in New Orleans?
Ed Jenkins must straighten out this situation, keepin