A few days ago I reviewed The War on Music: Reclaiming the-Twentieth-Century By John Mauler and Ennio Morricone’s name was mentioned a few times in your comments. Just through serendipity I stumbled onto this performance of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” theme by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. It really rocks! And, check out that dangling guy!
The National Buffalo Wing Festival returns to Highmark Stadium (where the Buffalo Bills play their games) on Sept. 3rd and 4th 2022. Now in its 21st year, celebrating its 20th festival, Wing Fest has over the past 10 years averaged 50,000+ attendees that have been tracked from all 50 states and 44 different countries, featuring 25 local, regional, national and international eateries serving more than 100 styles of chicken wings. About 10 tons of chicken wings will be consumed this weekend!
Other activities include live music, a baby wing pageant, amateur and XXXHot chicken wing eating competition, celebrity influencer sauce-off competition, bobbing for wings, and much more!
Are you a fan of chicken wings?
Martin Edwards’s monumental The Life of Crime (724 pages!) will sweep whatever Awards BOUCHERCON and other groups bestow on BEST NON-FICTION MYSTERY BOOKS. Edwards wisely consulted with Art Scott (thanked on Page One–page 644–of the Acknowledgements). Edwards refers to Art’s Nero Wolfe knowledge on pages 101 and 172. And Edwards goes further to praise and recommend Art Scott and Wallace Maynard’s The Paperback Covers of Robert McGinnis on page 324. However, Art’s valiant lobbying effort to get Edwards to devote an entire chapter to Nero Wolfe…produced a vaporware chapter that cannot be found between these covers.
It took about 20 years for Martin Edwards to research and write this magisterial work. To attempt to capture all the facets of the History of the Mystery in less than a 1,000 pages is quixotic to say the least. I’m sure many readers will quibble about the coverage (or lack thereof) of their favorite mystery writers. The Editors of The Life of Crime pressured Edwards to “cut” and “reduce” his mammoth book. However, I’m pleased to report that Edwards managed to stave off many of the attempts to shrink his project. The result is a book that should be in the library of any serious reader of mysteries. GRADE: A+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — 1
Chapter 1 Revolution: Origins — 9
Chapter 2 Mystery and Imagination: Edgar Allan Poe and the First Detective Stories — 20
Chapter 3 Guilty Secrets: Sensation Novels — 29
Chapter 4 Detective Fever: Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Early Detective Fiction — 37
Chapter 5 Poacher Turned Gamekeeper: The French Revolution: Vidocq, Gaboriau and their Worldwide Influence — 49
Chapter 6: The Great Detective: Sherlock Holmes — 58
Chapter 7 Rogues’ Gallery: Raffles and Other Villains — 71
Chapter 8 The Nature of Evil: G. K. Chesterton and Faith and Sin in Detective Fiction — 81
Chapter 9 Plot Minds: Marie Belloc Lowndes and Edwardian-era Detective Fiction — 92
Chapter 10 The Science of Detection: R. Austin Freeman and Scientific Mysteries — 103
Chapter 11 Had-I-But-Known: Mary Roberts Rinehart and ‘Women in Jeopardy’ Novels — 116
Chapter 12 War and Peace: The First World War and Detective Fiction — 127
Chapter 13 Treacherous Impulses: Early Spy Fiction — 135
Chapter 14 The Mistress of Deception: Agatha Christie — 149
Chapter 15 American Tragedy: Van Dine and the American Golden Age — 162
Chapter 16 Superfluous Women: Queens of Crime — 174
Chapter 17 Challenging the Reader: Detection and Game-playing — 187
Chapter 18 Locked Rooms: ‘Impossible Crime’ Mysteries — 199
Chapter 19 The Long Arm of the Law: Early Police Stories — 212
Chapter 20 Blood-Simple: Dashiell Hammett — 223
Chapter 21 Murder and its Motives: True Crime — 234
Chapter 22 Twists of Fate: Francis Iles and Ironic Crime Fiction — 245
Chapter 23 The Sound of Mystery: Radio Mysteries — 259
Chapter 24 In Lonely Rooms: Raymond Chandler — 270
Chapter 25 Brothers in Crime: Patrick and Bruce Hamilton — 281
Chapter 26 Cracks in the Wall: Georges Simenon and European Crime Fiction — 291
Chapter 27 Sensation in Court: Legal Mysteries — 304
Chapter 28 California Dreaming: Crime Writers and Hollywood — 314
Chapter 29 Carnival of Crime: Mystery and the Macabre –326
Chapter 30 Waking Nightmares: Noir Fiction — 336
Chapter 31 Dagger of the Mind — 347
Chapter 32 Whose Body?: Whowasdunins: Mysteries about the Victim’s Identity — 355
Chapter 33 Private Wounds: Transitioning from the Golden Age — 365
Chapter 34 Out of this World: Traditional Detective Fiction Evolves in the United States — 375
Chapter 35 Perfect Murders: Crime and the End of Empire — 387
Chapter 36 Mind Games: Post-war Psychological Suspense — 398
Chapter 37 Deep Water: Patricia Highsmith — 410
Chapter 38 Forking Paths: Borges and Postmodernism — 418
Chapter 39 Bloody Murder: Julian Symons and Crime Fiction Criticism –429
Chapter 40 People with Ghosts: Post-war Private Investigators and the Legacy of Vietnam — 443
Chapter 41 Killing Jokes: Comedy and Crime — 454
Chapter 42 Literary Agents: Post-war Spy Fiction — 466
Chapter 43 Nerve: Adventure Novels and Thrillers — 480
Chapter 44 Outsider in Amsterdam: Dutch Crime — 490
Chapter 45 Whodunwhat?: Theatrical Murder — 502
Chapter 46 Black and Blue: British Police Fiction — 511
Chapter 47 Home Discomforts: Domestic Suspense — 522
Chapter 48 Mystery Games: East Asian Detective Fiction — 533
Chapter 49 Early Graves: Difference and Diversity — 545
Chapter 50 A Suitable Job for a Woman: Women Writing about Private Investigators — 560
Chapter 51 A Feeling for Snow: Scandinavian Crime Writing — 571
Chapter 52 Fatal Inversions: Ruth Rendell and Modern Psychological Suspense — 581
Chapter 53 Dark Places: American Police Fiction — 591
Chapter 54 Long Shadows: Historical Crime — 601
Chapter 55 A Taste for Death: P. D. James and the Truth about Human Character and Experience — 613
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY — 623
Acknowledgements — 644
INDEX OF TITLES — 646
INDEX OF NAMES — 688
SUBJECT INDEX — 716
It would be hard to overestimate the impact of Motown hits in the 1960s. I found these two CD compilations which collect 32 Number One Motown songs from that decade. The Temptations and The Supremes led the way with multiple Number One hits. But, other Motown performers and groups found their way to the top of the charts, too. The Motown Sound was the sound of money!
Do you remember these Number One hits from the Sixties? Any favorites? GRADE: A (for both)
TRACK LIST:
| Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*– | Shop Around | ||
| The Marvelettes– | Please Mr. Postman | ||
| The Contours– | Do You Love Me | ||
| Smokey Robinson & The Miracles*– | You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me | ||
| Stevie Wonder– | Fingertips (Part II) | ||
| Martha And The Vandellas*– | Love Is Like A (Heat Wave) | ||
| Mary Wells– | My Guy | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | Where Did Our Love Go | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | Baby Love | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | Come See About Me | ||
| The Temptations– | My Girl | ||
| Jr. Walker & The All Stars*– | Shotgun | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | Stop! In The Name Of Love | ||
| The Four Tops*– | I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | Back In My Arms Again | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes*– | I Hear A Symphony |
TRACK LIST:
| The Supremes– | You Can’t Hurry Love | ||
| Stevie Wonder– | Uptight (Everything’s Alright) | ||
| The Temptations– | Get Ready | ||
| The Temptations– | Ain’t Too Proud To Beg | ||
| Four Tops– | Reach Out I’ll Be There | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes– | You Keep Me Hangin’ On | ||
| The Temptations– | (I Know) I’m Losing You | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes– | Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes– | The Happening | ||
| Stevie Wonder– | I Was Made To Love Her | ||
| Smokey Robinson & The Miracles– | I Second That Emotion | ||
| The Temptations– | I Wish It Would Rain | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes– | Love Child | ||
| Gladys Knight & The Pips*– | I Heard It Through The Grapevine | ||
| The Temptations– | I Can’t Get Next To You | ||
| Diana Ross & The Supremes– | Someday We’ll Be Together |
This Berkley Books paperback from 1957 reprints 10 of the 32 stories appearing in the original 1950 Crown Books hardcover.
Several of the stories in The Big Book of Science Fiction fall into the “classic” category. The first story in the book is Clifford Simak’s “Desertion,” a key story in his City series. “Nobody Saw the Ship” is one of my favorite Murray Leinster stories about an alien invasion.
Probably the most famous story in this book is Fredric Brown’s “Arena” which became a fan favorite Star Trek episode where a human and an alien are forced to fight for survival. War is also at the heart of C. M. Kornbluth’s “The Only Thing We Learn.” The story that most surprised me was Fletcher Pratt’s “The Roger Bacon Formula” which resembles a LSD trip. The Big Book of Science Fiction is another Groff Conklin winner! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Desertion [City] (1944) by Clifford D. Simak — 7
Mewhu’s Jet (1946) by Theodore Sturgeon– 18
Nobody Saw the Ship (1950) by Murray Leinster — 52
The Wings of Night (1942) by Lester del Rey — 69
Arena (1944) by Fredric Brown — 86
The Roger Bacon Formula (1929) by Fletcher Pratt — 111
Forever and the Earth (1950) by Ray Bradbury — 126
The Miniature (1949) by John D. MacDonald — 141
Sanity (1944) by Fritz Leiber — 152
The Only Thing We Learn (1949) by C. M. Kornbluth — 167
This post-apocalyptic drama is set in the twenty-first century after a virus has wiped out most of Earth’s population. Fewer than two million people had survived, and their descendants have all lost their sense of sight because of the disease. See takes place several centuries after the Pandemic where the survivors has found new ways to socially interact, build, hunt, and survive without vision. The concept of vision has become a myth and any mention of it is considered heresy.
Season Three of See will conclude the series. Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard try to defend their tribe from Queen Sibeth Kane (Sylvia Hooks), the ruler of the Payan Kingdom, a ruthless leader who murders anyone who stands in her way.
Apple TV+ has released two of the eight episodes. New episodes will be released each week. GRADE: Incomplete
John Mauceri is a conductor and served on the Yale University faculty for 15 years. Mauceri believes the dearth of classical music in the 20th Century was the result of war. The Nazis banned plenty of music and only authorized certain approved conductors and certain approved music be performed.
Stalin insisted that music must have a purpose in supporting the State. Both Stalin and Hitler’s actions sent many talented conductors, classical musicians, and composers to other countries. In the United States, many of the refugee composers found their way to Hollywood.
For much of the 20th Century, Mauceri shows film music was considered inferior to “Real Classical Music.” But, as time has passed, the film music of Korngold, Steiner, Tiomkin, and Rozsa grow in fame and popularity. Mauceri maps out the classical influences that contemporary film composers work with:
“However, it can be argued that, if there is indeed a ‘line’ of influence, one that accounts for the most heard symphonic music in history, that like would look something like: Wagner–Strauss/Mahler–Korngold/Steiner (Waxman, Tiomkin, Rozsa)–John Williams (Elmer Bernstein, Alex North, Bernard Herman, Jerry Goldsmith)–Howard Shore, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desalt, Nobuo Uematsu, Ramin Djawadi, and so on.” (p. 153-154)
If you’re a fan of film music, you’ll appreciate Mauceri’s survey of Hollywood music of the 20th Century. What’s your favorite Hollywood music composer? GRADE: A
Introduction 1
1 A View from 30,000 Feet 14
2 Brahms and Wagner: The Twilight of Two Gods 25
3 Stravinsky and Schoenberg: Overtures to the Great War 37
4 The Lure of Chaos 62
5 Hitler, Wagner, and the Poison from Within 73
6 Stalin and Mussolini Make Music 81
7 The Miracle of a Second Exodus 95
8 A New War, an Old Avant-Garde 114
9 A Cold War Defines Contemporary Music 128
10 Creating History and Erasing History 149
11 Of War and Loss 173
12 A Century Ends 180
Appendix: A Personal Diary 195
Notes 207
Acknowledgments 217
Index 219
Illustrations follow page 36
You might remember Chris Offutt’s father, Andy Offutt, a prolific Science Fiction and fantasy writer. Chris Offutt might not be as prolific as his father, but he’s a terrific writer. The Killing Hills (2021) introduces an Army CID agent stationed in Germany, Mick Hardin.
Hardin receives a message from his sister, a sheriff in a small Kentucky town called Rocksalt, asking for his help. Hardin takes a leave and flies home to help his sister investigate a murder of a local woman.
The social structure of rural Kentucky communities looms large in The Killing Hills. Hardin knows the various clans involved in the murder and uses his knowledge of generations of family secrets to uncover the motive behind the killing.
Rural life figuring in crime can be a compelling motif. I’m a huge fan of Daniel Woodrell‘s Winter’s Bone. The Killing Hills captures the bleak life and violent nature of a hard-scrabble community. If you’re in a mood for mystery with roots in the Past, give The Killing Hills a try. GRADE: A-
Mick Hardin returns to Rocksalt, Kentucky on a medical rehab from injuries from an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). Mick’s sister is running for Sheriff and Mick helps a bit with her campaign. But when the body of a drug dealer is found, Mick is asked to investigate the murder by the dealer’s mother, Shifty.
The plot of Shifty’s Boys (2022) is pretty shifty, too. Offutt throws in some red herrings to lead you think the motive is one thing…but then it isn’t. For fans of Jack Reacher novels, Offutt provides an explosive conclusion worthy of the best of Lee Child. GRADE: A
Pulp Power, a 352-page coffee table book, displays over a 100 gorgeous pulp magazine covers in breath-taking color. In his Foreword, Frank Miller expounds on the impact pulp fiction characters like The Shadow, Doc Savage, Nick Carter, and others had on our contemporary writers and artists.
Neil McGinness provides insightful histories of The Shadow and Doc Savage. He also explores the illustrators like Jim Steranko and James Bana. Bana says, “I read all 62 Doc novels that I did the covers for. And the editors let me do whatever I wanted for the cover paintings. That’s why they were so good.” (p. 274)
I’ve looked at plenty of books about pulp magazines and their artwork, but Pulp Power is stunning! If you’re a fan of this genre, you need to check this out! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword — 8
Chapter 1. The Shadow — 12
Chapter 2. Doc Savage — 142
Chapter 3. The super crew — 224
Chapter 4. Paperback revolution — 268
Chapter 5. Comics evolution — 304
Chapter 6. A new future — 336
Acknowledgments — 350
Credits — 352