Requiem was published by TOR in 1993, but somehow I missed it. Talk about forgotten books, how about the books you don’t even know exist! I found a copy of Requiem while rummaging around in a Good Will thrift store last week. Of course, I bought it and ran home to read it. Yes, Requiem is a bit of a mishmash. But, there’s plenty of good reading here. Check out the Table of Contents. For my money, Robert Silverberg’s essay on Heinlein sums up Heinlein’s writing career and takes a careful measure of the man. If you’re a Heinlein fan and haven’t read Requiem you need to.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface — Virginia Heinlein
Editor’s Forward — Yoji Kondo

Part I — Works of Robert A. Heinlein

Requiem
Tenderfoot in Space
Destination Moon
Shooting Destination Moon
The Witch’s Daughters
The Bulletin Board
Poor Daddy
Guest of Honor Speech at the Third World Science Fiction Convention — Denver, 1941
Guest of Honor Speech at the XIXth World Science Fiction Convention — Seattle, 1961
Guest of Honor Speech — Rio de Janeiro Movie Festival, 1969
Guest of Honor Speech at the XXXIVth World Science Fiction Convention — Kansas City, 1976

Part II — National Air and Space Museum Heinlein Retrospective — 6 October 1988

NASA Medal for Distinguished Public Service for Robert A. Heinlein
This I Believe — read by Virginia Heinlein
Speeches by the Panelists:
Tom Clancy
L. Sprague de Camp
Jerry Pournelle
Charles Sheffield
Jon McBride
Speeches by the Special Guests:
Catherine Cook de Camp
Tetsu Yano

Part III — Tributes to Robert A. Heinlein

Poul Anderson — RAH: A Memoir
Jim Baen — Jim Baen’s RAH Story
Greg Bear — Remembering Robert Heinlein
J. Hartley Bowen, Jr. — Recalling Robert Anson Heinlein
Arthur C. Clarke — Robert Heinlein
Gordon R. Dickson — Robert Heinlein
Joe Haldeman — Robert A. Heinlein and Us
Larry Niven — The Return of William Proxmire
Spider Robinson — Rah Rah R.A.H.!
Spider Robinson — Robert
Robert Silverberg — Heinlein
Harry Turtledove — Thank You
Jack Williamson — Who Was Robert Heinlein?
Yoji Kondo and Charles Sheffield — Farewell to the Master

Simon Baker, the hunky Australian, who plays Patrick Jane (a psychic con man who has turned into a crime fighter) generates most of the energy for The Mentalist. Baker’s character is quirky (but cute) and carries the burden of triggering the murder of his wife and daughter by a psychopathic killer called “Red John.” And, as usual, the Season Finale returns to the Red John plot device. Much of The Mentalist is silly. In fact, Diane and I prefer the humorous episodes to the serious, grim episodes. I’m sure the conclusion to this final episode of this fourth season will be a cliffhanger.

“As a guest, Emily Price had three main drawbacks: she was incapable of saying please, incapable of saying thank you, and incapable of saying sorry, all the while creating a surge in the demand for these expressions.” At Last is Edward St. Aubyn’s fifth book in his Patrick Melrose series. Patrick Melrose, a product of a dysfunctional family, has managed to stop being a junkie but now is fighting alcoholism. He’s separated from his hyper-maternal wife and trying to figure out what to do with his middle-aged life. You don’t need to read the previous four Patrick Melrose novels to appreciate the various dilemmas Patrick has to contend with in At Last. The snarky quote above gives you an idea of what you’re in for. GRADE: B+

I’ve always had a warm spot in my heart for The Cowboys (1972). In my quest to replace my favorite 100 movies (yes, I’m working on that list, Rick!) with Blu-ray versions, I found The Cowboys at BJ’s Warehouse for $7.99. What a deal! John Wayne, abandoned by his regular cowhands, takes a chance and hires 11 greenhorn schoolboys to assist him in a grueling 400 mile cattle drive. The supporting cast of Colleen Dewhurst, Bruce Dern, and Roscoe Lee Browne deliver memorable performances. Special Features include an interview with director Mark Rydell, a cast reunion featurette, and the original trailer. If you haven’t seen The Cowboys you’re missing a wonderful film. GRADE: A-

Another week, another book sale! The NT Historical Museum Book Sale also featured a “Bag Sale.” Buy a shopping bag for $5 and you get to take home all the books you can stuff into it. All of these books are as thick as a brick so they filled the bag quick. Still, what a deal!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you hard-working moms! Katie gave Diane a signed first edition of Anna Quindlen’s new book, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. Nice! Patrick is in Barcelona, Spain for a job interview. I’m sure he’ll bring Diane a wonderful present (nudge, nudge) back from Spain. We’re hosting Diane’s Mom and my Mom and eight other guests for Mother’s Day dinner. We’re reenacting Thanksgiving: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, salad, veggies, chocolate cake, and strawberry short cake. Yum!

Home improvements continue at the Kelley Chateau. Diane is pondering new countertops for our kitchen. But our leaky old kitchen faucet took priority. Our fix-it guy came over, scoped out the job, and then it was off to Home Depot. Diane picked out the Moen Chateau Chrome kitchen faucet because it was almost identical to the old faucet. It works exactly the same way. Our fix-it guy also installed some shut-off valves as part of the installation. That way, we don’t have to turn off all the water in our house if there’s a future problem with the kitchen faucet. The battle against entropy continues…
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one–handle lever design for ease of use
convenient side spray
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Max Allan Collins finished this manuscript of a Mike Hammer novel. If you’re a fan of Mickey Spillane and Mike Hammer, this is a must-buy. Somehow Max Allan Collins manages to channel Spillane. The writing of both authors is seamless in this book. Lady, Go Die! was lost in the 1940s. It’s the Mike Hammer novel Spillane wrote between I, the Jury and My Gun Is Quick. But it was never published. Yes, it’s a relic of the past, but I enjoyed reading every page!

I found reading John Leonard a little like eating chocolate cake. A little is great, a lot is too much. Partly because of Leonard’s almost beatnik writing style, partly because Leonard’s sentences meandered all over the place, and finally because no one else wrote like him, I grew to be a fan of John Leonard. I believe the New York Times Book Review was at its best when Leonard was the Editor. When the New York Times ran a column in the Arts & Leasure section written by “Deep Eyes” (a variation of “Deep Throat”) I knew immediately it was John Leonard. For 16 years, Leonard appeared on CBS SUNDY MORNING with movie reviews and social commentary. Reading For My Life collects a sampling of Leonard’s work: essays, book reviews, film reviews, thought pieces, and political analysis. Just reading Leonard’s scintillating prose again brought back how much I miss him. John Leonard was one-of-a-kind. GRADE: A

If you’re in the mood for some snarky British social commentary, Edward St. Aubyn’s The Patrick Melrose Novels delivers some very black humor. The four novels in this omnibus volume, Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, and Mother’s Milk tell the life story of Patrick Melrose whose father is abusive and whose mother concerns herself with saving the world rather than taking care of her son. In Bad News, Edward St. Aubyn creates the frighteningly real world of a drug addict. Patrick Melrose spends most of the novel chasing around New York City trying to score some drugs. Yes, there’s humor but it’s pretty grim. Bad News is the most convincing depiction of addiction that I’ve ever read. St. Aubyn cleverly develops the arc of Patrick Melrose’s life from childhood to middle age. The books are filled with witty conversations and shocking scandals. Edward St. Aubyn captures life in this segment of the British class system perfectly. If you put P. G. Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh in a blender, the result would be Edward St. Aubyn. GRADES: Never Mind, B; Bad News, A; Some Hope, B; Mother’s Milk, B+