If you’re a fan of movies, you’ll love these two volumes of interviews Peter Bogdanovich conducted over a couple decades. I found Bogdanovich’s thoughts on Alfred Hitchcock and his movies very revealing. I was also happy to read about Don Siegel, one of my favorite directors who is extremely underrated. When Bogdanovich writes about actors, you’ll learn even more! I was delighted by the interview with Stella Adler. And, of course, Bogdanovich has some insights into the life and times of Marilyn Monroe. These wonderful books will provide you with plenty of information and hours of reading pleasure about the greatest directors and actors of the Golden Age of movies. And then, you’ll want to watch some classic movies armed with new knowledge! GRADE: A (for both)

TABLE OF CONTENTS for Who the Devil Made It:
Introduction: The Lightning Art
1. Allan Dwan
2. Raoul Walsh
3. Fritz Lang
4. Josef Von Sternberg
5. Howard Hawkes
6. Leo McCarey
7. George Cukor
8. Alfred Hitchcock
9. Edgar G. Ulmer
10. Otto Preminger
11. Joseph H. Lewis
12. Chuck Jones
13. Don Siegel
14. Frank Tashlin
15. Robert Aldrich
16. Sidney Lument
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations Used in Filmographics
Index
TABLE OF CONTENTS for Who the Hell’s In It?
Introduction: The Magical Art
1. Lillian Gish
2. Humphrey Bogart
3. Marlon Brando
4. Montgomery Clift
5. Stella Adler
6. Cary Grant
7. Jack Lemmon
8. Jerry Lewis
9. Dean Martin
10. Sal Mineo
11. James Stewart
12. John Wayne
13. Henry Fonda
14. Boris Karloff
15. John Cassavetes
16. Charlie Chaplin
17. James Cagney
18. Marlene Dietrich
19. Anthony Perkins
20. Frank Sinatra
21 Ben Gazzara
22. Audrey Hepburn
23. Sidney Poitier
24. River Phoenix
25. Marilyn Monroe
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Index

Diane and I traveled to Ohio to spend the Columbus Day weekend with Diane’s sister. We also visited one of Carol’s sons in Finley, Ohio. I was able to visit JEFFREY’S FLEA MARKET and LIBRARY HOUSE BOOKS in Grand Rapids, Ohio. Here’s what I found! How did I do?

“And at that moment the alligators burst into the room.” That’s my favorite line from Genevieve Cogman’s Young Adult novel about a librarian whose job takes her into alternate dimensions to rescue rare books (like plays Shakespeare wrote that don’t exist in our dimension). The alternate worlds hold dangers and mysteries of their own. The world in The Invisible Library has aspects of steampunk technology (zeppelins, giant robotic spiders) and aspects of Magic. If you’re looking for a fast-paced adventure novel with some clever twists and turns, I recommend The Invisible Library. GRADE: B

John Krasinski of THE OFFICE fame directs this movie about a family with problems. Krasinski plays a guy undergoing a crisis at work. His girl friend, played by Anna Kendrick, is pregnant. Krasinski’s mother, played by Margo Martindale, faces surgery. His father, played by the great Richard Jenkins, is a proud man whose plumbing business is facing bankruptcy. And as if that weren’t enough, Krasinski’s brother, played by Sharlto Copley, is stalking his ex-wife. The cast is solid with interesting roles for Josh Groban and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (from Brain Dead). The weak script and predictable plot subtract from what could have been a really good movie. GRADE: B-

Bills fans are still in shock over the surprising 16-0 win over the New England Patriots. This week, the Buffalo Bills travel to California to play the Rams. The Rams are 3-1 and looking vastly improved. The Bills get their massive Defensive End Marcell Dareus back from his 4-game Drug Suspension. The Rams are favored by 4 points. How will your favorite NFL do today>

US Airways Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport and 208 seconds later had a “forced water landing” in the Hudson River. We all remember the dazed passengers standing on the wings of the plane waiting for the ferries to rescue them. Tom Hanks plays the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, who makes the fateful decision not to try to turn back to LaGuardia or try for Teterboro Airport in New Jersey but to put his plane down in the Hudson River. We know the story, we know the ending, so what is there to hold our attention? Sully manufactures a lot of drama as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates the incident. This movie is less than 90 minutes but it felt longer. GRADE: B-

Back in the 1980s, Loren D. Estleman wrote some wonderful mystery novels and a bunch of first-rate short stories. Many of these books and stories involved Estleman’s private detective, Amos Walker. Amos Walker reminds me of Philip Marlowe in Detroit without many of Raymond Chandler’s prose flourishes. The stories in General Murders (1988) draw Walker into several murder investigations. Amos Walk’s specialty is finding people. That skill comes in handy in many of these stories. Most of the plots of the stories in General Murders center around human weakness. The stories are clever and well-written. If you’re looking for private detective stories with actual sleuthing, pick up a copy of General Murders. GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Greektown
Robber’s Roost
Dead Soldier
Eight Mile and Dequindre
I’m in the Book
Bodyguards Shoot Second
The Prettiest Dead Girl in Detroit
Blond and Blue
Bloody July

Cynthia Ozick recommended Collected Stories: A Play (1998) in her New York Times Book Review interview in “By the Book.” I had never heard of Donal Margulies, the author of Collected Stories, but I learned Margulies taught playwriting at the Yale School of Drama.

Collected Stories is a two-character play. Ruth, an established writer, is teaching a fiction writing course. Ruth states that she doesn’t think writing can be taught, but she does her best anyway. Lisa is a graduate student who dreams of being a writer like Ruth. Lisa idolizes Ruth. And with some luck and skill, Lisa becomes Ruth’s assistant.

This two-act play extends over six years. The nature of the relationship between Ruth and Lisa changes. The professor-student relationship changes. Their “friendship” changes. I found Collected Stories smart and clever and surprising. GRADE: B+

“We wanted flying cars–instead we got 140 characters.” Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire made this comment famous in his analysis of the shortcomings of the Future. Robert J. Gordon documents what happened to our Future in this mammoth book (784 pages!). From 1870 to 1970 incredible inventions and changes boosted economic growth in the U.S.: electricity, cars, planes, antibiotics, air conditioning, rockets, and computers. But, as Gordon points out, the pace of innovation has slowed to a crawl. Cat videos on YouTube don’t have quite the economic impact as the invention of the telephone. Gordon’s message in a nutshell is that unless technological innovation increases, the growth rate of the U.S. economy will stagnant (kinda like it’s doing now). If you’re interested in economic history, this magisterial book is powerful and comprehensive. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Preface ix
1. Introduction: The Ascent and Descent of Growth 1
PART I. 1870-1940–THE GREAT INVENTIONS CREATE A REVOLUTION INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE HOME 25
2. The Starting Point: Life and Work in 1870 27
3. What They Ate and Wore and Where They Bought It 62
4. The American Home: From Dark and Isolated to Bright and Networked 94
5. Motors Overtake Horses and Rail: Inventions and Incremental Improvements 129
6. From Telegraph to Talkies: Information, Communication, and Entertainment 172
7. Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Illness and Early Death 206
8. Working Conditions on the Job and at Home 247
9. Taking and Mitigating Risks: Consumer Credit, Insurance, and the Government 288
Entr’acte. The Midcentury Shift from Revolution to Evolution 319
PART II. 1940-2015–THE GOLDEN AGE AND THE EARLY WARNINGS OF SLOWER GROWTH 329
10. Fast Food, Synthetic Fibers, and Split-Level Subdivisions: The Slowing Transformation of Food, Clothing, and Housing 331
11. See the USA in Your Chevrolet or from a Plane Flying High Above 374
12. Entertainment and Communications from Milton Berle to the iPhone 409
13. Computers and the Internet from the Mainframe to Facebook 441
14. Antibiotics, CT Scans, and the Evolution of Health and Medicine 461
15. Work, Youth, and Retirement at Home and on the Job 498
Entr’acte. Toward an Understanding of Slower Growth 522
PART III. THE SOURCES OF FASTER AND SLOWER GROWTH 533
16. The Great Leap Forward from the 1920s to the 1950s: What Set of Miracles Created It? 535
17. Innovation: Can the Future Match the Great Inventions of the Past? 566
18. Inequality and the Other Headwinds: Long-Run American Economic Growth Slows to a Crawl 605
Postscript: America’s Growth Achievement and the Path Ahead 641
Acknowledgments 653
Data Appendix 657
Notes 667
References 717
Credits 741
Index 745