In his introduction to The Naked and the Deadly, Lawrence Block discusses how he got into writing for men’s adventure magazines (MAMs) and how that led him to the eventual writing career he’s practiced for 65 years.
I’ve read a more than couple dozen of Lawrence Block’s books over the years, from Evan Tanner to Matthew Scudder to Chip Harrison to Keller to Bernie Rhodenbarr. I’ve always considered Block a consummate professional and a craftsman. But the stories in The Naked and the Deadly are examples of a young writer learning how to tell a story. You’ll see gradual improvement in the quality of the stories as you go from the Fifties to the Sixties. Eventually, Block abandoned the MAMs market and concentrated on crime fiction where he achieved success.
If you want to experience a sample of the early writings of an excellent writer, check out The Naked and the Deadly. Are you a Lawrence Block fan? GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Tricks of the Trade by Wyatt Doyle and Robert Deis — 9
- Introduction by Lawrence Block — 17
- “Queen of the Clipper Ships” from REAL MEN April 1958 — 24
- “The Greatest Ship Disaster in American History” from REAL MEN April 1958 — 37
- “She Doesn’t Want You!” from REAL MEN June 1958 — 45
- “Pleasure Cruise for 137 Corpses” from REAL MEN November 1958 — 53
- “They Called Him ‘King of Pain’” from ALL MAN September 1961 — 61
- “Killers All Around Me” from ALL MAN September 1961 — 71
- “The Naked and the Deadly” from MAN’S MAGAZINE October 1962 — 81
- “Just Window Shopping” from MAN’S MAGAZINE December 1962 — 153
- “Stag Party Girl” from MAN’S MAGAZINE February 1963 — 159
- “Twin Call Girls” from MAN’S MAGAZINE August 1963 — 228
- “Great Istanbul Gold Grab” from FOR MEN ONLY March 1967 — 294
- “Bring On the Girls” from STAG July 1968 — 368
I think I read about some of this in another memoir of his. But this looks mores specialized. He is certainly one of the great crime fiction writers of our lifetime.
Patti, small presses are reprinting the early work of many writers like Lawrence Bloch, Robert Silverberg, and Donald E. Westlake.
I haven’t read the latest Matt Scudder, and I didn’t much like the novella-length one before that, with its weird scene of 70-year-old Scudder and his ex-hooker girlfriend having sex with a younger woman, but otherwise it’s a consistently good series. Liam Neeson’s A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES was an acceptable movie adaptation, 1986’s EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE with Jeff Bridges not so much. I ran through a bunch of the Evan Tanner books a few years ago, enjoyable lightweight fare. Never picked up any of the Burglar series. The three Ed London stories in NAKED AND DEADLY were part of an earlier collection of journeyman Block five or six years ago.
Fred, everyone has to pay their dues in any career and writing seems to demand a volume of stories at the beginning…of varying quality. I liked the movie version of A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES but was disappointed by EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE.
Yes, I’m a big fan of Block’s and wouldn’t be surprised if I had read more of his books than anyone else here (or possibly not), including this one. Like Silverberg, Block is worth reading when he talks about the past and how he came to write certain titles.
Jeff, like you I enjoy Block’s reminiscences of his writing life. Silverberg is even more detailed in his introductions.