The New England Patriots have beaten the Buffalo Bills 34 out of the past 38 games. Of course, Tom Brady had a lot to do with that domination. But, Brady is in Tampa and many of the key Patriot players are hurt so this game could be completely different from the usual annual beat-down. The Bills are actually favored (it’s been 20 years since that happened!) by 3 points.

In a radio interview on our local Sports Talk station this week, a Boston sports writer claimed Cam Newton is suffering from Covid-19 “brain-fog.” Cam Newton looked confused last week in the Patriots 33-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The forecast for the game is rain, wind, and actual fog. How will your favorite NFL team perform today?

Gary Westfahl traces the history of American Science Fiction from the beginning (Westfahl argues that Hugo Gernsback started it all) to the genre’s decline in the late 1960s. I enjoyed Westfahl’s insights, but a couple of his chapters stand out for me: “Five Ways to Conquer the Universe: The Forms of Space Opera” and “Artists in Wonderland: Towards a True History of Science Fiction Art.” One of my quibbles with Westfahl’s history of SF Art is that no art was included in this book. It would have been useful to see the artwork Westfahl refers to.

I also have to warn you about one of Westfahl’s Bad Habits: without warning he’ll drop a “spoiler” into the discussion of a book or story. Fortunately, I’ve read most of the stories Westfahl analyzes, but it was still jarring. Other than those quibbles, I recommend The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s. GRADE: A-

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part I. The 1920s and Thereafter

 1. The Emergence of American Science Fiction and Its Impact on the World 7

 2. August 1928: Science Fiction’s Second Birthday 21

 3. Artists in Wonderland: Towards a True History of Science Fiction Art 39

Part II. The 1930s and Thereafter

 4. Pulp Science Fiction: A Student’s Guide 61

 5. Beyond Logic and Literacy: The Strange Case of Space Opera 77

 6. Five Ways to Conquer the Universe: The Forms of Space Opera 85

Part III. The 1940s and Thereafter

 7. The Tall Dark Stranger and the Boy Next Door: A. E. van Vogt and Robert A. Heinlein 99

 8. The Three Golden Ages of Science Fiction 111

 9. Assemblers of Infinity: The Early History of Science Fiction Anthologies 124

Part IV. The 1950s and Thereafter

10. Invasion of the Saucer Men: How the Universe of Science Fiction Expanded in the 1950s 153

11. Hard Science Fiction: An Overview 180

12. The “Big Three” Approaches to Juvenile Science Fiction and Why One Worked and the Others Did Not 196

Epilog: The 1960s and Thereafter

13. After Things Fell Apart: The Fragmentation of Science Fiction in the 1960s and 1970s 211

14. Science Fiction Today: The Triumph of the Marketplace 233

Conclusion 247

Chapter Notes 251

Bibliography 268

Index 277

I’ve had Joan Baez’s No Woman No Cry on my shelf for nearly 30 years, waiting for me to listen to it. This 1992 CD is a mishmash of songs and styles. Joan Baez sings a couple songs in Spanish. A couple Traditional songs–“Sing Low Sweet Chariot” and “Rambler Gambler/Whispering Bells”–stand out. And then there’s the pop songs: “No Woman No Cry,” “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,” and “Hand to Mouth.” “Famous Blue Raincoat” is my favorite song on this CD. There’s not a lot of flow on this CD. But, Joan Baez has an incredible voice no matter what she sings. Are you a Joan Baez fan? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

Mack Reynolds wrote a series of stories for Analog in 1964 featuring a college history professor, Dennis Land, who enters gladiatorial competitions (think Hunger Games). These near future stories feature a world-wide ban on wars, but with hand-to-hand combat as the alternative to settle international (and social) disputes. This version of Sweet Dreams, Sweet Princes from 1986, explore the East vs. West Cold War without nuclear weapons. Part of the story involves a quirky scientist whose discoveries could disrupt the Status Quo. And, for Mack Reynolds fans, one of Reynolds’ favorite characters, Joe Mauser, makes some cameo appearances.

As with most of Mack Reynolds work, socio-economic themes are explored. But, most SF readers will find the detailed gladiatorial conflicts the most compelling parts of Sweet Dreams, Sweet Princes. GRADE: B

Back in 1990, Goodfellas hit the movie screens and achieved a modest success. Unlike The Godfather movies that glamorized the upper hierarchy of organized crime in America, Goodfellas–based on Nicholas Pileggi’s Wiseguy–shows what life was like for the street-level gangsters. Pileggi had access to a criminal in Witness Protection–Henry Hill–who had intimate knowledge of Mafia figures and their various schemes. The movie was nominated for six Oscars (winning one for Joe Pesci), five Golden Globe awards and eight British Academy Awards (winning five). 

Glenn Kenny, a film critic, interviewed Marin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and other key figures involved in Goodfellas. My favorite chapter of the book was “All the Songs” where Kenny analyzes all the music–over 40 songs!–included in the movie. And, sadly, most of these songs were not included in the Goodfellas soundtrack. Fans of Goodfellas will love all the detail Kenny provides in the scene-by-scene chapter.

If you’re a fan of Goodfellas you’ll love Glenn Kenny’s Made Men: The Story of Goodfellas! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prologue: Mortin Scorses, December 1989 — 13

One: Nick, and Nora, and others — 20

Two: Players — 36

Three: The prep work — 49

Four: A Martin Scorsese picture, scene by scene — 67

Five: All the songs — 230

Six: The schoonmaker treatment — 255

Seven: The aftermath — 264

Eight: The eventual tragedy of Henry Hill — 280

Nine: Unofficial narratives — 292

Ten: From Goodfellas to The Irishman — 303

Epilogue: Martin Scorsese, March 2020 — 321

Postscript: A Goodfellas Library — 346

Appendix: A Goodfellas Timeline — 361

Notes/Sources — 365

Acknowledgements — 381

Index — 385

“It goes to character. You don’t realize how important character is in the highest office in the land until you don’t have it.” Adam Schiff made this declaration during the Impeachment trial of Donald Trump on January 20, 2020 (p. 23). Marjorie Garber is a Shakespeare expert, but she spends a lot her latest book writing about Trump, Pence, and Brett Kavanaugh. Of course, Garber is quick to quote Shakespeare on character to highlight her thoughts that lack of character leads to disaster both for the individual and the community.

I’m a fan of books that explore intellectual history so Character checks a lot of the boxes that make a book compelling to me. Garber supplies plenty of historical examples of character and character failures. She links thoughts about character in the Past with those dealing with our present political nightmare.

My only quibble is Garber’s occasional forays into physiognomy–the “science” of determining character by the bumps on your head–and other wacko theories caused me to become impatient for a return to a Shakespeare reference or an another example of a catastrophic decision by the Trump Administration. If you’re looking for a wide-ranging discussion of character, Marjorie Garber’s new book covers all the bases. GRADE: A

Table of Contents

Introduction: Character Witnesses 3

1 Testing It: Politics, Sports, Celebrity 23

2 Teaching It: Tales Out of School 57

3 Claiming It: The Idea of National Character 131

4 Reading It: The Rise, Fall, and (Un)Surprising Return of Phrenology 195

5 Naming It: Psychoanalysis, Psychology, and the Emergence of “Personality” 240

6 Seeing It: Art, Physiognomy, Photography, Gesture, Science 271

7 Character Types: Greeks, Geeks, Nerds-and Little Miss Hug 322

8 The Difference Gender Makes: Mettle, Spunk, and the Right Stuff 349

Afterword: The Character Effect 375

Notes 385

Acknowledgments 425

Index 427

After dropping two straight games to the Tennessee Titans and the Kansas City Chiefs, the 4-2 Bills face the winless New York Jets. Jets QB Sam Darnold is questionable with a shoulder injury. The Bills defense couldn’t stop the run in their two losses. We’ll see what happens this afternoon. The Bills are favored by 13 points. How will your favorite NFL team fare today?

Diane decided that with the Winter looming and the prospects of another coronavirus Shut-Down on the table, we needed a piece of exercise equipment so we could stay healthy until the vaccine arrives.

We did an Internet search and decided on the BODYCRAFT R200 RECUMBENT BIKE. It’s a commercial product, well-built and solid. Diane and I liked the seat. Many bikes have very uncomfortable seats and some are downright painful to sit on for any period of time.

What are your exercise plans for the Winter?

Gary Lovisi’s Introduction to Bourbon Street/Hot Cargo provides some provocative information about an obscure writer who wrote a few compelling books and then dropped out of the publishing business. “G. H. Otis” was Otis Hemingway Gaylord, a man who knew a lot about New Orleans and later worked for Disney as an advertising manager. Bourbon Street and Hot Cargo were published by Lion Books in 1953. As Lovisi points out, both books were ahead of their time.

Bourbon Street is narrated by Digger Mulcahy, a man whose problems dealing alcohol have led him to despair, has come up with a smuggling scheme that he sees as the way out of his poverty and failures. Mulcahy gambles on accepting money from a gangster to fund his risky operation. But, as you might suspect, things start to go wrong and Mulcahy finds his world falling apart. GRADE: B+

Hot Cargo features a beautiful but deadly woman named Sheba. Ed Brody is on the run and finds his only escape is on a ship that harbors plenty of secrets. Brody is hired as an engineer, but the Captain seems uninterested in the dangers Brody discovers with the ship’s engines. The plot transforms the voyage into a violent gun-battle before a midnight rendezvous in the the middle of the ocean. If you’re looking for surprising action and adventure, you’ll want to load up on some Hot Cargo. GRADE: B