TRACK LIST:

Diane and I saw Luther Vandross in concert twice. Both performances were sold-out with enthusiastic fans. I like Vandross’s smooth voice and his musical style. And, of course, I own plenty of Luther Vandross CDs.

One of my favorite Luther Vandross CDs is Songs, a collection of cover versions of popular hits. Some are classic songs like “What the World Needs Now.” Others are Motown hits like “Reflections” which the Supremes made popular and “Hello,” a Lionel Richie song that hit Number One on the Billboard chart.

Do you recognize any of these songs? Are you a Luther Vandross fan? GRADE: A

“The Undesired Princess” was first published in the fantasy magazine Unknown Worlds in the February 1942. Rollin Hobart, an engineer, is magically transported to another plane whose natural laws are based on Aristotelian logic. In this world everything is either one thing or another with nothing in between and no gray areas or subtly.

In addition, everything in this world appears limited in color and–with the exception of the characters–in shape. Rollin Hobart must learn to use and manipulate the inflexible laws of this universe in order to survive and attempt to return back to Earth.  A lot of silliness results.

For fans of comic fantasy and adventure, The Undesired Princess provides smiles and fun. GRADE: B+

Charlie Sykes, long-time conservative talk-radio host in Wisconsin, documents the slide of the Republican Party into a haven for conspiracy theorists, white supremacists, QAnon nuts, and lovers of “Alternative Facts.” Sure FOX News had a lot to do with fueling the Republican transformation into Crazytown. So did Rush Limbaugh, Breitbart News, and Social Media.

On the eve of the Election, How the Right Lost Its Mind reminds us how Democracy can be damaged by cult figures, Fake News, and corruption. Hopefully, we can change this tomorrow. GRADE: A

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION — xii

I. HOW THE RIGHT LOST ITS MIND — 1

1. Did We Create this Monster? — 3

2. Confessions of a Recovering Liberal — 19

3. The Attack on the Conservative Mind — 25

4. The Conservative Idea — 33

5. Storm Warnings — 51

6. The Perpetual Outrage Machine — 65

II. THE POST-TRUTH POLITICS OF THE RIGHT — 79

7. The Alt Reality Media — 81

8. The Post-Truth Politics of the Right — 89

9. Drudge and the Politics of Paranoia — 107

III. THE TRUMPIAN TAKEOVER — 125

10. The Fox News Primary — 127

11. Limbaugh’s Flop — 133

12. The Bigots Among Us — 151

13. The Rise of the Alt Right — 159

14. The Binary Choice — 179

15. What Happened to the Christians? — 191

IV. RESTORING THE CONSERVATIVE MIND — 205

16. Trolls and Flying Monkeys: The Right’s New Culture of Intimidation — 207

17. The Contrarian Conservative — 221

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — 233

NOTES — 235

Index — 257

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