It’s hard to believe I have written 500 Friday’s Forgotten Books reviews! Patti Abbott invited me to join the group and Bill Crider encouraged me as well. So on January 9, 2009 I posted my first Forgotten Book review of THE DREAMING JEWELS (aka THE SYNTHETIC MAN) By Theodore Sturgeon. Over almost 10 years, I’ve tried to alternate Science Fiction with Mysteries each Friday. I reviewed some Fantasy titles, too. To celebrate this milestone today, I chose The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin. The Library of America has done some great volumes of Science Fiction especially the Philip K. Dick sets, but this new volume includes some of the best SF writing of the 20th Century. I read C. L. Moore’s “The Black God’s Kiss” in the early 1960s and was blown away. I quickly searched my local used bookstores for more of C.L. Moore’s work.

I was also a huge fan of “Andre Norton” in the 1960s. Later, I learned both “Andre Norton” and “Andrew North” were actually Alice Mary Norton. Her “All Cats Are Gray” thrilled me as a kid. I read a lot of Leigh Brackett’s work, too. A born story-teller! I recently reread “In Hiding” by Wilmar H. Shiras about mutant children featured in one of the Bleiler and Dikty YEAR’S BEST volumes. Still powerful after almost 70 years! James Tiptree, Jr. (aka, Alice Bradley Sheldon) was one of my favorite writers and “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain” shows why. Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness shocked the SF world and made Le Guin one of the genre’s Major Stars.

This volume includes a variety of stories and some of them were new to me. I hadn’t encountered Leslie F. Stone’s “The Conquest of Gola” and Leslie Perri’s “Space Episode” before reading this book. If you’re interested in the evolution of Science Fiction, the impact of women writers on the genre, and reading some wonderful stories, I highly recommend The Future is Female! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Lisa Yaszek
CLARE WINGER HARRIS: The Miracle of the Lily | 1928
LESLIE F. STONE: The Conquest of Gola | 1931
C. L. MOORE: The Black God’s Kiss | 1934
LESLIE PERRI: Space Episode | 1941
JUDITH MERRIL: That Only a Mother | 1948
WILMAR H. SHIRAS: In Hiding | 1948
KATHERINE MACLEAN: Contagion | 1950
MARGARET ST. CLAIR: The Inhabited Men | 1951
ZENNA HENDERSON: Ararat | 1952
ANDREW NORTH: All Cats Are Gray | 1953
ALICE ELEANOR JONES: Created He Them | 1955
MILDRED CLINGERMAN: Mr. Sakrison’s Halt | 1956
LEIGH BRACKETT: All the Colors of the Rainbow | 1957
CAROL EMSHWILLER: Pelt | 1958
ROSEL GEORGE BROWN: Car Pool | 1959
ELIZABETH MANN BORGESE: For Sale, Reasonable | 1959
DORIS PITKIN BUCK: Birth of a Gardener | 1961
ALICE GLASER: The Tunnel Ahead | 1961
KIT REED: The New You | 1962
JOHN JAY WELLS & MARION ZIMMER BRADLEY: Another Rib | 1963
SONYA DORMAN: When I Was Miss Dow | 1966
KATE WILHELM: Baby, You Were Great | 1967
JOANNA RUSS: The Barbarian | 1968
JAMES TIPTREE, JR.: The Last Flight of Dr. Ain | 1969
URSULA K. LE GUIN: Nine Lives | 1969
Biographical Notes

These might not be the biggest hits of the 1980s, but 80s Pop Hits brings together three CDs full of memories. There’s a lot of value here for the money. Classics like Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” are included along with more obscure songs like “Every Time You Go Away” by Paul Young and “The Warrior” by Scandal. How many of these 40 songs do you remember? Are any of these songs your favorites? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
DISC 1
1. Easy Lover
Philip Bailey / Phil Collins / Nathan East
Philip Bailey / Phil Collins 5:06
2. Rosanna
David Paich
Toto 4:33
3. You’re a Friend of Mine
Jeffrey Cohen / Narada Michael Walden
Jackson Browne / Clarence Clemons 4:49
4. All Cried Out
Full Force
Full Force / Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam 4:45
5. Keep on Loving You
Kevin Cronin
REO Speedwagon 3:21
6. Total Eclipse of the Heart
Jim Steinman
Bonnie Tyler 4:30
7. Sexual Healing
Odell Brown / Marvin Gaye / David Ritz
Marvin Gaye 4:00
8. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
George Michael
Wham! 3:52
9. Let’s Hear It for the Boy
Dean Pitchford / Tom Snow
Deniece Williams 4:22
10. Talking in Your Sleep
Coz Canler / Jimmy Marinos / Wally Palmar / Mike Skill / Peter Solley
The Romantics 3:57
11. Wishing Well
Terence Trent D’Arby / Sean Oliver
Terence Trent D’Arby 3:32
12. Voices Carry
Michael Hausman / Robert Holmes / Aimee Mann / Joey Pesce
‘Til Tuesday 4:21
13. Take Me Home Tonight/Be My Baby
Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich / Michael Leeson / Phil Spector / Peter Vale
Eddie Money / Ronnie Spector 3:30
DISC 2
1. Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Robert Hazard
Cyndi Lauper 3:49
2. Shake You Down
Gregory Abbott
Gregory Abbott 4:07
3. Carrie
Mic Michaeli / Joey Tempest
Europe 4:31
4. Can’t We Try
Beverly Hill / Dan Hill
Dan Hill / Vonda Shepard 3:59
5. Stop to Love
Nat Adderley, Jr. / Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross 5:10
6. Time and Tide
Basia / Basia Trzetrzelewska / Danny White
Basia 4:04
7. The Flame
Nick Graham / Bob Mitchell
Cheap Trick 4:39
8. When I See You Smile
Diane Warren
Bad English 4:19
9. I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)
Maurice Starr
New Kids on the Block 4:24
10. Eternal Flame
Susanna Hoffs / Tom Kelly / Billy Steinberg
Bangles 3:55
11. Heaven
Joseph Allen / Jerry Dixon / Jani Lane / Steven Sweet / Erik Turner
Warrant 3:56
12. How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
Michael Bolton / Doug James
Michael Bolton 4:16
13. Shining Star
Leo Graham / Paul Richmond
The Manhattans 4:39
DISC 3
1. How ‘Bout Us
Dana Walden
Champaign 4:36
2. Break My Stride
Greg Prestopino / Matthew Wilder
Matthew Wilder 3:01
3. Shower Me with Your Love
Bernard Jackson
Surface 4:54
4. Hearts of Fire
Eric Kaz / Randy Meisner
Randy Meisner 2:46
5. Key Largo
Bertie Higgins / Sonny Limbo
Bertie Higgins 3:19
6. This Could Be the Night
Jonathan Cain / Paul Dean / Harry Nilsson / Mike Reno / Phil Spector / Bill Wray
Loverboy 4:59
7. Leader of the Band
Dan Fogelberg / John Philip Sousa
Dan Fogelberg 4:17
8. Your Love
John Spinks
The Outfield 3:37
9. Everytime You Go Away
Daryl Hall
Paul Young 4:25
10. Footloose
Kenny Loggins / Dean Pitchford
Kenny Loggins 3:47
11. Who Can It Be Now?
Colin Hay
Men at Work 3:21
12. The Warrior
Nick Gilder / Holly Knight
Scandal / Patty Smyth 3:48
13. Der Kommissar
Falco / Andy Piercy
After the Fire 4:08
14. Love Me Way
John Ashton / Richard Butler / Tim Butler / Vince Ely
The Psychedelic Furs 3:32

Men Explain Things to Me was one of the books Patrick and Katie gave to Diane for her Birthday. After Diane read Men Explain Things to Me–before she lent the book to Katie to read–Diane suggested I read Rebecca Solnit’s book. The essay that became the title of the book refers to the tendency of some men to talk down to women, explaining the obvious. Men seem to think they know just about everything and women need “help” no matter what the subject is. Solnit sees this as a fundamental problem in conversations between men and women. Solnit’s other clever essays tackle the problems of rape, marriage equality, and Virginia Woolf’s concept of doubt and ambiguity. This short book, just over 100 pages, packs a wallop! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Men Explain Things to Me p. 1
The Longest War p. 19
Worlds Collide in a Luxury Suite: Some Thoughts on the IMF, Global Injustice, and a Stranger on a Train p. 41
In Praise of the Threat: What Marriage Equality Really Means p. 59
Grandmother Spider p. 69
Woolf’s Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable p. 85
Pandora’s Box and the Volunteer Police Force p. 109
Image Credits p. 125
Acknowledgments p. 127

Stardust Memories features Will Friedwald’s deep dive into all of these classic songs. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii
STAR DUST (1927) 2
THE ST. LOUIS BLUES (1914) 38
MACK THE KNIFE (1928) 76
OL’ MAN RIVER (1927) 104
BODY AND SOUL (1930) 142
I GOT RHYTHM (1930) 180
AS TIME GOES BY (1931) 212
NIGHT AND DAY (1932) 242
STORMY WEATHER (1933) 276
SUMMERTIME (1935) 308
MY FUNNY VALENTINE (1937) 348
LUSH LIFE (1938) 374

Diane and I flew to Boston to visit our daughter over the weekend to see how Katie had settled her new condo. We loved all the vibrant colors and plants that made the condo “pop.” To thank us for our role in the buy the condo process, Katie surprised us for helping her by treating us to the Boston version of Hamilton: An American Musical. The sold-out performance we saw was vibrant and entertaining. The cast was diverse and talented. My favorite song in HAMILTON: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL is “My Shot.” Of course, this foreshadows the shot that will kill Hamilton in his duel with Aaron Burr. The music captivated the audience (there was plenty of applause). Since Diane and I had listened to the soundtrack in preparation for the upcoming performance of Hamilton: An American Musical scheduled for Shea’s Performing Arts Center in December (I’ll compare the two performances for you) we were familiar with the songs. Have you seen Hamilton? Do you want to see Hamilton? GRADE: A
SONG LIST:
Act One
No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. “Alexander Hamilton”
Leslie Odom, Jr.Anthony RamosDaveed DiggsOkieriete OnaodowanLin-Manuel MirandaPhillipa SooChristopher JacksonOriginal Broadway Cast of Hamilton 3:56
2. “Aaron Burr, Sir”
MirandaOdom, Jr.RamosDiggsOnaodowan 2:36
3. “My Shot”
MirandaRamosDiggsOnaodowanOdom, Jr.Cast 5:33
4. “The Story of Tonight”
MirandaRamosOnaodowanDiggsCast 1:31
5. “The Schuyler Sisters”
Renée Elise GoldsberrySooJasmine Cephas-JonesOdom, Jr.Cast 3:06
6. “Farmer Refuted”
Thayne JaspersonMirandaCast 1:52
7. “You’ll Be Back”
Jonathan GroffCast 3:28
8. “Right Hand Man”
JacksonMirandaOdom, Jr.Cast 5:21
9. “A Winter’s Ball”
Odom, Jr.MirandaCast 1:09
10. “Helpless”
SooCast 4:09
11. “Satisfied”
GoldsberryCast 5:29
12. “The Story of Tonight (Reprise)”
RamosOnaodowanDiggsMirandaOdom, Jr. 1:55
13. “Wait for It”
Odom, Jr.Cast 3:13
14. “Stay Alive” Cast 2:39
15. “Ten Duel Commandments”
RamosMirandaJon RuaOdom, Jr.Cast 1:46
16. “Meet Me Inside”
MirandaOdom, Jr.RamosJacksonCast 1:23
17. “That Would Be Enough”
SooMiranda 2:58
18. “Guns and Ships”
Odom, Jr.DiggsJacksonCast 2:07
19. “History Has Its Eyes On You”
JacksonMirandaCast 1:37
20. “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” Cast 4:02
21. “What Comes Next?” Groff 1:39
22. “Dear Theodosia”
Odom, Jr.Miranda 3:04
23. “Non-Stop”
Odom, Jr.MirandaGoldsberrySooJacksonCast 6:25
Total length: 70:58
Act Two
No. Title Performer(s) Length
1. “What’d I Miss?”
DiggsOdom, Jr.OnaodowanCast 3:56
2. “Cabinet Battle #1”
JacksonDiggsMirandaOnaodowan 3:35
3. “Take a Break”
SooRamosMirandaGoldsberry 4:46
4. “Say No to This”
Cephas-JonesOdom, Jr.MirandaSydney James HarcourtCast 4:02
5. “The Room Where It Happens”
Odom, Jr.MirandaDiggsOnaodowanCast 5:18
6. “Schuyler Defeated”
RamosSooMirandaOdom, Jr. 1:03
7. “Cabinet Battle #2”
JacksonDiggsMirandaOnaodowan 2:22
8. “Washington On Your Side”
Odom Jr.DiggsOnaodowanCast 3:01
9. “One Last Time”
JacksonMirandaCast 4:56
10. “I Know Him” Groff 1:37
11. “The Adams Administration” Cast 0:54
12. “We Know”
MirandaDiggsOdom Jr.Onaodowan 2:22
13. “Hurricane”
MirandaCast 2:23
14. “The Reynolds Pamphlet” Cast 2:08
15. “Burn” Soo 3:45
16. “Blow Us All Away”
RamosAriana DeBoseSasha HutchingsEphraim SykesMirandaCast 2:53
17. “Stay Alive (Reprise)”
MirandaRamosSooCast 1:51
18. “It’s Quiet Uptown”
GoldsberryMirandaSooCast 4:30
19. “The Election of 1800”
DiggsOnaodowanOdom, Jr.MirandaCast 3:57
20. “Your Obedient Servant”
Odom, Jr.MirandaCast 2:30
21. “Best of Wives and Best of Women”
SooMiranda 0:47
22. “The World Was Wide Enough”
Odom, Jr.MirandaCast 5:02
23. “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” Cast 3:37
Total length: 71:15

Michael Lewis’s premise in The Fifth Risk is that Donald Trump and his minions are destroying essential parts of our Government. Lewis documents the hiring of incompetent candidates for many Government departments (their only commonality is their loyalty to Trump). Candidates hostile to the departments they’re supposed to run are the norm. Lewis maintains that all this dysfunction–like the Jenga game on the cover of The Fifth Risk–will eventually lead to collapse and disaster. Lewis says that Government is supposed to protect us. The current Environmental Protection Agency is NOT protecting us as programs are gutted and scientists are driven out. Willful incompetence and ignorance in the Trump Administration, along with record-breaking turnover in staffs, promises Big Problems ahead.

One of the more chilling stories in The Fifth Risk involves the beginning of the Transition Team. “In June, Chris Christie received a call from Trump Advisor Paul Manafort. ‘The kid is paranoid about you,’ Manafort said. The kid was Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Back in 2005, when he was a U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Christie had prosecuted and jailed Kushner’s father, Charles, for tax fraud. Christie’s investigation revealed, in the bargain, that Charles Kushner had hired a prostitute to seduce his own brother-in-law, whom he suspected of cooperating with Christie, videotaped the sexual encounter and sent the tape to his sister.” (p. 18). And these are the type of people running our Government!

The Fifth Risk presents a troubling picture of how our Government is being deliberately crippled. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Prologue: Lost in Translation 15
I. Tail Risk 33
II. People Risk 81
III. All the President’s Data 127
Acknowledgements 221

Rookie quarterback Josh Allen sustained a lacerated ligament in his right elbow (on his throwing arm) so Allen will sit today. Nathan Peterman, the second year QB, imploded yet again at the end of the Houston Texans game as he threw TWO interceptions which lost the game for the Bills. The Bills went out and signed ancient QB Derek Anderson. And guess who is going to start today in Indy…yep, Derek Anderson. The Bills are 7 1/2 point underdogs to Andrew Luck and the Colts. How will your favorite NFL team do today?

Peter Gunn: The Complete Series collects all 114 episodes (47 hours!) on 12 DVDs. Peter Gunn lasted for three seasons from 1958 to 1961. I was just 9-years-old when I heard the throbbing Henry Mancini “Peter Gunn Theme” that would go on to win two Grammy Awards. As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to watch many episodes of Peter Gunn but the episodes I saw thrilled me!

I loved the music. Peter Gunn was the first TV program to feature modern jazz as its soundtrack. Blake Edwards, who created and produced Peter Gunn, actually directed a number of episodes. Edwards also recruited some of the best Hollywood directors like Robert Altman to do Peter Gunn episodes.

I also admired the suave private detective played by Craig Stevens (although he smokes too much). Peter Gunn’s girlfriend, the gorgeous jazz club singer Edie Hart (played by Lola Albright), comforts Gunn after he gets beaten up (happens a lot!). Herschel Bernardi plays Gunn’s cop friend, Lieutenant Jacoby.

STEELY DAN’s Donald Fagen, in Eminent Hipsters, wrote of Peter Gunn: “Edwards’ camera eye seemed to take a carnal interest in the luxe and leisure objects of the period, focusing on the Scandinavian furniture, potted palms, light wood panelling, and sleek, shark-finned convertibles. It was, in fact, all the same stuff my parents adored, but darkened with a tablespoon of alienation and danger.”

I’m only 40 episodes into Peter Gunn, but I’m enjoying myself as I work my way through the series. If you’re fond of classic TV detective shows, Peter Gunn is near the top of the list. Are you a fan of Peter Gunn? GRADE: A

A number of famous Science Fiction stories were published in 1940. Harry Bates’s “Farewell to the Master” became the source material for the classic movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Also included in this anthology are two of the most chilling SF monster stories ever: Theodore Sturgeon’s “It” and A. E. van Vogt’s “Vault of the Beast.” I’m also fond of Fritz Leiber’s crafty “The Automatic Pistol” about a witch’s unusual familiar.

For some reason, Robert A. Heinlein’s publishers wouldn’t allow Asimov/Greenberg to include some of Heinlein’s classic stories. Fortunately, I had the banned stories in other collections. “Requiem” is a bit of a maudlin story about one of the space pioneer’s in Heinlein’s Future History. “Coventry” show’s Heinlein’s extreme political position on freedom and liberty (Asimov disagrees with it…and I do, too). “Blowups Happen” was the first story to suggest nuclear power stations could present dangerous problems. The Great SF Stories #2 records the development of the SF genre and its evolution in quality. GRADE: A-
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction 9
*”Requiem” by Robert A. Heinlein (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, January 1940) 12
“The Dwindling Sphere” by Williard Hawkins (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, March 1940) 13
“The Automatic Pistol” by Fritz Leiber (WEIRD TALES, May 1940) 30
“Hindsight” by Jack Williamson (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, May 1940) 46
“Postpaid to Paradise” by Robert Arthur (ARGOSY, June 1940) 65
* “Coventry” by Robert A. Heinlein (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, July 1940) 79
“Into the Darkness” by Ross Rocklynne (ASTONISHING STORIES, June 1940) 80
“Dark Mission” by Lester del Rey (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, July 1940) 108
“It” by Theodore Sturgeon (UNKNOWN, August 1940) 125
“Vault of the Beast” by A. E. van Vogt (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, August 1940) 149
“The Impossible Highway” by Oscar J. Friend (THRILLING WONDER STORIES, August 1940) 176
“Quietus” by Ross Rocklynne (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, September 1940) 191
* “Blowups Happen” by Robert A. Heinlein (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, September 1940) 205
“Strange Playfellow” by Isaac Asimov (SUPER SCIENCE STORIES, September 1940) 206
“The Warrior Race” by L. Sprague de Camp (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, October 1940) 219
“Farewell to the Master” by Harry Bates (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, October 1940) 237
“Butyl and the Breather” by Theodore Sturgeon (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, October 1940) 276
“The Exalted” by L. Sprague de Camp (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, November 1940) 297
“Old Man Mulligan” by P. Schuyler Miller (ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, December 1940) 321
*”A set of stories by Robert A. Heinlein were intended for this volume but arrangements for their use could not be made. Greenberg and Asimov’s notes for each are included in their stead.”

Buffalo’s reputation for chicken wings and pizza is rivaled by foodies who refer to the city as Hot Dog Heaven. We have delicious Sahlen’s hot dogs and yummy Wardynski Natural/Sheep Casing Hot Dogs. You would think that I would be happy with those excellent choices, but when BJ’s Warehouse sent us a coupon for Nathan’s hot dogs, I figured I’d give them a try.

Compared to Sahlen’s and Wardynski’s hot dogs, Nathan’s has a more salty taste. During cooking, Sahlen’s and Wardynski’s hold their shape while Nathan’s casing split and caused the juices to run out of the hot dog. I’ll stick with Sahlen’s and Wardynski’s in the future. Do you have a favorite hot dog? GRADE: C