I started reading comic books in the mid-1950s–Batman and Superman mostly. But by 1960, my favorite DC comic series was The Flash. Not far behind was Green Lantern. We all know about the Ryan Reynolds movie version of Green Lantern that bombed. Now we have a new series, Lanterns, on HBO MAX.

 Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan, the first of the intergalactic cops known as Green Lanterns recruited from Earth, is paired with John Stewart (Cairo Cash Lee) into plots that seem more like True Detective than a superhero series.

“Created by crime drama specialist Chris Mundy (True Detective, Ozark), TV eminence Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers), and Eisner-winning comics writer Tom King, it juggles their different strengths and points of view with mixed success.” Those audiences craving something like Spider-Man are going to be disappointed with this Buddies series with a dash of CGI. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B-

“In his sixty years as a working literary critic, he [Bloom] published nearly fifty original books, two of them later his death in 2019, several of which made the New York Times Best-Seller list. He published hundreds of critical collections, each with an introductory essay of his own. He lectured in countries around the world, and taught thousands of students.” (p. 2)

Heather Cass White, the editor of The Man Who Read Everything (2026), is a former student of Harold Bloom. In 2015, she approached Bloom about publishing a volume of his correspondence with poets and writers. Bloom agreed and this volume is the result. White notes that Harold Bloom could read a book in an hour and could cite passages from it because he had a photographic memory.

Some of Harold Bloom’s best letters can be found in the section on Northrop Frye, the world-famous professor at the University of Toronto that Bloom idolized. Bloom also idolized poets: Alvin Feinman, John Hollander, A.R. Ammons, John Ashbery, James Merrill, and Henri Cole.

Bloom believed John Ashbery was the best poet of the second half of the 20th Century (Yeats being the best poet of the first half). But I agree with Irvin Ehrenpreis’s review of Ashbery’s Self-Portrait (1975), “Mr. Ashbery may hope to surprise us agreeably with the leaps or turns of his mind from image to insight and back again; and he may challenge us to make the brightest of these connections ourselves. But most of his work will tire nearly all his readers.” (p. 138)

The letters and email texts from the Ursula K. Le Guin section were the most fun to read. “Her honors include eight Hugo Awards, and six Nebula Awards.” (p. 187)

Ursula K. Le Guin wrote “23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 11 children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation.” (p. 187) Harold Bloom was an enthusiastic fan of Le Guin’s work and his productivity matches hers.

Reading these letters gives insights into a seminal critic of the 20th Century. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — 1

A Note on the Texts — 15

Alvin Feinman — 17

Northrop Frye — 31

John Hollander — 51

A. R. Ammons — 69

John Ashbery — 119

James Merrill — 157

Henri Cole — 179

Ursula K. Le Guin — 187

Works Cited — 215

Acknowledgements — 219

Index –– 221

“Gibbon’s fascination with the dissolution of a world that seemed quite literally set in stone is not surprising–deep within the European psyche lies an anxiety that, if Ancient Rome could fall, so can the proudest of modern civilizations.” (p. 3)

Bryan Ward-Perkins opens his short but insightful book by thanking his editor: “She made me prune many of the subordinate clauses and qualifications that scholars love; and above all forced me to say what I really mean, rather than hint at it through Delphic academic utterances.” (p. v)

As a former professor, I too am prone to Delphic academic utterances from time to time. But Ward-Perkin’s brilliant editor turned The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization (2005) into something more than Cliff Notes to Edward Gibbon’s classic  Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (a six volume work published between 1776 and 1788). You can read Gibbon’s 3000 page master work…or Ward-Perkin’s 239 page shortcut. I have done both.

Edward Gibbon ran into trouble by suggesting Rome’s fall was caused by Christianity and the spread of monasticism. Gibbon wrote “a large portion of public and private wealth was consecrated to the specious demands of charity and devotion; and the soldiers pay was lavished on the useless multitudes of both sexes, who could only plead the merits of abstinence and chastity.” (p. 40)

Bryan Ward-Perkins suggests another reason for Rome’s fall: “In my opinion, the key internal element of Rome’s success or failure was the economic well-being of its taxpayers. This was because the empire relied for its security on a professional army, with in turn relied on adequate funding.” (p. 41) As the wealth of Rome went to building churches and monasteries, the armies regressed because of lack of funding–and were defeated by barbarians.

The state of the world today shares parallels with the decline and fall of Rome. Civilization could disappear again with a few mushroom clouds… GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface — v

I. Did Rome Ever Fall? — 1

Part I: The Fall of Rome

II. The Horrors of War — 13.

III. The Road to Defeat — 33

IV. Living Under the New Masters — 63

Part II: The End of a Civilization

V. The Disappearance of Comfort — 87

VI. Why the Demise of Comfort? — 123

VII. The Death of a Civilization? — 138

VII. All for the Best in the Best of All Possible Worlds — 169

Appendix: From Potsherds to People — 184

Chronology — 188

Notes — 182

Bibliography –– 216

Picture List — 224

Index — 231

AMAZON PRIME Video dropped the first three episodes of Reacher, Season 4 and I watch them. Reacher, Season 4 is a series of 10 episodes–episodes will drop one at a time on Wednesdays. In the first three episodes, Reacher (Alan Ritchson) takes a lot of punishment. But Reacher deals out a lot of punishment, too!

Reacher, Season 4 is based on Lee Child’s 13th Reacher novel: Gone Tomorrow (2009). You can read my review of Gone Tomorrow here.

While most of Gone Tomorrow is set in New York City, Reacher, Season 4 is set Philadelphia and Washington, D. C. Plenty of alphabet agencies are after Reacher–FBI, CIA, etc. Reacher is on the run, but still managing to investigate crimes in the present and the Past.

There are changes and variations from Gone Tomorrow, but the relentless momentum of Reacher remains in high gear. Are you a Reacher fan? GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

Alan Ritchson Teases REACHER Season 4 Book

Gone Tomorrow is the 13th book in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. Gone Tomorrow was published in 2009 and is the basis of AMAZON PRIME Video’s Reacher, Season 4–I’ll be posting a review of that on Saturday, August 15, 2026.

Gone Tomorrow is a homage to New York City. Over 90% of the action of the novel happens there. If you live in NYC, visit NYC, or have read enough books about NYC, you’ll recognize all the Lee Child’s references to sites in the city, the streets, the subway system, and the people.

The plot gets launched on a subway car a 2 A.M.  Reacher notices a suspicious-looking passenger who matches many of the characteristics of a potential suicide bomber. When he approaches the passenger, an unlikely event triggers a situation that leads Reacher into a series of chases and escapes.

The key to the incident is the mission in Asia years before. Reacher contacts a senatorial candidate who was in Delta Force when key happenings occurred. The FBI and other Federal agencies chase Reacher, trying to discover what he knows about the case.

Meanwhile, Evil Elements are tracking down Reacher because they believe he has information vital to their mission. All of these various forces come together in a Battle Royale at the conclusion of Gone Tomorrow. Some readers might quibble about the slow beginning, but no one will complain about the deadly ending. Are you a Lee Child fan? GRADE: B+

I’ve listened to a number of AM GOLD compilations (you can read my review of 1967 here, 1968 here, 1976 here, and 1977 here. AM GOLD 1965 from 1994 features plenty of hits from the mid-1960s but dodges most of the British Invasion groups from that era: no Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, etc.

The first James Bond film I ever saw was Goldfinger. When the soundtrack to Goldfinger came out in 1965, I bought it and wore out the groves!

“Movie producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman allowed him [John Barry] to write the theme song for Goldfinger in addition to the soundtrack.^[1] Barry created the melody of the song before drafting the lyrics with the help of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.^[2] The theme was first sung by Newley at a demo session on 14 May 1964. At the behest of Barry, Shirley Bassey was chosen to sing the track. On Bassey, Barry was quoted saying ‘Nobody could have sung it like her; she had that great dramatic sense.’ The theme was recorded on 20 August 1964 after an all-night session in the recording studio.^[3] The session was produced by EMI in-house producer George Martin, who also was the Beatles‘ producer at the time. Guitarist Vic Flick, who played on the track, recalled at a 2012 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences salute to the music of James Bond that Bassey was having difficulty getting a proper take. Martin spoke to her and then over the recording baffle her brassiere came flying. She nailed it on the next take.” (Wikipedia]

Peter and Gordon don’t show up on many of the compilation CDs but they’re here with “I Go To Pieces.”

“Do You Believe in Magic” by The Lovin’ Spoonful still gets regular airplay on our local Oldies radio station, as does The Seekers’ “I’ll Never Find Another You.” I remember the Smothers Brothers singing this song as”I’ll Never Find Another Ewe.”

Mix in some Motown classics like The Temptations’ “My Girl” and Smoky Robinson and The Miracles’ “Track of My Tears” and overall this may be the best of the AM GOLD series. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: A-

TRACK LIST:

1	Sonny And Cher*–	I Got You Babe Music By, Lyrics By – Sonny Bono	3:12
2	Petula Clark–	Downtown Music By, Lyrics By – Tony Hatch	3:05
3	Jackie DeShannon–	What The World Needs Now Is Love Lyrics By – Hal David Music By – Burt Bacharach	3:11
4	The Temptations–	My Girl Music By, Lyrics By – Ronald White, William Robinson*	2:43
5	Peter And Gordon*–	I Go To Pieces Music By, Lyrics By – Del Shannon	2:22
6	Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders*–	Game Of Love Music By, Lyrics By – Clint Ballard Jr.	2:08
7	Tom Jones–	What’s New Pussycat? Lyrics By – Hal David Music By – Burt Bacharach	2:06
8	The Lovin’ Spoonful–	Do You Believe In Magic Music By, Lyrics By – John Sebastian	2:05
9	The Beach Boys–	California Girls Music By, Lyrics By – Brian Wilson	2:34
10	Barbara Lewis–	Make Me Your Baby Music By, Lyrics By – Helen Miller, Roger Arkins	2:32
11	The Righteous Brothers–	You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ Music By, Lyrics By – Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector	3:44
12	The Miracles–	The Tracks Of My Tears Music By, Lyrics By – Marv Tarplin*, William Robinson*, Warren Moore	2:55
13	Gary Lewis And The Playboys*–	This Diamond Ring Music By, Lyrics By – Al Kooper, Bob Brass (2), Irwin Levine	2:14
14	The Fortunes–	You’ve Got Your Troubles Music By, Lyrics By – Roger Cook, Roger Greenaway	3:23
15	The Seekers–	I’ll Never Find Another You Music By, Lyrics By – Dion O’Brien	2:45
16	The Vogues–	You’re The One Music By, Lyrics By – Petula Clark, Tony Hatch	2:22
17	Shirley Bassey–	Goldfinger Lyrics By – Anthony Newley, Leslie BricusseMusic By – John Barry	2:50
18	The Ramsey Lewis Trio–	The “In” Crowd Music By – Billy Page	3:14
19	The Supremes–	Back In My Arms Again Music By, Lyrics By – Brian Holland, Edward Holland, Jr., Lamont Dozier	2:52
20	We Five–	You Were On My MindMusic By, Lyrics By – Sylvia Fricker	2:37
21	Bobby Goldsboro–	Little Things Music By, Lyrics By – Bobby Goldsboro	2:28
22	Roger Miller–	King Of The Road Music By, Lyrics By – Roger Miller	2:27

One of my delights as a kid was reading ACE Doubles. I couldn’t wait until new ACE Doubles showed up on spinner racks each month!

But ACE was not the only publisher to offer Doubles. In the late 1960s, Belmont Books published a series of “Belmont Doubles” but with only one cover, not two like ACE Doubles. Sadly, the quality of those Belmont Doubles was inferior to the ACE Doubles…but I bought them anyway.

John Brunner is one of my favorite SF writers. He started out writing mediocre SF novels but with STAND ON ZANZIBAR and THE JAGGED ORBIT in the mid-to-late Sixties, Brunner became a top notch SF writer.

Clearly, “Father of Lies” was a story Brunner salvaged from his desk drawer and Belmont dutifully published it in 1968 with Bruce Duncan’s “Mirror Image.” “Father of Lies” was initially published in the British SF magazine, Science Fantasy #52, 1962.

“Father of Lies” begins with a dragon and then an ogre. The story concerns a different plane of Reality. Today we would refer to this as The Multiverse. “Father of Lies” has more in common with Brunner’s stories from the 1950s than his more mature work of the late 1960s. GRADE: C

I’ve never head off Bruce Duncan and his “Mirror Image” is poorly written and shows why Belmont Books was considered at the “low end” of the paperback publishing spectrum. A dead stripper, an android sailor, and a New York detective investigating the dead bodies of the real stripper and the real sailor basically goes nowhere. GRADE: F

This 8-episode Star Wars animated series features some exotic adventures, action, and fun characters. The Ninth Jedi is set in the distant Future when the Jedi and the Sith have “all but disappeared.” 

All that remains of the ancient Jedi Order is a handful of masterless Jedi, including Margrave Juro, Lah Kara, Homen, and Ethan, all intent on protecting the galaxy from the fearsome masked conquering general known only as Nawaam.

The first episode starts with a chase scene that sets up the plot for the rest of the story. The animation is wonderful and the characters are compelling. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll really enjoy this new series. If you’re looking for Entertainment you’ll find it here. GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

Joseph S. Moore, a college professor and an enthusiastic investor, shares what he has learned from years of trying to get Rich. In essence, Moore believes this is a perfect time to get Rich. So many options! Step by step, Moore discusses your investment choices. Real Estate has been a popular option for years, but now with flooding and wild fires, maybe not a great choice.

In the Past, people were encouraged to get into debt. Mortgages, car payments, home equity loans were all popular ways of feeling Rich by pushing off payments into the Future. At one time–the 1950s and 1960s, owning a GM or Ford franchise and selling cars and trucks was a certain way to wealth. That’s when people used to buy a new vehicle every two or three years. Today, with cars and trucks costing $50,000+, that doesn’t seem to be a great way to get wealthy.

Moore points out timing is a key variable in getting Rich. Sure, if you bought Microsoft 40 years ago, you’d be Rich today. But look at all the people who lost their shirts owning stock in Enron.

The people investing in canals in the U.S. lost money, but the people who actually built the canals made lots of money. Moore presents plenty of stories of winners and losers throughout U.S. history with lessons to be learned in the ways of wealth.

I found How to Get Rich in American History a fun, entertaining, and educational book. Are you Rich yet? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction: Go Ahead! — 1
Part I: Your Money and American HistoryGetting Ahead is Easier Than Ever — 9
Fast Time, Slow Time — 11
Crypto Isn’t the Future, It’s the Past — 25
Financial Advice: Inflation’s Oops Baby — 34
Gurus are Selling Something, You Should Buy — 43
Your Net Worth is Wrong (So I Made Myself a Billionaire) — 53
Part II: Investing Then and Now— 61

The next big thing is a bad idea –63

;Compound interest and passive income are overrated — 73

Diversification won’t make you rich — 82

You can beat the market, you probably shouldn’t — 89

Women were always active investors — 103

Stocks used to be bad for the long run — 112

Part. II: Financial freedom the American way — 127

Financial independence isn’t what you think — 129

Real estate is a terrible way to make money — 140

House hacks and side hustles before Uber and Airbnb — 150

Yes, people retired before social security — 160

Immigrants make the best capitalists — 171

Scams: the Nigerian prince is actually from Spain — 180

Part IV: The Feds and the family— 191

Budgets are new, hating them isn’t — 193

Debt isn’t (necessarily) dumb — 202

The government was always involved — 213

Going broke is better than ever — 224

Marriage (and dual incomes) mattered… a lot — 235

Generational wealth doesn’t last long — 249

Part V: It’s getting better, much, much better — 261

People really did get ahead, and you can, too — 263

Conclusion: the real lessons of financial history — 277

Acknowledgements — 297
Notes — 299
Index — 331

Jerry House recommended this massive graphic novel (you can read Jerry’s terrific review here). More Weight: A Salem Story gets its title from the purported last words of Giles Corey. Corey, who was pressed to death in Salem, Massachusetts, in September 1692, refused to answer charges of witchcraft,. Corey was tortured to death in an attempt to convince him to admit his “sins.”

The illustrations in More Weight are moody and intense. Yes, at 543 pages, More Weight is a challenge for readers. Some might argue that the book is too long, too detailed. But Ben Wichey wanted to get to the bottom of Giles Corey story and to expose the Salem Witch Trials for what they were.

If you’re up for a long, arduous journey into human depravity and haunting atrocities in the Past, More Weight is your ticket! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Intro: the witch city

Saints & devils

Boon-companions

The first stone

The temptations of Giles Corey

A gospel woman

The invisible world

The arrest

The examination of Martha Corey

Soap-bubbles

Some sport

The boy

The wizard

Liberties

The examination of Giles Corey

A city upon a hill

Civil wars

Oyer & terminer

Blood to drink

Angels of light

By God & my country

The better life

More weight

Seven gables

Inheritors of eternity

Outro: more wonders of the invisible world.