Here’s the bargain of the seasons: a 2,000 page reference book complete with illustrations, bibliography, and index for…$4.99! Jim Davidson’s wonderful guide to Perry Mason can be downloaded from AMAZON for a pittance! Clearly, this ebook is a labor of love. Davidson includes detailed information about Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason pastiches. He even writes about Thomas Chastain’s Perry Mason novels. Davidson moves on to discuss Perry Mason movies, radio serials, as well as newspaper, magazine, and comic book appearances.
I wanted this ebook for its encyclopedic coverage of the Perry Mason TV series (1957-1966). There’s information on every episode’s actors, directors, writers, and producers. What a wealth of data! If you’re a fan of Perry Mason in any form, this reference book is a must-buy! So much costs so little! GRADE: A
Thanks, George! This is exactly the kind of thing ebook readers were meant for. Downloaded it immediately. I love books like this.
Jeff, I suspect this ebook is just the beginning of a trend to put reference books online at affordable prices. I’ll buy and download them!
I may have mentioned this before, but one of my mom’s friends had been one of ESG’s secretaries. There is a mention of her in the Dorothy B. Hughes bio of him, and possibly a picture. She had signed books, and even a signed manuscript or two. She left working for him to work in the war industry
Cool. I remember the stuff about his secretaries in the Hughes book.
I wish Crippen & Landru would do more collections of Gardner’s pulp stories, as I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read so far. They move as fast as the early Mason books.
Jeff, same here. I have a few of Erle Stanley Gardner’s pulp fiction collections–the guy was a writing machine!–but I’m sure there’s hundreds of ESG stories uncollected.
Maggie, I’m sure those signed books and signed manuscript would be worth a lot today!
Ditto what Jeff said. I spent the five bucks and it’s on my iPad now. Curious why you didn’t use the books cover on your post.
Rick, I didn’t use THE PERRY MASON BOOK’s cover because now YOU can use it on your blog when you review this excellent reference ebook! We need to get the word out about this treasure!
George, what do you mean by “Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason pastiches”?
Weird courtroom stuff from me today: I was up for a spot on the jury of a murder trial today, and finally was “respectfully excused” by the defense around 5 in the afternoon. I was happy not to serve, I’ve been on 8-10 juries over the years, most of them for murder trials, so been there done that. The weird thing was that over the course of the day I came to like the defendant, so I’m particularly happy not to have to sit in judgment over him, and listen to the terrible things he probably did.
Jeff, I was referring to Thomas Chastain’s Perry Mason pastiches. Like you, I’ve been selected for Jury Duty (and so has Art Scott!). I have to call a number after 6 P.M. today to see if I have to report to Court on Monday! Where is your music CD review this week?
Thanks, George. I will check this out. I read a lot of Perry Masons in my teens and the paperbacks still hold up even now. I’m particularly interested in reading about Gardner’s early novels which were grittier than the ones he wrote later.
Prashant, like you I’m a fan of those early PERRY MASON novels. You will love THE PERRY MASON BOOK!
George – Sounds great! Quite a labor of love – there are so many books. An old relative, a career lawyer, thought Warren William made the best Perry Mason in the handful of movies from the 1930s.
Elgin, I keep meaning to watch those Warren William PERRY MASON movies. I’m going to make it one of my New Year’s Resolutions!
I already owned this book. I’m going through all the shows in order, and it’s a great reference! This week we jumped ahead to season 6 and hit some episodes without Perry. The book explained for four episodes Raymond Burr was in the hospital. That really helped our puzzlement. Wish all TV shows had such wonderful manuals.
Jim, I totally agree! THE PERRY MASON BOOK is a terrific reference! Like you, I plan to watch all the PERRY MASON episodes in order starting sometime in 2019. THE PERRY MASON BOOK sets a high standard!
Thanks for the great review, George! It’s much appreciated.
Jim, I’m very impressed with your work. I hope more PERRY MASON fans find your excellent book!