BLB: Dick Tracy Encounters Facey

Here is another in my ongoing series of reviews on the 1960s Big Little Book series. You can find others by clicking on "BLB" at the bottom of this post.

Big Little Books were a series of story-books published by Whitman Publishers from the 1920s thru the 1980s. The books I have are 250 pages but very compact, only 10 cm x 13 cm x 2 cm (approx 4 inches x 5 3/4 inches x 1 inch). There is text on one side of each page and an illustration on the other. Although the writers were always credited, the artist never was. They began in the 1920s but then evidently stopped sometime in the 1940s? Then Whitman revisited the format. From 1967 thru the early 1970s such then-TV luminaries as Lassie, Flipper, the Lone Ranger, Bonanza, Shazzan, Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr, Tarzan, and, yes, Aquaman, were featured. Eventually the TV series' stars fell by the way-side and were replaced with perennial favorites like Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Woody Woodpecker, who returned several times each.

This time we are looking at the very first book in this revised series, number ONE, Dick Tracy in Encounters Facey. Written by Paul S. Newman and published in 1967, this of course features the hard-hitting police detective and other characters created by Chester Gould. Oddly enough, the only credit goes to Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate, who I guess owned the copyright on the characters. The artist is not credited, but if it is not Chester Gould then it is someone who is definitely aping his style. Dick Tracy Encounters Facey as number 1 in this Big Little Book series has no precedents. However, it was probably given the number one slot because in atleast one previous iteration, Dick Tracy was the #1 spot before. This time it is followed by Bonanza, Flipper, Lassie, and Tarzan (which we already reviewed.) All of those were published in 1967.

Happy Birthday, Lynda Day George!

Happy Birthday, Lynda Day George! 

This week is the birthday of the TV and film actress best known (to me, anyway) as one of the cast of the classic TV show Mission:Impossible. Lynda Day George was born on December 11, 1944. She was another of my first crushes as a kid; I was attracted to her beauty and charm, and what I guess now I would call "class." I was not really old enough to "remember" the original Mission:Impossible, but it was one of the shows my dad liked to watch on Saturday nights, and I remember that not only was she beautiful but she was a great spy, which was cool.

I picked up this issue of TV Guide from an antique mall a few years ago. I kept meaning to post the article about her, but then forgot about it. In celebration of Ms. George's birthday, I present the article from January 22, 1972 in its entirety.

BLB: Aquaman

Here is another in my ongoing series of reviews on the 1968 Big Little Book series. You can find others by clicking on "BLB" at the bottom of this post.

This time, to help celebrate Aquaman's "birthday" on January 29 I want to talk about one of my favorite BLBs, Aquaman in Scourge of the Sea, written by Paul S. Newman and published in 1968. It is number 17 in the 1968 Big Little Book series. It follows Space Ghost but is before Daktari. Does anybody here even know and/or remember Daktari?

BLB: The Lone Ranger & Tonto

Here is another in my ongoing series of reviews on the 1968 Big Little Book series. You can find others by clicking on "BLB" at the bottom of this post.

This time, to help celebrate the 67th anniversary of the debut of The Lone Ranger on TV (Sept 15, 1949) I want to talk about The Lone Ranger & Tonto in Outwits Crazy Cougar, written by George S. Elrick and published in 1968. It is number 13 in the 1968 Big Little Book series. It follows Bonanza and The Man From UNCLE, but is before Space Ghost, Daktari, and Aquaman.

TV Guide: The Avengers (May 4, 1968)

Continuing the story from the past two weeks, when I found this issue of TV Guide for sale at an antique mall I knew I would love it. It was wrapped in plastic, but I knew that at the very least the cover story would be about one of the featured Mission: Impossible stars.

When I took it out of its plastic wrap, I was pleasantly surprised to find an article about rising star Vicki Lawrence, from The Carol Burnett Show. Then after I had read *that* article, I stumbled upon THIS headline:

Wait, what? The Avengers, too!?! Well...sort of.

TV Guide: Carol Burnett Show (May 4,1968)

Continuing the story from last week, when I found this issue of TV Guide for sale at an antique mall, even though it was wrapped in plastic I just knew that I would love it for the promised Mission: Impossible article inside.

What I did not know was that besides the other three "featured" articles as listed on the cover, this issue also featured an un-heralded interview slash profile of rising new star Vicki Lawrence, from The Carol Burnett Show!

Major bonus points!!

TV Guide: Mission Impossible (May 4, 1968)

My wife loves to go antique shopping. I usually go with her, only because while she is looking for Fire King kitchenware, I am looking for forgotten (or heretofore unknown) popular culture treasures.

One of the great things I have happened upon are old issues of TV Guide. Besides the weekly TV show listings (which are a fun time-capsule in and of themselves), every issue features profiles or interviews with television celebrities.

My heart jumped into my throat when I saw the above issue. I think I bought it for three or four bucks? I don't remember, but it was certainly worth every penny!

BLB: Tarzan The Mark of the Red Hyena

This time, I want to talk about Tarzan in The Mark of the Red Hyena, written by George S. Elrick and published in 1967. It is number 5 in the 1967 Big Little Book series. It follows Flipper and Lassie, but comes before Tom & Jerry and Popeye. Heady company, I know.

BLB: The Man From UNCLE

This time, I want to talk about The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in The Calcutta Affair, written by George S. Elrick and published in 1967. It is number 11 in the 1967 Big Little Book series. This is clever, as all UNCLE fans know that secret agent Napoleon Solo wore UNCLE badge number 11.

Banned Books Week 2015

The last week of September is celebrated as Banned Books Week across these United States. The American Library Association and the Office of Intellectual Freedom report on those books in the past year that have been challenged most often in public libraries or public schools. "Challenges" include everything from a parent calling or writing that they find a book objectionable to full-blown movements to get something pulled from the shelves. (The specific terms the ALA uses is requests for books to be "restricted" or "removed.") So it's kind of a cheat to say that these are "banned books," as nothing has actually ever successfully been banned in this country on more than a superficial (i.e. local) level.

Happy Birthday, Gary Larson!

Per a note I found on Creators Syndicate: 

A Note from Gary Larson

RE: Online Use of Far Side Cartoons

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I'm walking a fine line here.

T3I Crime Busters THRILLER DILLER

If you don't know who The Three Investigators are, they are three teen-aged boys named Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews. Jupiter is the most intelligent one, so he is First Investigator. Pete is the most athletic one, and he is usually available to accompany Jupiter on various investigations, so he is Second Investigator. Bob was originally injured and couldn't do as much physical activity as his pals. He also had a part-time job at the local library. So he was named Records and Research.

November 22, 1963 In Film

 

President John F. Kennedy died fifty years ago today. To help mark this anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate for Film Friday to look at several of the films made about that terrible day.

First, of course, is the "home-movie" made by Abraham Zapruder on and at and during that terrible event in Dealey Plaza. Mr. Zapruder sold the rights to the film to Time-Life in 1963, who kept it under wraps for several years, doling it out in snippets for magazine specials and articles of their own. Rights were then transferred back to the Zapruder family in the late 70s or early 80s. The family eventually sold the film as a historical artifact to The Book Depository Museum in Dallas.

This film is not for the squeamish; make no mistake, it is a film of an actual murder. For me the worst part of the film is the short sequence between the time that the President and his wife realize something is wrong (he's been shot through the throat?) and the fatal shot to the head. If the driver had only sped up during that short window of opportunity, the President would have lived....

 A few years ago I came across a film called Image of An Assassination, which was the digitized and clarified version of the actual film. I found it at the Columbus Library, so if you are interested in this you might check your library, too. It is the High Definition version of the grainy hand-held camera film.

I almost didn't imbed the following youtube version of the film here. It is a terrible, terrible scene to watch. However, it is history. And I wondered how many people reading this have actually had the chance to see the actual film, and not just a snippet or two from other news documentaries or films. The deciding factor to post it here was that the stop-image shown below as the link was not one of the more graphic scenes. So I leave it to you to choose to watch it or to skip on.

The most famous actual film about the assassination is Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). Leonard Maltin says it best when he writes about it, "Full of startling scenes and bravura acting, as dramatic movie-making it's superb. Not to be mistaken for a documentary, however, despite it's sanctimonious attitude towards the truth." 

I saw the film twenty years ago when it first came out, and in preparation to write this review I watched it again.

First of all, what the heck is the DVD (poster) image suppsoed to represent? I get the red and white stripes of the flag, but what is that underneath Kevin Costner's face. It looks like a body or a hand or something....I have never understood this image for the twenty years I've seen it. 

The film starts with a short mix of actual documentary footage: President Eisenhower's final speech as President in 1960, footage of Viet Nam, and President Kennedy's speech at American University in Washington DC. Then when we see Kevin Costner as New Orleans District Attorney James Garrison, the assumption we have to make is that what we're seeing now is the truth, too. Because Lee Harvey Oswald had lived in New Orleans, Garrison and his staff investigates his activity there. That leads them to believe that there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy, and that it had started in New Orleans.

There are a lot of odd things in this film, but it is definitely presented with panache and style. And there are questions raised and comments made that sound convincing. For example, there is a throw-away line about somebody named "Oswald" buying trucks for a shady CIA operative in New Orleans; Oswald was definitely living in the Soviet Union at that time. Is this true? If so, what does it mean? Likewise, the question of why Oswald did not shoot the President as his motorcade was coming towards the Book Depository, rather than driving away from it. There might be a perfectly simple explanation, but it is a good question. However, Garrison's hypothesis seems to be that there were three snipers ready to kill the president in a crossfire. Yet he admits that most of the shots these snipers allegedly fired MISSED their target! So where did they go? The film is a technical marvel, but sloppy police work.

Even though Costner portrays Garrison as a beacon of moral fiber, eventually he starts to appear to be a tad paranoid. Every rhetorical question is answered with , "Because there's a cover up!" The staging of the "Magic Bullet" scene in the courtroom is well done, but all through it I kept thinking, "what if the position of the two victims (the President and Governor John Connelly) was off; wouldn't that explain the trajectory? If there was some way to sit the two men at the same line of fire as the bullet, wouldn't that explain it? Also, if there WAS more than one "magic" bullet...where did it/they go? Neither of the wives were injured and no bystanders in Dealey Plaza were wounded, either.

After I saw JFK the first time I managed to buy a copy of the book by Jim Garrison, On The Trail of the Assassins. It was interesting reading, but did not convince me that the CIA or anybody in the US government had conspired to kill the president. Soon after that I also read the 1993 book Case Closed by Gerald Posner. It basically debunks a lot of the myths, half-truths, and rumors around the assassination. It specifically makes the case that Oswald could have done all that he was alleged to have done. What I remember most about the book was that Posner interviewed the people close to Oswald at the time. One swore that Oswald brought what he claimed were curtain rods to work that Friday morning. And Oswald's wife swore she took the notorious photo of Oswald in the backyard posing with his guns. So there seems to be a clear trail to this particular assassin. I also have read parts of Vincent Bugliosi's book Reclaiming History, which criticizes the film from top to bottom. (I have his book to thank for my earlier comment regarding the quality of the marksmanship of the professional assassins that Garrison believes did the work that day.) Most importantly, although Oliver Stone (and Jim Garrison, I guess) tried to paint a picture of a conspiracy, that picture ignores the dozens of actual witnesses who *saw* the rifle jutting out of the sixth floor window of the Book Depository and *heard* the three shots come from that rifle. 

For another point of view, I recommend the 1973 film Executive Action. In this film, Will Geer ("Grandpa" from The Waltons) plans the assassination of the president. It's a chilling account of how a conspiracy would work if it had happened. Like movies such as Raise The Titanic, however, it's patently (?) fiction.

T3I: A present to myself

Recently I went on-line and bought ten Three Investigator books I didn't already have. I have already devoured the first one, Sinister Scarecrow and Smashing Glass. These are books in the "original" series that I was already familiar. Then I started in on Reel Trouble, which is in the later series where the boys (Jupiter, Pete, and Bob) are a little older than they had been. I can't wait to get to the rest of these. I would like to write reviews of them, but since they are out of print I don't know if that is a good use of my time, ya know? I'll think about it....

Encyclopedia Brown Turns Fifty!

I first met Encyclopedia Brown when I was in elementary school. From a young age I would read anything and everything; then as now I would frequent my library on a regular basis. It was even better when I was a kid because I had a library right there in the school building! I don't remember if my school librarian Mrs. Shenberg introduced me to the Encyclopedia Brown mystery series or not, but I do remember trying to track down each of the books in the series to match my wits against his.

National Library Week: Friday Film Books

To mark National Library Week, this week I am writing about some of my favorite books in my chosen topics: Monday Music, TV Tuesday, Wednesday Comics, and Film Fridays. Today being Friday, it's time to wrap this week up with some talk about Hollywood!  

 

TARZAN of the Movies by Gabe Essoe

I remember reading this book back in the 70s when I was confused as to whether Tarzan was "really" Johnny Weismuller or Ron Ely. Since that time, even with all of the additional Tarzans (most famously one from Walt Disney; who thought *that* would ever happen?), this book still seems to be the best explanation of how & why Edgar Rice Burroughs' creation made it to the screen.

And you gotta love the title: it's a "play" on the old Tarzan books and movies themselves, and actually represents truthfully what this "new" character was: none of them were "faithful" to the book, but that didn't necessarily make them bad. And by the way, if you have never seen any Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies, I suggest the second one, I want to say (from memory) that it is "Tarzan And His Mate" but I could be wrong. The first one is good, but the second one is where he and Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia Farrow's mother) really hit their stride.  

 

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

This is not a book about the movie (or the book) but the novel itself. It was published in January 1934, mere months before the movie of the same name came out featuring William Powell and Myrna Loy. By this time Dashieel Hammett was already working in Hollywood as a screenwriter and he sold the option of the story before it was actually published. Because of the close timing of the publication of the book and the release of the movie, the characters are almost indelibly linked to Powell and Loy. I read the book long after I had seen most of the movies in the series, so in my mind while I was reading this I was seeing and hearing Powell and Loy. It's a grand "novelization" of the story and a heckuva mystery, to boot.

That thin man on the cover? It's Dashiell Hammett himself, who unfortunately never wrote another book. He died within a few years of this being published.

 

BUGS BUNNY: 50 Years And Only One Grey Hare

Who doesn't love Bugs Bunny? As a kid there were two schools: Mickey Mouse Fans, and Bugs Bunny fans. I was always a Bugs man.

 

This book explains his (rather convoluted) origins as well as his Academy Award-winning film history and then his re-emergence on television. My favorite section is the one about all of his various adversaries. I always liked Elmer Fudd more than I liked Yosemite Sam, but I do admit that Sam as a pirate or politician or a shiek was pretty funny. My favorite was Wile E. Coyote, guest-starring on leave from a Road Runner cartoon, and the mountain lion with the lisp. And the Tazmanian Devil, of course.

 

The Wizard of OZ

The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History

I have read an actual book about the making of the picture, but the details and factoids threaten to drown the wonder and magic. This book, on the other hand, is the perfect mix of facts (Buddy Ebsen was going to be the Scarecrow, then switched to the Tin Man but was allergic to the silver makeup; it almost killed him) and photos. Am I aging myself by pointing out that this is the 50th anniversary edition, and yet there is now a 75th anniversary edition out? Gee whillikers!  

2004 Movie & Video Guide by Leonard Maltin
My friend Greg gave this to me a few years ago and I have used it ever since to mostly research movies I have never heard of! "Marie Antoinnette" starring Norma Shearer? Check. The films of Sidney Poitier? Check. The minutiae available can be mind-boggling, but on the other hand you open this up and you can lose yourself reading about all sorts of movies you never knew existed.  

The Academy Awards: Special Commemorative Edition

This is a book I happened upon during a trip back to Japan. It features two or four pages on every Academy Award year from the first (1928) through 2003. It also features the nominees and other notable winners like songs and the Japanese films that won Best Foreign Film. Of course, it's all in Japanese, too, so I can tell you such bits of trivia as "The Runner On Fire" is the Japanese title for "Chariots of Fire."  It's a well-organized and easy-to-read book (easy for me, anyway, haha) with plenty of photos and all the information that I could possibly need in chronological order.

National Library Week: TV Tuesday Books

To mark National Library Week, this week I am writing about some of my favorite books in my chosen topics: Monday Music, TV Tuesday, Wednesday Comics, and Film Fridays. Today being Tuesday, let's talk about some of my favorite books about television. 

MASH by David Reiss

This wonderful show ended when I was in high school. At the time there were a few resource books printed to take advantage of all of the hoopla. This one is a trade paperback that was originally published in 1981. It was then revised two years later to include the last season and a half. It features biographies of all of the actors plus interviews with all of them AND profiles of their characters. Also there are episode guides for all 11 seasons. The only drawback to the book and it is minor is that all of the photographs included are in black and white. Still, as a resource on the cast and episodes it is hard to beat. 

Similarly, The Complete Book of MASH came out at about the same time. Most of their photographs are in color, but the information is not as in-depth as the earlier book. Whereas MASH went chronologically and alphabetically, Complete Book of MASH  is kind of all over the place. It has more in-depth episode guides, but doesn't list the writers and directors of each. So it's not a bad reference book, but although it is prettier, compared to the other MASH book it is not as good.   

THE AVENGERS by Dave Rogers
When I was in college I bought my comic-books at a used bookstore a few blocks from my campus. There I found this gem, a history of one of the greatest spy series ever. This is where I found out that the show originally starred another British actor and, oh yeah, some guy named Patrick Macnee. Partly by accident and partly by serendipity, the show became a huge popular culture touch-stone.

FANTASTIC TELEVISION by Gary Gerani & Paul Schulman
On another trip to buy comics in college I came across this book. At first I didn't know what to make of it; it features mini-histories of many television series as you can see here: I Dream of Jeannie (?), Batman, The Avengers, Outer Limits (I think?), Superman, Star Trek, The Twilight Zone (or is it The Night Gallery?), Space: 1999, and Six Million Dollar Man. At this time there wasn't a Twilight Zone book, so episode guides of that show was worth the price of admission! Plus at the time I didn't have a Batman book, either, so that was cool to read about them. But the greatest part of this book was the Irwin Allen section: Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, The Time Tunnel, Lost In Space, and the Land Of The Giants. This was before the LOST IN SPACE movie created a mini-boom in LiS merchandise, so for years this was my go-to reference for that show. I think it was the first time I had every read that Irwin Allen's shows were not very good. I think I *knew* that already, but it's something else to actually read it on a page. Still, the depth of content mixed with the fun photos make this one of my favorites.

The Star Trek Compendium by  Allan Asherman

I actually came across the ST:NG Companion by Larry Nemerek first; this was when I was still living in Japan and would buy books during trips back to the US. That would have been when the show ST:NG was still on the air. Even today, I have yet to see all of their episodes. So buying that book was a good way for me to see the "overall" picture of that series. It also helped me to realize that the Original Series version also existed. So although I did read ST:NG, I didn't read it as a reference as so much as a guide. The Star Trek Compendium on the other hand lists guest-stars, plots, and interviews that reference the 79 episodes and the movies. Although there have been an almost infinite number of Star Trek books, this one is still one of the best. 

Growing Up Brady by Barry Williams
I got this book while I was still living in Japan. I can't remember if my sister or someone sent it to me, or if I found it myself. Either way, I devoured it because I grew up on The Brady Bunch. It was definitely my favorite show as a kid. I had crushes on Marsha and then Jan, and I wanted my brother to be like Peter or Bobby. It was fun to read about the back-stage stories from "Greg" himself. This was just before Robert Reed died; I had no idea that he had been gay or that he was dying. I didn't watch the more recent Brady Bunch movies because I couldn't tell if they were making fun of the show or paying it homage; either way, I'd rather just watch another episode.

When my daughter came to live in the States, The Brady Bunch was one of her favorite shows, too.

The Official Batman Bat-Book by Joel Eisner

This is another one of those books that I purchased during a trip back to the States while I was still living in Japan. I think I must have found it during the Michael Keaton BATMAN movie hype era; I don't remember. The spine is cracked and broken now from reading it too much! 

The book starts off explaining how the show got started, then talks about the first season, the movie (yes, there was a BATMAN movie, in 1966) and all the cool gadgets made for it, the less-than-stellar second season, and then the third season with (sigh) Batgirl (Yvonne Craig).

I will have you know that I was not SUCH a Batman geek that I could answer ANY of the trivia questions included here. So there. And the five-plus page list of all of Robin's "Holy (fill in the blank)" seemed excessive to me, too.

Total Television by Alex McNeil

Of all of the books here, this is the most "referential." This 1250 page tome lists any and all series that ever appeared on television, from the earliest shows in 1948 to the 1995 season. So, obviously, this is nearly 20 years behind the times now (!). Wow, I blew my own mind when I wrote that. Anyway, since most of the shows I write about are from waaay before 1995, this hasn't been a problem for me yet. I can tell you that DARK SHADOWS was on from 1966-1971, for example, or that THE WONDER YEARS won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1988.    

The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier by Patrick J. White

This is probably my favorite book on this list because as a kid growing up I wanted to WRITE this book. I used to keep a notebook where I would write up all of the "missions" I saw on television with an eye to combine them all into a huge collection. Congratulations to you, Patrick White, for  actually doing what I dreamt about doing!  

 The book itself starts with how the series was created (never meant to actually sell!) and then goes into detail about all of the different spies and the cast changes behind them. and of course, there are episode guides and explanations of the tricks and devices used throughout the show. What a fun book!

Here On Gilligan's Isle by Russell Johnson & Steve Cox

This is one of the first books I bought after I moved back to the States permanently. I don't know how or why I came across it, but I'm sure that when I did find it I snatched it up. As a kid growing up there were very VERY few "Russells" out there to use as role models or heroes, so I always had a small man-crush on The Professor. Besides, you can't argue that among an island of idiots he was by-far the smartest!

After I read this book I learned that Russell Johnson had a homepage and was selling autographed photographs. I immediately wrote to him and asked for one. About a week later I received the cast photo as shown here with the autograph, "From one Russell to another! Russell Johnson." I treasure it.   

National Library Week: Books on Music Monday

To mark National Library Week, this week I am writing about some of my favorite books in my chosen topics: Monday Music, TV Tuesday, Wednesday Comics, and Film Fridays. Today being Monday, let's talk about some of my favorite books about music. 

The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson

First up, one of my favorite books of all time which just happens to be about a resource about music. I got my first credit card while I was still in college. My father gave me some good advice: as soon as I got a credit card I was to buy something relatively inexpensive and then pay it off immediately. This would create a good credit rating. After all, just having a card you never used wasn't showing that you had any credit history at all! So pretty soon after I got my first credit card I came across The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. It would have been something close to $20, but I bought it on credit. It's been all down-hill since then...! Although I do still have a pretty high credit rating. :-)

This book lists every single Number One song of the Rock Age, from Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets (number one for 8 weeks in July-August 1955) to We Are The World (number one for 4 weeks in April 1985). So if you want to know what was the number one song during some special event in the past, this is the book for you. If you want to know how many or which Beatles songs went to number one and which didn't, this is also the book for you. If you like music and you like history and you like to know a little bit about the singers or writers behind the songs, this book is for you. 

I've actually ended up buying this book three times. It was one of the few books I brought with me to Japan when I moved there. While living there, I came across the Japanese version and bought that. I bought it for my wife as a present so she could learn more about US American music, but I in fact ended up reading it more often than she did. 

Then a few years after I came back to the States I came across the Updated and Expanded 2003 version, shown below. I bought that one, and gave my older copy to my brother-in-law. He enjoys it now as much as I did. 

The Monkees' Tale by Eric Lefcowitz

When I was in college I would frequent my college bookstore. Like all college bookstores, they sold textbooks and also your odds and ends, such as books published by minor or local publishers. Well while I was in St. Paul, Minnesota I came across The Monkees' Tale. It's a trade paperback that tells the whole story of how four VERY individual musicians or actors came together to create a pop-culture phenomenon. This book is chock-full of photographs and interviews with the four Monkees, a list of all of the TV episodes, and a list of all of their albums. Plus at the back there is a whole section on Monkees Memorabilia. It's a fun read and a book I pull out and re-read whenever I get that urge.   

Nowhere To Run by Gerri Hirshey

This is a book I was given by my friend Tori in high school. Unlike the other books I've talked about so far, this is not a trade paperback or full of photos. It is basically a real-life book with text only. As a high school kid just beginning to appreciate all the different types of music out there, it was a difficult read. And besides, as Billy Joel says, you can't tell the sound of a new band from an interview in a magazine. 

I took this book with me when I went to Japan in the summer of 1983. It was the ONLY book I had to read while I was surrounded by a foreign language and culture. In that environment, I devoured it. I made copious notes in the brackets to track down singers or bands that I wanted to listen to after I got back to the US. This book helped solidify my love for Soul music, and increased my knowledge of what had gone before.  

Girl Groups by Alan Batrock
I don't know where I came across the book Girl Groups. I think there had to be some documentary or special about the topic, and that is where I first heard of it. Then I tracked it down at a library and read it. A few years later I came across it at a bookstore during one of my trips back to the US and picked up a copy.

The book is an interesting history of the sometimes misogynist music industry. Phil Spector is a great example: he would switch lead singers to whoever was available and then release all of them under the name The Crystals. Also, Mary Wells was hired by Motown to be a writer, but when she got popular they refused to let her record her own songs. You've probably never heard of groups like The Angels or The Dixie Cups, but I'm willing to bet that you've heard the songs "My Boyfriend's Back" or "Chapel of Love." Girl groups were a commodity in a way that boy groups didn't seem to be. Of course, by the time the Beatles arrived groups that not playing their own music basically went away, regardless of gender.

The Supremes by Mark Ribowsky
Speaking of girl groups, here's the most commercially successful one, The Supremes. This is a relatively recent addition to the music library. I came across it in the past few years. I had read Mary Wilson's autobiography Dream Girl: My Life As A Supreme, but because it was told from her perspective there was too much left out or written around because she wasn't a part of it. This book, although more "gossipy" than I usually like, did seem to try to keep its journalistic credentials by citing all types of sources. In the most dramatic area, the firing/quitting of Florence Ballard as a Supreme, he tells the story from several points of view, allowing the reader to try to figure out what the actual truth (?) might be. In that sense, it's a good book.

By the way, I did not buy this book. I found it in one of my internet searches for photos of "the girls" and then reserved it at my local library. So thank you again, Columbus Metropolitan Library!

Diary Of A Player by Brad Paisley & David Wild

This is the latest book I've read about music or a musician. I noticed it at my local library in the BIOGRAPHY section while my wife was looking at flora & fauna books. I have a man-crush on Brad Paisley's music and I wondered if he was as fun as he sounds like he would be. So I picked this up and read it in, like, two days. It's a breezy, easy-to-read chronological travelogue of how Brad got to where he is today. He comes across as a level-headed, kind-hearted, and down to earth fun guy. He respects his elders and appreciates just how lucky he is. If you like Brad Paisley's music, or want to learn about the popular country & western music star, I recommend this book. 

Now, you might be thinking, Where is the book about The Beatles? Well, to tell you the truth, I've never found one that I liked. I've read a few but they seemed too light. In the past few years there have been quite a few books but *they* seem to be too in-depth for me. Anybody have any suggestions that I can search for at my local library? ;-)

And to end this column, how about some music?

Nowhere To Run 

by Martha & The Vandellas 

filmed in a Ford (?) factory in Detroit! 

My Boyfriend's Back 

by the Angels
 

Southern Comfort Zone 

by Brad Paisley 

recording on 10-5-12 in Columbus OH 

I WAS THERE! 

National Library Week

This week is National Library Week. If you've been to this site before you know that I LOVE my local library. Although I live in a suburb outside of Columbus, Ohio my library is in the Metropolitan Columbus Library network. This means that I have access to every book, CD, DVD, magazine, and video in the greater Columbus area. And not only that; if I can't find something in any of the twenty-one libraries in this network I can make a special request to find the item I want any place in the state of Ohio! Needless to say I visit my library about once a week. I visit the library homepage probably three times a week. I have memorized my eleven digit library card number; THAT is how much of a library geek I am!

If you do not have a library card, I don't know why you wouldn't. Besides books, most libraries have music and movies you can borrow. If you could borrow a DVD for free, why wouldn't you? Also, most libraries have magazines. I recently borrowed three issues of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC to do some research. The cost to me? Nothing!

To help celebrate libraries, this week I will be writing about various books I use as resources for my various themes. For example, on TV Tuesday I will be writing about some of the television books I read. Hopefully, I will mention some book you will want to check out at YOUR local library.

The 21 libraries in the Metropolitan Columbus Library network.
Mine is at the lower-middle right off of E Main St

Whatever You Do, Don't Run by Peter Allison

I was in the library recently doing research on a future trip and saw this book displayed in the travel section. The cover was obviously the first thing that grabbed me. I looked at it closely because I couldn't tell if it was photo-shopped or not; I still can't. So since I already had it in my hand I turned it over and read the descriptive passage on the back. "Join Allison as he faces down charging lions---twice; searches for a drunk, half-naked tourist who happens to be a member of the British royal family; drives a Land Rover full of tourists into a lagoon full of hippos; and adopts the most vicious animal in Africa as his 'pet'."

This sounded interesting, so I glanced at the Table of Contents. I saw a few chapter titles that sounded interesting, too: The World's Worst Bathroom, Buffalo School, And The Fool & The Snake. Plus in the center of the book are a few pages of photos taken by the author, and they, too, looked interesting. So I decided to take a chance on thsi book and borrowed it.

I'm glad I did.

Peter Allison is an Australian who went to Africa as a 19-year-old kid for what he thought would be a one-year holiday; he ended up never really leaving. Currently he is a safari guide in Botswana. This book is a collection of some of his adventure as a youngster trying his hand at live on the veldt.

His writing style reminds me of Bill Bryson, author of A Walk In The Woods and I'm A Stranger Here Myself. His tone is conversational, straight-forward and fun. One of Allison's most interesting stories concerned his humorous battle with a wart-hog. Another funny one was about the year the camp was over-run by mice...which also made on overly-anxious elephant run amok as well. The comedy is balanced by a poignant story of one of his friends who ends up dying of AIDS. And he tells the breathtaking story of witnessing an extremely rare and dangerous lion chase, only to have the tourists he was guiding at the time be anything but impressed. And I laughed out loud at his description of a group of Japanese tourists; one in particular was never satisfied by the poses of the animals, the natural lighting, or the overall composition of his photographs.

Whatever You Do, Don't Run is 246 pages, divided into twenty-eight chapters with an average length of eight pages. It is light and easy to read, and a great description of what it must be like on an actual safari camp.