Details, just the Gorey details

Dery, Mark.  Born to be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey. 
          New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2018.

How well do you know Edward St. John Gorey?  How many of his little books have you read?  Or are you a fan of his book covers and art work?  Maybe you only know him from the credits to PBS's Mystery program.  But if you want plenty of details, you have the right book in hand.

Mark Dery provides plenty of details in his biography of Gorey.  He starts with his childhood in Chicago, followed by his stint in the US Army which he spent mainly at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah.  After his discharge, Gorey used his GI Bill benifits to attend Harvard majoring in French, but mainly spent his time writing and drawing while hanging out with the likes of Frank O'Hara and John Ciardi.  After graduating and haning around Boston for a couple of years and getting caught up in the Poets' Theatre, Gorey moved to New York City to work in the art department of Anchor Books.  There he created book covers, did illustrations, all while working on his own material.  While in NYC, he perfected and published a number of small books and then got the stage-bug when he designed the set for John Wulp's Dracula which got him fame, notice, and royalties!  Then his books started selling and he moved to Cape Cod in 1985.  For the last 15 years, he wrote some, illustrated some and had fun putting on plays until he died in 2000 from a heart attack.

Mark Dery does a good job of documenting Gorey's life and his work.  He also does a commendable job of placing Gorey in context to the society and culture.  He does have a tendency to focus on particular aspects of Gorey's life that tends to distract from Gorey's life rather than explain it.  But overall, a very decent read of Gorey and his work.

Is it a crime?

Chase, Mike.  How to Become a Federal Criminal: An Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring
          Offender.  New York: Atria Books, 2019.  ISBN: 9781982112516

Have you cut off a mattress tag and sold the mattress to someone?  Have you communicated with pirates?  Or have you drawn too large a mustache on a dollar bill?  If so, you are a Federal criminal! Is Congress not wonderful?  It has provided so many laws that can be broken!  And Mike Chase is here to help you know when, where and how to do it!

In eight chapters, Mike Chase walks the would-be criminal through what you would need to do to be come a Federal criminal.  Chapter 1 discusses becoming a criminal by mail.  Chapter 2 deals with animal criminality.  Chapter 3 concerns money  crimes.  Chapter 4 allows food to be criminalized.  Chapter 5 brings alcohol into the mix.  Chapter 6 sorts through crimes on Federal property.  Chapter 7 entertains thoughts of pirates and the sea.  Chapter 8 is the catchall - i.e.  anything not covered in the other chapters.

Mike Chase actually comes by his knowledge legally since by day he is a white collar criminal defense lawyer while at night he puts out the @CrimeADay Twitter feed.  How to Become a Federal Criminal is his attempt to share the fun he has had in dealing with crime with a wider audience.  So if you have an interest in the law, in crime, in what not to do so you do not get caught as a criminal, or any combination there of, do read this title!