Hunting for Savage Demons

Franklin, Ruth.  Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life.  New York: Liveright Publishing, 2016
       ISBN: 978-0-87140-313-1

When Shirley Jackson's name is mentioned, people either think of her haunting horror tales such as, "The Lottery," or The Haunting of Hill House, or her tales of "domestic bliss" gathered in Life among the Savages and Raising Demons.  But there is much more to her complicated tale than horror or domestic life.   In Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, Ruth Franklin tries to open a window on this complicated tale.

Using all the available sources (unpublished diaries, papers, story sketches/drafts, book reviews, publishers records, etc.), Franklin works to bring Shirley Jackson into focus as a fully-rounded person rather than just as a writer.  She spends several chapters on Jackson's early life as well as her husband's (Stanly Edgar Hyman), documenting the underlying passions and phobias each would bring to their life together and to their individual literary endeavors.  Franklin carefully describes the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that Jackson lived through, breaking the book into chapters based on what book or story collection that Jackson was writing at that time.  This structure allows the reader to see how Jackson's life influenced her writing while revealing the effect her writing had on her domestic situation.

Ruth Franklin accomplished her goal of illustrating how domestic issues, the process of writing, and external forces shaped Shirley Jackson's life and literary outpourings.  The reader who finishes Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life will then have more balanced view on what or who haunted Jackson and her tales.

Mayhem and Comedy on Television: 1967-1978

Burnett, Carol.  In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the 
         Sandbox.  NY: Crown Archetype, 2016.  ISBN: 978-1-101-90466-4

From 1967 to 1978, Carol Burnett and Company produced a variety show before a live audience.  Due to syndication, reruns, and YouTube, The Carol Burnett Show can still be enjoyed today.  As she mentions in In Such Good Company, even nine-year-old boys know who she is.

In Such Good Company, Carol Burnett takes the reader behind the curtain of The Carol Burnett Show.  The reader gets a brief tour of how the show came to be - a very obscure part of her contract with CBS - and then "Boom", off the show went - For Eleven Years!  In case the reader does not remember, the show was a variety show , so there was music, comedic sketches, guest stars, and plenty of laughs. 

Carol Burnett walks the reader through a typical weekly schedule.  She talks about the layout of the show and then dives into the players in the sandbox.  She provides short sketches of the Gang (Viki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway), then those behind the scenes such as Bob Mackie who designed almost every costume used in the show.  She then takes time out to reminisce about recurring skits, explain what a punch line is, discuss some of the movie parodies done on the show, and then relives the highlights with various guest stars who had graced Studio 33 for a week or more.  The book winds up with a look at the final season and show.

If you enjoy exploring pop culture, like comedy or variety shows, or are just a fan of Carol Burnett, you will enjoy In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the          Sandbox!

How Much Does Crime Pay?

White, Tim, Randall Richard, and Wayne Worcester.  The Last Good Heist: The Inside Story of
          the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast.  Guilford, CN: Globe
          Pequot, 2016  ISBN: 978-1-4930-0959-6

The Last Good Heist opens with the reporters covering the August 14, 1975, robbery of the Bonded Vault which is housed within the Hudson Fur Storage business in Providence, RI.  Eight or nine men had robbed the place early in the morning.  The Bonded Vault is a safety-deposit box business and 146 out of 148 boxes had been opened.  An unknown amount of loot - cash, coins, and jewelry - had been carried off.  Early figures given are around a million dollars.  Later federal law officials figure that about 32 million (in 1975 dollars) was taken.  And none was ever recovered!

But really The Last Good Heist is the tale of the lead robber - Robert J. Dussault, a career criminal from Lowell (MA) who had quite a record before he escaped prison and teamed up with his friend Charles "Chucky" Flynn, another Lowell boy.  Flynn had been granted the Bonded Vault job with the blessing of Raymond L. S. Patriarca, the head Mafia boss in Providence, RI.  But before the gang gets to the big job, there are smaller jobs to be done (and often goofed-up).  Then August 14, 1975, dawns and the big robbery happens.  The gang each receive their agreed initial share from the cash on hand with more to come from the fencing of silver ingots, jewelry, coins, and bonds.  The gang then splits up.  Much of the rest of the book deals with Dussault's life on the run as he travels around the United States, spending his loot, and doing more robberies.  After being caught in Las Vegas (NV), Dussault spills his guts regarding the Bonded Vault robbery.  There is a very long trial followed by an even longer legal wrangling.  Dussault supposedly died in 1992, but family members state that he was at his mother's funeral in 1994. 

If you have watched The Thomas Crown Affair (the 1968 version), you know how it is the little things that unravel the perfectly planned crime.  The same goes for the criminals in The Last Good Heist, stupidity lead to Dussault being caught, a lie lead to him testifying, and the conviction of half the crew.  Now the reader gets to sit back and follow the true crime tale in The Last Good Heist!

Another World War II History Trilogy

Holland, James.  The Rise of Germany - 1939-1941: The War in the West Volume One.  New
         York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-8021-2397-8

James Holland has embarked on an ambitious journey.  He is writing a trilogy of books dealing with World War II, specifically the war in the West.  He states that he want to provide more an operational look at the war combining social, political, and economic with  the military history.  This volume, The Rise of Germany - 1939-1941, covers the coming of the war up to the attack on Soviet Union in Spring of 1941.

 James Holland provides a very accessible account of the first two years of the war with multiple viewpoints, plenty of interesting but relevant details, and short chapters that allow the reader plenty of pausing spots.  Interestingly, he is not afraid to skip within a chapter from one continent to another to keep the larger picture in focus.  All the relevant battles are covered, but the fighting is not the major focus.  Instead, the focus is on the synergy of supply, politics, human interaction, and decision making that lead to those battles and reacts to battle results.

A reader who has consumed numerous histories of World War II and its various battles/campaigns will find The Rise of Germany - 1939-1941 quite readable and relevant because of its focus on the operational level with personal insights providing the details that make the best histories come alive.  There are some faults such as when James Holland puts in editorial comments on bad decision making, but these do not detract much from the enjoyment the book provides.  Hopefully, volumes two and three will be as well written!

Occult America in 1920's

Jaher, David.  The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World. 
         New York: Crown Publishers, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-307-45106-4

In 1920's America, jazz, bootleggers, and the occult filled the headlines.  Arthur Colin Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, visited America several times in the 1920's, preaching the gospel of Spiritualism.  The Ouija board was a popular parlor device.   Visits to mediums were common among many who had lost loved ones to the Great War or the influenza epidemic.  A number of scientists were investigating the occult trying to prove scientifically whether spirits were real or just fakes perpetrated by the mediums.  In the midst of this fervor, Scientific American magazine put up a purse of $2,500 for documented physical phenomena and a matching purse for spirit photography.  It was this contest that brought Harry Houdini, escape artist and stage magician, together with Margaret Crandon, one of the most heralded mediums of the time.

David Jaher does an excellent job of introducing the characters and setting the stage for his tale of 1920's occult America.  He lets the details of the story slowly unfold so that the reader is caught up in the atmosphere of the 1920's.  Only then does the build-up for the struggle between Houdini and Margaret commence.  The final section of the book closes with a synopses of Harry Houdini's and Margaret Crandon's latter years.  Selected sources are provided along with the location of more extensive collections on the topics covered in the List of Sources.  If 1920's America, the occult, Harry Houdini, or Margaret Crandon peaks your interest, The Witch of Lime Street is likely to satisfy.

Parasites and Free Will

McAuliffe, Kathleen.This Is Your Brain On Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our
      Behavior and Shape Society.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016.
      ISBN: 978-0-544-19222-5

Are you interested in learning about zombified cockroaches? How about suicidal ants?  Or maybe cat-loving mice?  Round worms in human, anyone?  If you answered yes any of these question or you just want to find out what is going on inside your body, read This Is Your Brain On Parasites.  You will be informed, maybe entertained, and likely creeped out.

McAuliffe opens the book with an Introduction on how she stumbled on this topic.  It was an Internet post about a single-celled parasite that targets rat brains and reverses their innate fear of cats into an attraction to cats.  The first five chapters concentrate on the negative affects parasites can have on their hosts.  These are the chapters that deal with zombified cockroaches, suicidal ants, cat-loving rats, and possible effect on humans.  Chapters 6, 7, and 8 examine gut bacteria and its effect on weight and emotions.  The final four chapters delve into more esoteric concerns such as disgust, prejudice, piety, and free will.

This Is Your Brain On Parasites is an interesting grab-bag of parasitical science research.  McAuliffe provides a readable discussion not just on the negative effects of  parasites, but also how they benefit their hosts and maybe have shaped human society.  If you are intrigued or freaked out by this research, read and become informed.

Nerds versus The Batman

Weldon, Glen.  The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture.  New York: Simon &
            Schuster, 2016.  ISBN: 978-1-4767-5669-1

Batman has been in the public eye since his debut in 1939 in Detective Comics #27. In The Caped Crusade, Glen Weldon explores why Batman has endured, what his cultural impact has been, and the Bat's relevance to today's culture.

In the Introduction, Weldon opens by discussing a 30 year cycle of gritty to campy Batman through its 70 year history, the myth of Batman's reliability, and the rise of nerds in general culture.  He then dives into the history of Batman in nine chapters.  He opens with the first appearances of Batman and discusses his origins and how Robin turned the Lone Vigilant into the Dynamic Duo.  The Comic Book Panic with Dr. Wertham and how it affected Batman is covered in some detail next.  The 1960's television show and its effect on the comic and culture is explored in Chapter 3, followed by the backlash of the comic creators and fans.  There are chapters on the various movies and cartoon shows intermingled with the changing comic book scene covering to close to the present day.  Mingled throughout the chapters is the development of the nerd fan culture and its reaction to the multiple incarnations of Batman over the years.

Weldon has provided a nice history of Batman that places the character in context of his changing fan base.  He provides plenty of informed commentary with informational asides that make this a smooth read.  He lets slip his preferences while still presenting the other side of the argument.  If you like Batman, comics, or the rise of fan culture, you are likely to enjoy The Caped Crusade!