Chris Martin wrote:
"This talk about the Godfather is interesting since Random
House recently conducted a search to find an author to write
a sequal to the book. I scoffed when I heard of this, but now
that they've chosen Mark Winegardner to write the books, I am
intrigued. As far as I know, nothing Winegardner has written
is particularly hardboiled, but the guy such a great writer
and storyteller that this could be interesting."
I found it interesting that Associated Press or the reporter
(if AP picked up the story from the Random House
announcement) didn't have the correct information on
Winegardner. The AP article mentioned that he was the author
of the baseball novel, Prophet of the Sandlots. That book
actually is a non-fiction book about baseball scouting while
his baseball novel was The Vera Cruz Blues about the Mexican
League in 1946. He incorporated many real people into the
story including Ernest Hemingway, Babe Ruth, Diego Rivera,
Gene Tunney and the major league players who were lured to
Mexico. It's near the top of my favourite baseball
novels.
Winegardner also wrote a travel book titled Elvis Presley
Boulevard that is worth tracking down as well co-authoring
with Steve Fireovid, The 26th Man, about Fireovid's dream of
making the big leagues as a pitcher. In his "big" novel about
Cleveland between 1948 and 1969, Crooked River Burning,
Winegardner again incorporates real people such as Eliot
Ness, Alan Freed and Carl Stokes. I got to page 285 of this
561-page epic when I put it aside, but plan to get back to it
soon. I haven't found his book of short stories, but based on
what I have read, I expect Winegardner is up to handling The
Godfather challenge.
Kent Morgan in Winnipeg
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