RARA-AVIS: Firsts

James Stephenson (James_E_Stephenson@umail.umd.edu)
Fri, 21 Nov 1997 08:42:59 -0500 Yesterday I picked up the November 1997 issue of Firsts, a magazine for
book collectors. There are a number of articles in the magazine that
RARA-AVIS members might find interesting. "Collecting George P.
Pelecanos" is the longest article I have found about Pelecanos, one of
the best of the modern hard-boiled authors. Thanks to this article,
though, I can just about kiss my chances of finding a copy of Pelecanos'
second book _Nick's trip_ at an affordable price goodbye.

I was also very pleased to find an interesting article on Donald
Hamilton in this issue. I've stated my fondness for Hamilton on this
list before, and I still feel that he's unfairly undervalued by crime
fiction fans. I think part of the problem is that crime fiction fans
dismiss the espionage genre out of hand. I don't think Hamilton's
reputation has recovered from those silly Dean Martin movies either.
Everything by Hamilton--including his Westerns, I hasten to add--is
worth seeking out and reading.

Finally, the "Books into film" department of this magazine looks at _The
asphalt jungle_. It's a short article, but there are some interesting
observations on both the novel and the film.

Rounding out this issue are articles about collecting modern novels with
an Elizabethan setting, and Dickens' _The mystery of Edwin Drood_.
While not about crime fiction in the hard-boiled genre, these are
interesting articles as well.

-- 
James Stephenson
Rare Books & Special Collections Cataloger
McKeldin Library
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Email: js272@umail.umd.edu
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