In reverse order, the death of Bob Hope reminds me of
Christmas 1970 in Vietnam when he performed a few hundred
yards from where I was but I didn't go see him. I was in
country less than 30 days and depressed as hell after pulling
an all-night guard duty and just couldn't muster the energy
to see him. In a oddly modern moment, Bob Hope's performance
was carried on the Armed Forces Radio Network and I listened
to it on a transitor radio while I could hear the laughs and
cheers live and in person. I wish now I had gotten off my ass
and down the way to see him, a bit of history and a linkage
to thousands of other lonely GIs.
This past weekend my wife and I drove to Culpepper, VA for
lunch and antiquing. Of course, my secret agenda was Ace
Books, the good book store above the bicycle shop. I found
several Alfred Hitchcock digests from the late 1950s and
early 1960s, one Mike Shayne from 1971 and one issue of The
Saint, which turned out to be a duplicate, alas. The only
novel I picked up was Edwin Lanham's HEADLINED FOR MURDER
(1946) in the Bantam edition. The original title was SLUG IT
SLAY in the Harcourt first edition. This is a newspaper
background novel and based on the opening pages is a good
one. I know Lanham published other novels but I know nothing
about him. Any opinions out there? He clearly knew the
newspaper business and the particular way the old hot type
newspapers functioned. I must be one of the last survivors to
remember the days when all the copy was set in lead prior to
publishing. Well, Tony Hillerman is another.
So is there anyone out there with opinions or
recommendations concerning Lanham?
Richard Moore
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