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However, the dude of the title was Philip Brodell, who had returned to the area after seducing Alma Greve the year before - Brodell was found dead from a shot in the back on a huckleberry-picking expedition. Alma's father Harvey is now in jail, charged with murder, but Lily and Archie are convinced he's innocent, since they've both known him for years (see "The Rodeo Murder" in _Three at Wolfe's Door_). Archie takes an unpaid leave of absence from Wolfe until the case is finished. Wolfe, of course, isn't prepared to have Archie gone for an open-ended length of time, so after pulling a few strings to find out exactly what the case against Harvey is, he appears unannounced at the Bar JR soon after receiving Archie's letter, and he and Archie get to work on the investigation.
It's cool to see Wolfe loosen up a little; as a guest in someone else's domain, he'd be violating his personal standards if he took his eccentricity too far. (Archie, after watching him a little, says it's obvious Wolfe promised himself not to complain about the food no matter what.) Archie, for his part, has made friends over years of vacation visits to Lily out here: to name two, Woody, who runs what he calls the Hall of Culture (the dance hall and cinema pieces of it support him) and can hold his own in dinner conversation with Wolfe, and Carol, the wife of the accused and an ex-rodeo performer herself, who doesn't have a bible in the house to swear on, so she uses a saddle she won at the height of her career.
Some other neat touches include, but are by no means limited to: the guests at the dude ranch where the victim was staying; checking up on the alibi of Brodell's would-be rival for Alma Greve's affections, involving a history teacher, some chickens, and a roofing company; and a hilarious little passage wherein Archie takes time out to discuss censoring one of the wranglers' commentary on Brodell, a deserving victim if ever there was one.
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A listing of Elvis's recording sessions from 1954 through 1977 is provided at the end of the book. An index is also provided.
I was very curious because I manage an Elvis Tribute Band, of how they worked together and I learned alot from their mistakes. I don't think the author liked the Colonel too much but you can tell he put alot of research into it & I'm glad he wrote the book.
You also get alot of insight into show business.
Before I read the book I thought the Colonel was maybe someone special or a superb businessman to have been so successful, but after reading it, it showed me he wasn't all that great of a manager, not keeping Elvis's best interests at heart. One example of this is he made songwriters share their profits with him thus eliminating alot of very good songwriters. "Suspicious Minds" was an exception to this. Elvis could have had alot more great songs if the Colonel hadn't been so greedy.
But their were some good things he did too, the concerts & especially Aloha from Hawaii, which was videotaped & similcast. I also liked the documentary movie "That's the Way it is" about Elvis & the NBC Special.
I think there was some kind of karmic bond between the Colonel & Elvis. Elvis said it best, "We're caught in a trap, I can't walk out, because I love you too much, baby."
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Turn of the TV and check it out!
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This cinematic treatment of his ghostwritten World War II memoir of the same name differs in many ways from the book. Novak is killed when Murphy was in the hospital according to the book, but in the movie, he dies before Murphy's eyes. Audie is seen at the film's beginning taking care of the family; in truth, he was in orphanages. But again, the movie has Murphy.
And for me, that's enough. Not too many heroes get to portray themselves on the screen. And Audie had enough acting ability to play himself on the screen (something Mickey Mantle or Jackie Robinson couldn't really do with all due respect).
Still, it's a fun movie and it does give viewers Murphy's war experiences in a nice digestible hour and a half. Heck, even if half of what is portrayed on the screen was true, Murphy's war experiences would eclipse 99% of all the others (the guys of E Company in Band of Brothers are included here too).
It's a good intro to Murphy's war career if somehow his book is too daunting or if one doesn't have the time.
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A sad sidenote. Don't rent/watch the insipid Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward movie 'loosely' based on the book. Instead of LA they set it in New Orleans and they basically rearranged all the characters into pale versions of their literary counterparts. Just thought I'd let you know.
All of MacDonald's novels exhibit certain basic themes--tormented families, buried secrets that fester through multiple generations, environmental destruction, and the brutal contrast between rich and poor. The key to MacDonald's long running success was Archers realism and authenticity, MacDonald's ability to craft complex yet understandable stories, his mastery of language, and his ability to generate a specific atmosphere of threatening suspense on a consistent basis.
All of the above referenced themes are present in The Drowning Pool, which I think is MacDonald's best novel, though The Underground Man is right up there as well.
MacDonald's novels aren't just mind candy-reading him is a literary experience. I believe that is why he was successful in a sort of restrained way. Escapists will not get into these books-they are too cerebral. If you want to your books affect you, MacDonald and Archer are your kind of guy's.