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Area 51 remains one of the most fascinating and perplexing phenomena of the last six decades. Ever since the Roswell incident of 1947, Area 51 has become both a mysterious and isolated military complex of the utmost secrecy and scrutiny and the ...
Area 51 remains one of the most fascinating and perplexing phenomena of the last six decades. Ever since the Roswell incident of 1947, Area 51 has become both a mysterious and isolated military complex of the utmost secrecy and scrutiny and the birthplace of modern UFO conspiracy culture.
Its very name conjures up images of little green men, armed soldiers and shadowy government projects. It has become the most famous military installation in the world, which is ironic since, according to the U.S. government, it does not exist.
There are those who believe it is a complex maze of underground tunnels that house within them aliens, alien technology, strange new weapons and even nuclear secrets. The rumors and speculation about the base and its use have proliferated our culture, largely because no journalist has been able to dust away the innuendo and conspiracy to uncover the secrets of the base.
Then along came Annie Jacobsen, who managed to gain interviews with men who worked at the base. These men, now in their senior years, provided information on the site and allowed her access to military and intelligence personnel, scientists, pilots and engineers who worked at Area 51.
Within the pages of her well researched, thorough new book, Jacobsen uses declassified information as well interviews with staff, witnesses and long-retired military leaders to set aside the myths and rumors and get to the bottom of what really happens at Area 51. Her narrative tells of decades of espionage, weapons testing and development, bringing the reader up to speed on the base's current involvement in fighting terrorism.
Jacobsen has penned the first nonspeculative work on Area 51. Those wanting to know about aliens and crashed spaceships will be disappointed to find a more military-themed work, focusing on research, development and espionage.
Jacobsen?s voice is clear as she takes readers for a journey through history into one of the most guarded places in the world. Absolutely compelling.
This new novel from St. Louis resident Scott Phillips packs a loaded pistol filled with postwar tension, violence and suspense. It is a condensed story that dramatically fires on all cylinders, delivering an enthralling story of deception, extortion, revenge and murder.
Set in postwar Wichita, KS, the plot centers around a PR man named Wayne Ogden who returns home from World War II only to find that his hometown is now being run by the corrupt and morally bankrupt Collins Aircraft Company and its founder, Everett Collins.
Ogden is alarmed by the increase in crime in Wichita and vows to end Collins' firm grasp over the town. He takes things into his own hands and wages a personal vendetta against the once venerable company.
As in any good noir thriller, very quickly things get personal and nasty. As he takes on Collins, Ogden begins to receive a series of explosive letters that threatens to expose his dubious behavior while in the service.
What happens next is a thrilling mélange of postwar violence and intrigue filled with swearing antiheroes, mouthy dames, bloody gunfights, hidden secrets and blackmail, carefully manipulated by an author who is determined to stamp his own mark on the traditional postwar crime novel.
The Adjustment is a fast-paced, violently dark and brooding story that plays out like an action serial, tipping its hat to the gangster crime genre while offering a refreshingly realistic and crisp narrative penned by an author with a genuine knowledge and affinity for the era.
Bill White has done almost everything there is to do in the game of baseball. He was a solid-hitting, hard-playing first baseman for the Cardinals, Giants and Phillies from 1956-69. After leaving the game, he joined the Yankees as a broadcaster. He later served as president of the National League from 1989-94.
In his new memoir, White details not only his illustrious career in the game but also reveals an honest account of a pro athlete in the Jim Crow era. Like Jackie Robinson and other players before him, White endured taunts and slurs from fans. In addition to the stresses of playing professional ball, White also had to deal with a segregated world off the diamond during a tumultuous time filled with poor hotels, bad meals and the constant threat of physical harm. Thankfully, Monte Irvin and Willie Mays took him under their wing and showed him how to cope.
White also recalls playing for Leo Durocher, a manager who was notoriously tough on all of his players, and how Durocher made him work harder to become a great first baseman.
His stories about broadcasting with Yankees great Phil Rizzuto are interesting and humorous. White was fortunate enough to call games during the team?s colorful and tumultuous Bronx Zoo years of the mid-1970s. But it is his career as president of the National League where White really left an indelible mark. While in office, his no-nonsense attitude kept players in line while also taking owners and general managers to task when necessary. He took his job very seriously without relinquishing his passion for the game.
Throughout his playing career, White was never one to mince words, and he doesn?t do it in his memoir, either. White offers candid and honest remarks about many of baseball?s great players and broadcasters.
He writes with frank candor about many of the games biggest problems. White has always been respected by his peers for his honesty and integrity. In this book, we find a veteran player, broadcaster and executive who offers a perspective on America?s pastime without holding anything back.
The result is a well-written and sharp memoir about not only where the game has been, but also about what it has become. White?s controversial comments and recollections are insightful and serve as a reminder of how bad it was for the first group of African-American stars who broke the color barrier.
By looking back at his career on and off the field, we are reminded first, of how overlooked White was as a great player and second, how amazing it was for him to become a pioneering African-American broadcaster and executive. Bill White made things easier for the players who came into Major League Baseball after him. Bill White?s memoir reminds us how important baseball is to the fabric of our collective culture and history.
It has taken more than six years, but fans of George R.R. Martin are dancing in the aisles over the release of A Dance with Dragons: A Song of Ice and Fire, the fifth book in the highly popular Game of Thrones series.
Simply put, A Dance with Dragons is a literary event. Despite being a dense read with lots and lots of characters, subplots, twists and turns, the book has been flying off of shelves since its release last month and shows no signs of letting up in sales. Fans of the series are fiercely loyal and eager to take in the newest tale in the series.
Martin uses this book to fill in some spaces and tie up loose ends from previous books. In doing this, he weaves a sprawling tapestry not unlike Tolkien in turning a story into an epic adventure. With this book, he cleverly brings everything together and ties it up with a neat, little bow.
The book, which took 11 years to write, is a traveling tale of sorts. While there is a lot of intrigue going on, the book mainly focuses on Tyrion Lannister, a dwarf accused and found guilty of murder. Tyrion spends a lot of time in the novel contemplating the final words of his father. As the novel progresses, he is run aground, shipwrecked and eventually sold into slavery. His strength, intelligence and fortitude are again underestimated, and eventually he flees for his life later in the book.
The strength of this book is that as it appears that little is going to happen with the actual Game of Thrones, Martin begins to put all of the pieces together. Seemingly meaningless plot points come together, other characters return and things begin to line up, forming an incredible tale of fantasy, culminating in several important cliff-hangers that undoubtedly will have a profound effect on the final two books of the series.
Grant Morrison doesn?t just love comics, he?s been writing them for more than three decades. Now he has harnessed his passion for comics to examine the history of the industry while offering the thesis that comic book heroes make us better humans.
In addition to giving a succinct history of the medium, Morrison uses comic books as a reference point. He draws on history, mythology and art to examine the archetype of the hero through popular culture. Case in point is the Man of Steel whom Morrison meticulously points out as a cultural icon, while taking great pains to explain how Superman is a modern godlike figure for a contemporary age.
Morrison also takes time to reflect on his own career in comics, using personal recollections to offer readers a glimpse into the industry while also tipping his hat to the significance of men such as Jack Kirby, Alan Moore and Frank Miller.
By taking the reader on a journey through comic book history, Morrison crafts his argument about the relevance and cultural impact of superheroes. He finds an interesting parallel in the events of human history and the birth, ascent, decline, resurrection, re-ascent, further decline and eventual resurrection again of popular superheroes. He argues that being human requires the need for superheroes. Our culture uses these heroes in a similar way to the Greeks, Romans and other cultures used their mythological figures to reflect their society and culture.
Supergods is an incredible read for those who enjoy comic books or loved them as a kid. It also works as a cultural examination of both the medium of comics and the culture that so desperately needs the heroes they give us.
For more than 10 years, Subterranean Books has been an independently owned business located at 6275 Delmar Blvd., in the heart of The Loop. 314-862-6100. www.subbooks.
About this column:For over ten years Subterranean Books has been an independently owned business located at 6275 Delmar, in the heart of The Loop. www.subbooks.
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Recommended Reads: A Coffee Table Book on St. Louis Architecture and a Must Read for Revolutionary War Enthusiasts Recommended Reads: A Biography of Stan Musial, and Two Books About Families Caught Up In War Recommended Reads: Malcolm X Biography, Tina Fey's New Book and a Collection of Laugh Out Loud Wrong Test Answers Recommended Reads: A Real-Life Medical Thriller, Zimbabwe's Struggles and David Foster Wallace's Final Book Recommended Reads:
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