From Publishers Weekly
In 16 stories written over 50 years, Schulberg offers a slightly quaint grab-bag of vintage fictions, each carrying its own moral message. The title piece, a portrait of a down-and-out movie director, features that epitome of Hollywood amorality, Sammy Glick, in an appearance that predates What Makes Sammy Run? by several years. Two tales published 20 years apart, "Hollywood versus Chris Samuels, Age Nine" and "A Second Father," cover familiar Schulberg territory with their portraits of the lonely son of a mostly absent Hollywood studio chief. Other stories, including four new to print, range in setting from Mexico City to New York City to the Florida Keys. Many of these pieces first appeared in Playboy , Esquire or Colliers in the '30s and '40s, but the book does not identify original publication dates, nor are the stories in chronological order. Without that context, readers may feel slightly lost; the style, while rich, is rather dated. Publication of this collection coincides with an anniversary edition of What Makes Sammy Run?
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Fifty years of writing are celebrated in this collection of 16 short stories that span the years 1938 to the present. Selected to demonstrate the quality and variety of Schulberg's work, they reflect his interests in Hollywood and Mexico and his fascination with the ever-present underdog. Among the memorable characters to come to life are a Hollywood writer who is duped time after time by a Mexican dealer in fake pre-Columbian art, a waitress who casts her lot with an undisciplined prize fighter, a down-and-out movie director, and a Pilgrim Father whose fate is determined by chance and an eligible maiden. Some of the stories are dated, but the quality of writing and the classic themes make them as enjoyable today as they were when they were written. Also scheduled for release in January is a 50th anniversay edition of Schulberg's What Makes Sammy Run ?, noted in Classic Returns, LJ 11/15/89-- Ed. -- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In 16 stories written over 50 years, Schulberg offers a slightly quaint grab-bag of vintage fictions, each carrying its own moral message. The title piece, a portrait of a down-and-out movie director, features that epitome of Hollywood amorality, Sammy Glick, in an appearance that predates What Makes Sammy Run? by several years. Two tales published 20 years apart, "Hollywood versus Chris Samuels, Age Nine" and "A Second Father," cover familiar Schulberg territory with their portraits of the lonely son of a mostly absent Hollywood studio chief. Other stories, including four new to print, range in setting from Mexico City to New York City to the Florida Keys. Many of these pieces first appeared in Playboy , Esquire or Colliers in the '30s and '40s, but the book does not identify original publication dates, nor are the stories in chronological order. Without that context, readers may feel slightly lost; the style, while rich, is rather dated. Publication of this collection coincides with an anniversary edition of What Makes Sammy Run?
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Fifty years of writing are celebrated in this collection of 16 short stories that span the years 1938 to the present. Selected to demonstrate the quality and variety of Schulberg's work, they reflect his interests in Hollywood and Mexico and his fascination with the ever-present underdog. Among the memorable characters to come to life are a Hollywood writer who is duped time after time by a Mexican dealer in fake pre-Columbian art, a waitress who casts her lot with an undisciplined prize fighter, a down-and-out movie director, and a Pilgrim Father whose fate is determined by chance and an eligible maiden. Some of the stories are dated, but the quality of writing and the classic themes make them as enjoyable today as they were when they were written. Also scheduled for release in January is a 50th anniversay edition of Schulberg's What Makes Sammy Run ?, noted in Classic Returns, LJ 11/15/89-- Ed. -- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
