BOOKS

• The Shamus Game...Buy this book
  Edited by Robert J. Randisi
  Signet, 2000
  $6.50
  It doesn't get much better than this, for fans of the shamus game. Think of it as a sampler pack of some of the best in contemporary private detective fiction. PWA founder Randisi continues his bi-annual schedule with another PWA anthology of 14 more original stories, including contributions by Max Allan Collins, Loren D. Estleman, Jeremiah Healy, Bill Pronzini, John Lutz, S.J. Rozan and all the usual suspects. Excellent, as always, and recommended.
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• The 2001 Deadly Directory ...Buy this book
  by Kate Derie, editor
  Deadly Serious Press, 2000
  $28.00
  Invaluable for any true fan of mysteries. Extensive listings of mystery bookstores, organizations, publications, events, archives, small presses, reviewers, entertainment, gifts, and online sites. Names, addresses, phone/fax, email, and websites. It bills itself as "Your complete guide to the international mystery, crime, and detective fiction community," and this ain't no foolin' around! Derie is also the creator of the essential ClueLass web site..
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• American Mystery and Detective Novels: A Reference Guide...Buy this book
  by Larry N. Landrum
  Greenwood Press, 1999
  $75.00
  This reference book provides a selective guide to the important criticism of American mystery and detective novels. Landrum, an English professor at Michigan State University, presents a general outline of the genre's historical development over the last two hundred years, compares related genres (such as gothic, suspense, gangster, etc.), analyzes various critical approaches, looks at individual authors (with special attention paid to many writers who do not otherwise get mainstream attention), and provides an introduction to available reference works and manuscript collections regarding mystery and detective fiction in the United States.
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• A Dashiell Hammett Companion...Buy this book
  by Robert L. Gale
  Greenwood Press, 2000
  $79.50
  This book presents alphabetically arranged entries for all of Hammett's works and characters. Entries for family members, acquaintances, and influences, along with a chronology, a brief general bibliography, and bibliographical references for especially detailed entries, are also included. Author Gale is Professor Emeritus of American Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. A must-have for the serious Hammett aficionado on your Christmas list.
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• And here's a treat for everyone: a free book!.
• The Lost Son
  Alibi, 1999
  by Eric Leclere
  Free (as a .pdf download)
  This served as the basis for what I thought was a pretty decent P.I. flick. But the author had all sorts of problems with it, so what do I know?. You can read the whole sordid story of broken promises, artistic differences and backstage treachery, and even read the original screenplay by Leclere and his wife, at The Alibi Books Web Site. Best of all, though, you can download the whole damn novel for free, as a .pdf file. How cool is that? "Give it away and be damned!" -- that's Leclere's motto. Merry Christmas, I say!

COMIC BOOKS

• Sam & Twitch
  "The Bounty Hunter Wars"
  Issues #15-17
  Written by Brian Michael Bendis
  Art by Alex Maleev
  Image Comics/$2.50 each
  Not much new happening in private eye comics this year, but the current story arc in Brian Michael Bendix's Sam and Twitch has the Odd Couple team of New York cops of the title teaming up with Bendix's hard-talkin', kickass female bounty hunter Jinx Alameda, who's been MIA for too long.
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• Detective Comics #1, March 1937
  Written by E.C. Stoner, Sven Elven, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Bill Patrick, Jerry Siegel, Russell Cole, Fred Schwab, Homer Fleming
  Art by Craig Flessel, Sven Elven, Tom Hickey, Bill Patrick, Joe Shuster, Russell Cole, Fred Schwab, Homer Fleming
  DC Comics/$3.95
  A special, one-off "Millenium" reprint of the pivotal Detective Comics #1 from March 1937. "The First Comic Dedicated To a Single Theme," as DC proudly proclaims. Clearly inspired by the success of the hardboiled pulps of the time, this is about as two-fisted and pulpy as comic books ever got, right down to some truly ghastly writing, unbelievably offensive stereotypes and art that ranges from horrid to heavenly. A great cover, too, featuring -- what else? -- an "Oriental" villain, who looks suspiciously like Fu Manchu. Includes the first Slam Bradley story, by the pre-Superman team of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as well as other he-man tales of derring-do featuring Speed Saunders, Buck Marshall, Range Detective, Gumshoe Gus and Bart Regan, Spy. A fascinating glimpse into the sometimes-hokey past, and a hoot to read. And Les Daniel's insider intro is icing on the cake.
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• Scene of the Crime Trade Paperback...Buy this book
  by Ed Brubaker
  Art by Michael Lark and Sean Phillips
  DC/Vertigo
  $12.95
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  100 Bullets: First Shot, Last Call...Buy this book
  100 Bullets: The Second Collection
  by Brian Azzarello
  Art by Eduardo Risso, Dave Johnson
  DC/Vertigo
  $9.95
  Another couple of gift suggestions: DC/Vertigo finally has the magnifient Scene of the Crime collected as a trade paperback (all four issues plus the holiday short), as well as two 100 Bullets collections. 100 Bullets, for those of you who don't know, is a continuing series, a sort of crime fiction revenge-fantasy/soap opera for conspiracy buffs. These are pretty easy to find at both comic shops and regular bookstores, as well as Amazon.
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RADIO/AUDIO DRAMA

• On The Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio ...Buy this book
  by John Dunning
  Oxford University Press, 1997
  $55.00 (but you can find this book on-line for much less than the list price.)
  Want to brighten any old-time radio fan's Christmas, give them this book Here are some 1,500 radio series presented in alphabetical order. The great programs of the '30s, '40s, and '50s are all here -- including the many great detective shows. For each series, Dunning provides a complete broadcast history, with the times slot, the network, and the name of the show's advertisers. He also lists major cast members, announcers, producers, directors, writers, and sound effects people--even the show's theme song. Equally important, Dunning provides a fascinating account of each program, taking us behind the scenes to capture the feel of the performance and providing engrossing biographies of the main people involved in the show. This is the best written of all the old-time radio reference books. After all, John Dunning is also a best-selling writer of detective novels.
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• Radio Drama A Comprehensive Chronicle of American Network Programs, 1932–1962 ...Buy this book
  by Martin Grams
  McFarland, 2000
  $75.00
  This book includes more than 300 program logs (many appearing in print for the first time) drawn from newspapers, script files in broadcast museums, records from NBC, ABC and CBS, and the personal records of series directors. Each entry contains a short broadcast history that includes directors, writers, and actors, and the broadcast dates and air times. Some series logs include cast lists for each episode. A comprehensive index rounds out the work. Included are logs for favorite radio detective series such as: Casey - Crime Photographer (Flashgun Casey, Crime Photographer), The Adventures of Frank Race, The Adventures of Nero Wolfe, The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Paladin, I Love a Mystery, I Love Adventure, Nick Carter and others.
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• Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960...Buy this book
  by Luther F. Sies
  McFarland, 2000
  $135.00
  Got a big Christmas budget and serious old-time radio collector on your list? Get them an OTR Encyclopedia! Comprising nearly 29,000 entries, this massive volume comprehensively covers the performers and programming on American radio from its inception to its golden age. The OTR hobbyist will find lots of information about favorite detective series and actors. The encyclopedia includes entries for programs, announcers, orchestras, musicians, vocalists, comedians, vocal groups, readers, whistlers, musical saw soloists, ministers, sports commentators, reviewers (of books, plays and movies), celebrities, and other personnel broadcasting over American radio from the 1920s to the 1960s. Additional entries cover commercial radio, educational broadcasting, firsts in radio history, opera on radio, religious broadcasting, sports broadcasting, women in radio, border radio, children's programs, comedy on radio, crime shows and mysteries, daytime dramatic serials, and disk jockeys, among other topics.
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• Have Gun Will Travel Companion ...Buy this book
  by Martin Grams and Les Rayburn
  OTR Publishing, 2000
  $30.00
  If you are a fan of Paladin and Have Gun Will Travel, this is the book for you. This book is the result of years of research and the co-operation of Have Gun - Will Travel fans from all over, including our radio writer, Stewart Wright. The authors have extensively searched for material such as production call sheets, and many interviews with cast and crew. Most of the photos in this book have never before appeared in print. This the definitive guide to the "Have Gun" series, both radio and television. All 106 radio episodes and all 225 television episodes are documented, including cast and crew lists, plot lines, and pre-emptions and summer reruns. You can order direct from one of the authors, Martin Grams.
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• On-Line Old Time Radio Program Logs
  by Frank Passage and others
  FREE!!!
  Short on cash? What could be better than FREE? Lou Genco's Original Old-Time Radio Web Site has over 100 logs of Old-Time (and a few new-time) radio series, including many favorite detective series. Each of these ASCII text files contains a short introduction to the subject program, as well as a listing of episode titles and broadcast dates. Frank Passage does an outstanding job of searching through several document sources and resolving potential conflicts in information, when he compiles his logs. There are also several well-done logs by other contributors, who cared enough to help in the organization of OTR show collections.
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• OTR Detective Tapes
  Various prices
  Looking for special gifts for the old-time radio hobbyist on your list? Get them some tapes on old-time radioo detective series. Lou Genco's Original Old-Time Radio Web Site has a great listing of Commercial Tape and CD radio show dealers. Our radio writer, Stewart Wright, has had satisfactory service from Radio Memories, McCoy's Recordings, and Radio Spirits. In addition to single tapes and CDs', many dealers offer multi-tape boxed (book shelf) sets at economical prices. Don't forget to ask about special sales.
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• Crosley Radio Reproductions
  $80.00 to $400.00
  There is nothing better than listening to Old-Time Radio on a radio from the past. Crosley Radio offers a wide range of reproductions of radios from the 1930's, 40's and 50's with both table and console models. On the outside they look like classic radios from the past; most even have illuminated dials. On the inside they use present day radio technology. Most models have a cassette player. They range in price from about $80.00 to $400.00. For more information, check out their web site.

FILM/TELEVISION

• Death on the Cheap: The Lost B Movies of Film Noir....Buy this book
  by Arthur Lyons
  Da Capo Press, 2000.
  $17.50
  A labour of love. Lyons, the writer of the acclaimed Jacob Asch P.I. series, clues us in on some of his favourite things: namely, those beloved but now woefully-neglected noir B films of the 1940s and 1950s. Complete with cast lists, complete production notes, Lyons' incisive comments, and more trivia than you can shake a box of popcorn art, this is a must-have for any fan of cinematic cheap thrills. As Dean Koontz says on the cover blurb, "A terrific piece of work, the definitive book on its subject, and a body slam of nostalgia that knocked me out of my chair more than once."
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• Shaft....Buy this video....Buy this DVD
  Directed by John Singleton
  Starring Samuel l. Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Richard Roundtree, Christian Bale
  DVD-$29.99
  Shaft is back! The DVD and VHS versions of John "Boyz 'n' the Hood" Singleton's new, big buck remake of the classic flick about "the black private eye who digs like a private sex machine with all the chicks", with Richard "Clockers" Price scripting, and Samuel "Pulp Fiction" Jackson starring, is now available, just in time for Christmas. Vanessa Williams is there, too, and Richard Roundtree even pops up as the original Shaft, to hand over the family biz to nephew Jackson.
  It's no great art, and lacks the cultural punch in the gut of the original, but it's still a great popcorn flick. And if you really liked the remake, here's something for the true fan. Can you dig it? .

ETC.

• TV Land Presents Crimestoppers: TV's Greatest P.I. Themes
  Various artists
  Wea/Atlantic/Rhino Records
  $17.97.. Buy this CD
  This is just what you need for the TV P.I. buff on your Christmas shopping list. No P.I. show worth its salt would be ever be caught dead without a cool theme, so the good folks at TV Land, the American nostalgia channel have collected 16 of the original themes from such classic P.I. shows as The Rockford Files, Mannix, Charlie's Angels, 77 Sunset Strip, Vega$, Peter Gunn, Cannon, Hart To Hart, Remington Steele, Honey West, Hawaiian Eye, Spenser: For Hire, Harry O, Checkmate, Tenspeed and Brownshoe and Magnum P.I., performed by the original artists such as Mike Post, Lalo Shifrin, Jack Elliot & Allyn Ferguson, Warren Barker, Dominic Frontiere, John Parker, Mark Snow, Henry Mancini & His Orchestra, Alfred Perry, Steve Dorff & Friends, The John Gregory Orchestra and Johnny Williams & His Orchestra. The liner notes, by Thane Tierney, are also great fun. Noticeable by their absence are the themes from Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, by Pete Rugolo, and Staccato, by Elmer Bernstein , but who's complaining? A companion volume, entitled Crime Stoppers: TV's Greatest Cop Themes, is also available. A perfect little stocking stuffer.
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• Movie Maniacs Series III: Shaft.. Buy this figure
  McFarlane Toys
  $9.99
  Who's the less-than-nine-inch tall black dude that's a plastic sex machine to all the chicks? Now's your chance to give someone the Shaft, and smile while doing it. For fans of the recent remake of the original blaxploitation flick, this nine inch collectible from Todd MacFarlane productions, part of the Movie Maniac III series, should hit the spot. They're available in toy, department, hobby, comic book and specialty stores right now, or you can try to order them from such mail order places as The Spider's Web, Fandomshop.com/ and Amazon.com. As with all McFarlane Toys, this one benefits from superior design, attention to detail and comes in a classy (and also collectible) box.
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• Crime Fiction III: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749-1995
  by Allen J. Hubin
  CD-ROM/$49.95
  Yeah, I know this was suggested last year. Butr it's still a great gift! The third edition of this indispensable bibliography, listing almost every English-language mystery ever written, is finally available on CD-ROM. Now it's affordable and even portable. Once upon a time, you needed a forklift just to move this thing, and deep pockets to afford it at all. And now you'll no longer have to schelp all over town looking for a library with a copy. Perfect for anyone with more than a passing interest in crime fiction. There are links by author, book, story, pseudonym, by co-author, contents, chronology, and even by movies based on the author's books, and works about the author. The last print edition of Hubin was close to $200. Do the math.
  In fact, as of December 4, 1999, this site is being Hubin-ized. For your protection, of course.
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• The Nestor Burma Mini-Agenda
  9,2 x 16,2 cm
  144 pages
  $10.95 (Can)
  14.50 FS (France)
  Ooh-la-la! How here's something a little exotic. Right from France comes this tasty hardcover mini-datebook featuring illustrations from the graphic albums by Jacques Tardi of Leo Maslet's classic Parisian private eye Nestor Burma. It may be a little hard to track down in the States, but you can order it from Renaud-Bray in Canada or directly from the publisher, Casterman in France. There's also a larger, full-sized agenda. It's in French, but it's only the days and months of the year, so it's not going to cause your brain to explode. Guaranteed, you'll be the first on the block to have one of these! Zut alors!!!
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• The "Chicago" Fedora
  Most of the stuff on The Hatshelf Web Site is Western crap, but check out the "Chicago" model on the lower right-hand corner. (The color, of course, sucks, but it comes in all the normal colors too.) I think the name alone is fantastic, but if I were to go out and get a winter fedora (to complement the summer one, of course), this is the one I'd pick. For all the Bogart wannabes in your life.

And finally, the all-time great gift for any truly serious private eye fan...
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• The Maltese Falcon
  $39.98
  Not the real one, but an incredible facsimile. Now you can have your own Black Bird. A foot high and five and a half pounds. And I'm sure, for a price, you can have it delivered, wrapped in San Francisco newspapers, by a dying sea captain. The stuff that dreams are made of....

OTHER SUGGESTIONS

• Gift Certificates
  Okay, it's not the most thoughtful gift, but at least you won't be buying someone a book they've already read. Most bookstores and online bookstores offer gift certificates, including several that offer rare and collectible books. Check out my list of Booksellers & Dealers.
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• Magazines
  What could be cooler than receiving a gift all year long? There are tons of great mystery magazines and newsletters, featuring a range of fiction and non-fiction, ranging from enthusiastically amateur to slickly professional, for all tastes and budgets. Here are some suggestions.
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• Mystery Parties/Events
  Give your loved one murder this Christmas. What could be more fun? If you have a family or business function, consider throwing a mystery-theme party. Do it yourself, or check out these companies who will do it for you, whether you plan to entertain a few friends, or the entire office.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

The above are just a few suggestions. Try these Suggested Sources for gifts ranging from t-shirts, lawn ornaments, handcuffs, tapes of old radio shows, books, mugs, puzzles, and more, ranging from tacky to tasteful, from marvelous to morbid.

Thanks to Stewart Wright, Victoria Shea-Esposito and Chris Mills and Randal Brandt for their much appreciated help with this one.