Alistair MacLean
I just completed Bear Island by Alistair MacLean. An enjoyable read but out of print here in the US.
I have been exploring books that I recall my father reading from the sixties and seventies. The books he would bring home from travelling, the kind you would pick up at the airport for a light read on the airplane. Kind of an interesting exercise.
One of the differences you spot right away is just the difference in context. For many of these stories there is either a setting or remembrance of World War II, many times the authors having served in the war (as was the case for Leading Torpedo Operator Alistair MacLean). Alternatively there is of course the context of the Cold War, spying, and nuclear threat. It feels like an age ago.
Another difference, and it may be solely a sample error but I don't think so, is that most of these stories are very plot driven (regardless of the plausability of the plot). There is an occasional nod to the intelligence of the reader with allusions to lines from Shakespeare or other classics. Finally there is a dearth of swearing and sex scenes. These are "mens" books with the most tissue thin filaments of "relationships". On the one hand it is refreshing not to be so crudley assaulted with lurid writing and on the other hand the unreality of it almost smacks you in the face.
Another thing that is striking is how ephemeral writing can be. Alistair MacLean had a good run with nearly three dozen fiction and non-fiction books between 1955 and 1986. Several were made into popluar and successful movies such as The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Force 10 from Navarone, etc. While still popular in the UK (where most of his books remain in print), in the US only one of his books, the non-ficition account of Lawrence of Arabia of all things, is still in print though others come and go occassionally.
These books would seem to be the perfect type we ought to be offering our older boy readers who abandon reading in such droves. Action, plot, adventure. Books hard to put down. Books with heros and men of quiet determination and conviction. Nevil Shute, Desmond Bagley, Alistair MacLean. Where are their contemporary counterparts that parents can give to a fifteen year old without concern about language and sex? Cussler maybe? Clancy possibly? I've read some of both in the past and seem to recollect they might fit the bill. I'll have to go back and check. Any other ideas?
I have been exploring books that I recall my father reading from the sixties and seventies. The books he would bring home from travelling, the kind you would pick up at the airport for a light read on the airplane. Kind of an interesting exercise.
One of the differences you spot right away is just the difference in context. For many of these stories there is either a setting or remembrance of World War II, many times the authors having served in the war (as was the case for Leading Torpedo Operator Alistair MacLean). Alternatively there is of course the context of the Cold War, spying, and nuclear threat. It feels like an age ago.
Another difference, and it may be solely a sample error but I don't think so, is that most of these stories are very plot driven (regardless of the plausability of the plot). There is an occasional nod to the intelligence of the reader with allusions to lines from Shakespeare or other classics. Finally there is a dearth of swearing and sex scenes. These are "mens" books with the most tissue thin filaments of "relationships". On the one hand it is refreshing not to be so crudley assaulted with lurid writing and on the other hand the unreality of it almost smacks you in the face.
Another thing that is striking is how ephemeral writing can be. Alistair MacLean had a good run with nearly three dozen fiction and non-fiction books between 1955 and 1986. Several were made into popluar and successful movies such as The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Force 10 from Navarone, etc. While still popular in the UK (where most of his books remain in print), in the US only one of his books, the non-ficition account of Lawrence of Arabia of all things, is still in print though others come and go occassionally.
These books would seem to be the perfect type we ought to be offering our older boy readers who abandon reading in such droves. Action, plot, adventure. Books hard to put down. Books with heros and men of quiet determination and conviction. Nevil Shute, Desmond Bagley, Alistair MacLean. Where are their contemporary counterparts that parents can give to a fifteen year old without concern about language and sex? Cussler maybe? Clancy possibly? I've read some of both in the past and seem to recollect they might fit the bill. I'll have to go back and check. Any other ideas?