Upcoming Book Event

My wife and I have decided to attend the Mobilizing Medical Missions conference (M3) in Houston, Texas, happening February 16-17. My Uncle Steve is this year's keynote speaker and we'll be giving away copies of my book the Benefit of Steel to conference attendees. This will be the first time he and I will be signing the English-version together - previously our only joint signing was for the Portuguese edition!

More about M3 on their website.

Radio Recap: Words at War

Words at War was an NBC dramatic program that aired from June 1943 to June of 1945. There are plenty of dramatic programs that adapted popular movies, famous plays, well-known short stories and works in the public domain. Words at War is unique in that it was concerned with recently-published works - the majority of them non-fiction! All that a work needed to appear on Words at War was that it in some way concern itself with the war itself. The series only occasionally adapted a work of fiction.

Words at War was produced by the Council on Books in Wartime and sponsored by Johnson Wax, serving for a time as a replacement series for Fibber McGee and Molly. When I first heard the Council's name mentioned on the series, I assumed they were some sort of government body; actually, they were a non-profit comprised mainly of book publishers. Among other things, they produced the "armed service editions" of books distributed to servicemen, which remain very collectable to this day.

The popularity of Words at War apparently caught NBC by surprise - it was originally supposed to run for 13 episodes, yet managed two full years in the end! A number of the authors of works heard on Words at War appeared in-person to help support the adaptations. There was also a span of about 2 months where the program was hosted and narrated by Clifton Fadiman (New Yorker, Information Please). Otherwise, the series primarily drew from the usual voices heard on NBC programming and they did a fine job. The authors may not be well-remembered today; probably most of the works are forgotten except by scholars of World War II. The best-remembered author represented on the show is almost certainly Ernie Pyle, whose books Here Is Your War and Brave Men were both adapted (the latter a few days after Pyle's tragic death).

I only discovered Words at War late in 2022. When I listened through the entire series I found that at times it could feel a little repetitive. Many of the episodes are drawn from accounts written by journalists and tend to feel a bit familiar. Early in the series there are many dramas concerned with the events that caused the war and criticized the USA's late-entry to the conflict - that gets tiresome fast. Late in the run, as it became clear that the Allies were soon going to win, there are multiple episodes anticipating post-war issues, several insisting on strong measures against Germany, others about economic issues. They have a very polemic streak to them that might have been fine for audiences at the time but I don't find they resonate today.

So how does this series resonate? Well, it helps that there are outliers, entirely unlike their fellows. "Love at First Flight" (August 14, 1943) is a funny account of a man joining the Air Force. There's a biography of George Washington Carver (February 8, 1944) that has nothing to do with the war other than to present a positive portrayal of a black man. Words at War was frequently concerned with social matters, especially anti-bigotry programs, one of the best being their December 26, 1944 series that examined historical bigotry against Jews and Catholics.

What else is good? I enjoyed "The Last Days of Sevastopol" (July 17, 1943); "One Damn Thing After Another" (November 17, 1944); "The Guys on the Ground" (December 6, 1944) and "The Bid Was Four Hearts" (February 27, 1945).

Although Words at War was a popular program it seems as though NBC was less inclined to its provocative, intellectual nature as the end of the war loomed - which is probably why the series ended before the war did. The April 17, 1945 program opened with a disclaimer from NBC:

Many of the books dramatized on this program deal with issues which have stimulated considerable controversy. It is not the purpose of Words at War or the National Broadcasting Company to take sides on these issues but merely to bring you the most representative books to come out of this great world conflict.

My guess is that the network got a lot of hate mail from the April 3rd adaptation of "Full Employment in a Free Society," which advocated strongly for a government-planned economy. A few weeks after the disclaimer they adapted "The Road to Serfdom" on May 15th which argued against a government-planned economy, probably an attempt at mollifying their critics - but since they were cancelled just a few weeks later it must not have worked.

Almost all of Words at War still exists and you can listen to the Old Time Radio Researchers Group's collection on the Internet Archive.

Below you'll find a list of all the books featured on Words at War with links to booksellers at AbeBooks who have copies for sale - just in case any of the episodes of this series should make you want to seek out the original material!

• June 24, 1943: Combined Operations: The Official Story of the Commandos
• July 1, 1943: One World by Wendell Wilkie.
• July 10, 1943: They Call It Pacific by Clark Lee.
• July 17, 1943: The Last Days of Sevastopol by Boris Voitekhov (repeated August 19, 1943).
• July 24, 1943: The Ship by C. S. Forester.
• July 31, 1943: From the Land of the Silent People by Robert St. John.
• August 7, 1943: Prisoner of the Japs by Gwen Dew.
• August 14, 1943: Love at First Flight by Charles Spalding.
• August 21, 1943: Malta Spitfire by George Beurling and Leslie Roberts.
• August 26, 1943: Burma Surgeon by Gordon S. Seagrave.
• September 2, 1943: Dynamite Cargo by Fred Herman.
• September 9, 1943: Falange by Allan Chase.
• September 16, 1943: Since You Went Away by Margaret Buell Wilder.
• September 23, 1943: The Battle Hymn of China by Agnes Smedley.
• October 5, 1943: Eighty-Three Days: The Survival of Seaman Izzi by Mark Murphy (repeated January 11, 1944).
• October 12, 1943: Paris Underground by Etta Shiber.
• October 19, 1943: Short Cut to Tokyo by Corey Ford.
• October 26, 1943: Who Dare to Live by Frederick B. Watt.
• November 2, 1943: Here Is Your War by Ernie Pyle.
• November 9, 1943: To All Hands by John Mason Brown.
• November 16, 1943: Skyways to Berlin by John M. Redding and Harold L. Leyshon.
• November 23, 1943: Escape from the Balkans by Michael Padev.
• November 30, 1943: The Fruits of Fascism by Herbert L. Matthews, Sawdust Caesar by George Seldes and Balcony Empire by Reynolds and Eleanor Packard.
• December 7, 1943: A Book of War Letters.
• December 14, 1943: Mother America by Carlos P. Romulo.
• December 21, 1943: Log Book by Frank Laskier.
• December 28, 1943: The Ten Commandments.
• January 4, 1944: They Shall Inherit the Earth by Otto Zoff.
• January 21, 1944: War Tide by Lin Taiyi.
• January 28, 1944: Condition: Red by Frederick J. Bell.
• February 4, 1944: The White Brigade by Robert Goffin.
• February 11, 1944: George Washington Carver by Rackham Holt.
• February 18, 1944: The New Sun by Taro Yashima.
• February 22, 1944: Assignment: U.S.A. by Selden Menefee (repeated April 4, 1944).
• March 3, 1944: I Served on Bataan by Juanita Redmond.
• March 10, 1944: The Weeping Wood by Vicki Baum.
• March 17, 1944: Science at War by George W. Gray.
• March 21, 1944: Der Fuehrer by Konrad Heiden.
• March 28, 1944: A Bell for Adano by John Hersey.
• April 11, 1944: Wild River by Anna Louise Strong.
• April 18, 1944: The Silence of the Sea by Vercors.
• April 25, 1944: Tarawa by Robert Sherrod.
• May 3, 1944: The Curtain Rises by Quentin Reynolds.
• May 10, 1944: Gunners Get Glory by Robert B. Berry.
• May 17, 1944: Lifeline by Robert Carse.
• May 24, 1944: Lend Lease: Weapon for Victory by Edward R. Stettinius.
• May 31, 1944: The Navy Hunts CGR-3070 by Lawrence Thompson.
• June 7, 1944: Pacific Partner by George H. Johnston.
• June 27, 1944: Fair Stood the Wind for France by H. E. Bates.
• July 4, 1944: War Criminals and Punishment by George Creel (repeated October 17, 1944).
• July 11, 1944: Captain Retread by Donald Hough.
• July 18, 1944: War Below Zero by Bernt Balchen, Corey Ford and Oliver La Farge.
• July 25, 1944: Lost Island by James Norman Hall.
• August 1, 1944: Headquarters Budapest by Robert Parker.
• August 8, 1944: The Nazis Go Underground by Curt Riess.
• August 15, 1944: Pastoral by Nevil Shute.
• August 22, 1944: Argentine Diary by Ray Josephs.
• August 29, 1944: Simone by Lion Feuchtwanger.
• September 5, 1944: The Veteran Comes Back by Willard Waller (repeated October 10, 1944).
• September 12, 1944: One Man Air Force by Don S. Gentile.
• September 19, 1944: The Time for Decision by Sumner Welles and U.S. War Aims by Walter Lippmann.
• September 26, 1944: Journey Through Chaos by Agnes E. Meyer.
• October 3, 1944: The Sea-Gull Cry by Robert Nathan.
• October 24, 1944: Still Time to Die by Jack Belden.
• October 31, 1944: Why Was I Killed? by Rex Warner.
• November 17, 1944: One Damn Thing After Another by Tom Treanor.
• November 24, 1944: Barriers Down by Kent Cooper.
• November 29, 1944: Camp Follower by Barbara Klaw.
• December 6, 1944: The Guys on the Ground by Alfred Friendly.
• December 13, 1944: Your School, Your Children by Marie Syrkin.
• December 20, 1944: The Cross and the Arrow by Albert Maltz.
• December 27, 1944: Scapegoats in History by Kenneth Miller Gould and History of Bigotry in the United States by Gustavus Myers.
• January 3, 1945: It's Always Tomorrow by Robert St. John.
• January 9, 1945: Borrowed Night by Oscar Ray.
• January 16, 1945: Verdict on India by Beverley Nichols.
• January 23, 1945: Story of a Secret State by Jan Karski.
• February 6, 1945: Ten Escape from Tojo by Melvyn H. McCoy and S. M. Mellnik.
• February 13, 1945: What to Do with Germany by Louis Nizer.
• February 20, 1945: Battle Report by Walter Karig and Wellbourn Kelley.
• February 27, 1945: Faith of Our Fighters by Ellwood C. Nance.
• March 6, 1945: The Rainbow by Wanda Wassilewska.
• March 13, 1945: Can Do! by William Bradford Huie.
• March 20, 1945: Tomorrow Will Sing by Elliott Arnold.
• March 27, 1945: Banshee Harvest by Jim Phelan.
• April 3, 1945: Full Employment in a Free Society by William Beveridge.
• April 10, 1945: Apartment in Athens by Glenway Wescott.
• April 17, 1945: They Left the Back Door Open by Lionel S. B. Shapiro.
• April 24, 1945: Brave Men by Ernie Pyle.
• May 1, 1945: The Hideout by Egon Hostovsky.
• May 15, 1945: The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek.
• May 22, 1945: Wartime Racketeers by Harry Lever and Joseph Young.
• May 29, 1945: Soldier to Civilian by George K. Pratt.
• June 5, 1945: My Country by Russell W. Davenport.

RIP: Norman Jewison

Canadian film director Norman Jewison died earlier this week. He had a lengthy career in film going back to the 1960s. Most of his eulogies rightly talk about his film In the Heat of the Night. I know that there are many who loved his movie Jesus Christ Superstar. In my family, we grew up watching his Fiddler on the Roof. I'm also personally fond of his movies the Cincinnati Kid and ...And Justice for All.

But if I can be permitted to indulge in recommending only one film from his library, then it has to be A Soldier's Story, which he filmed in 1984. It was an adaptation of Charles Fuller's 1981 play A Soldier's Play and featured three key performers from the original cast - Adolph Caesar as a sergeant who is murdered near his camp during World War II, prompting an investigation; Larry Riley as a soldier whom the sergeant especially disliked; and a young Denzel Washington as one of the soldiers who stood up to the sergeant.

I've never seen a performance of the play so I can't say how well A Soldier's Story functions as an adaptation, but it made a strong impression on me when I first saw it. It was around 2002 that I saw the movie broadcast on History Television. It was introduced by host Ann Medina, who singled it out as one of Jewison's finest films. Although a historical drama, it wasn't based on a true story - but it sure didn't hurt History Television to be able to put on a Jewison film and claim credit for Canadian content.

The film is a bit of a murder mystery, as the killer of the sergeant is found through a lengthy series of scenes in which a black officer interviews the men who served under the deceased sergeant. A series of flashbacks reveal how intensely the sergeant despised his own men and the reciprocal hatred it inspired in them. Throughout, Adolph Caesar's performance is mesmerizing; there's a particular flashback in which his character engages in a lengthy monologue about an incident from World War I. The calm, matter-of-fact way the sergeant admits to lynching a fellow soldier for embarrassing him. The scene conjured up is so stark, it's horrifying - and it's all through Caesar's delivery.

A Soldier's Story is not (you will have guessed) a very happy movie... but also not a very angry movie. It's a very sad film, a tragedy. It will leave you feeling a little bit haunted by what you've scene - and for that reason, it's my pick as Jewison's best movie.

So, check out A Soldier's Story when you're able - and rest in peace, Mr. Jewison.

Echo (2024) Creator Credits

Because... no one demanded it.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Echo is a bit confounding. The creators of this TV mini-series openly disparaged the comic book version, who is already not a particularly well-known character. The comics version was already a bi-racial (First Nations/Hispanic) deaf woman, yet they chose to cast a performer with a prosthetic leg too, which seems like cluttering her up with attributes instead of honing her character. But Vincent D'Onofrio reprised his performance as the Kingpin and for some reason Graham Greene is present to supply comic relief so the series itself wasn't a total waste of time.

Below are the comics creators whose work I noticed being represented on the Disney+ series Echo. If you saw something I missed, please let me know! My full list of Marvel Cinematic Universe creators is found here!

David Mack: creator of William the name of Maya's father (Daredevil #52, 2003); of Wilson Fisk attempting to reconcile with Maya after becoming her enemy; of Maya returning to her family's reservation and going on a vision quest (Daredevil #53, 2003); co-creator of Maya Lopez, a deaf First Nations/Hispanic woman who is an expert martial artist; of Maya as a protege to Wilson Fisk, raised by him after her father's death (Daredevil #9, 1999); of Echo, Maya Lopez's codename; of Maya's father leaving a bloody handprint on her face as he died; Maya's father as a lieutenant of the Kingpin; the Kingpin arranging the death of Maya's father but making Maya think a super-hero was responsible so she would eliminate the hero for him; Maya battling Daredevil (Daredevil #10, 2000); of Maya learning the Kingpin had killed her father and turning against him, shooting and blinding him (Daredevil #14, 2001)

Joe Quesada: co-creator of Maya Lopez, a deaf First Nations/Hispanic woman who is an expert martial artist; of Maya as a protege to Wilson Fisk, raised by him after her father's death (Daredevil #9, 1999); of Echo, Maya Lopez's codename; of Maya's father leaving a bloody handprint on her face as he died; Maya's father as a lieutenant of the Kingpin; the Kingpin arranging the death of Maya's father but making Maya think a super-hero was responsible so she would eliminate the hero for him; Maya battling Daredevil (Daredevil #10, 2000); of Maya learning the Kingpin had killed her father and turning against him, shooting and blinding him (Daredevil #14, 2001); of Ronin, a costumed identity used by a crimefighter who uses martial arts and swords in combat (New Avengers #1, 2005)

Jimmy Palmiotti: co-creator of Maya Lopez, a deaf First Nations/Hispanic woman who is an expert martial artist; of Maya as a protege to Wilson Fisk, raised by him after her father's death (Daredevil #9, 1999); of Echo, Maya Lopez's codename; of Maya's father leaving a bloody handprint on her face as he died; Maya's father as a lieutenant of the Kingpin; the Kingpin arranging the death of Maya's father but making Maya think a super-hero was responsible so she would eliminate the hero for him; Maya battling Daredevil (Daredevil #10, 2000); of Maya learning the Kingpin had killed her father and turning against him, shooting and blinding him (Daredevil #14, 2001)

Rebecca Roanhorse: co-creator of Maya's family reservation located in Oklahoma (Phoenix Song: Echo #1, 2021); of Maya communicating with the spirits of her ancestors, including the Lighthorsemen (Phoenix Song: Echo #2, 2022); of Maya being part-Choctaw nation (Phoenix Song: Echo #3, 2022); of Maya being able to conjure up power from her connection to her ancestors (Phoenix Song: Echo #5, 2022)

Luca Maresca: co-creator of Maya's family reservation located in Oklahoma (Phoenix Song: Echo #1, 2021); of Maya communicating with the spirits of her ancestors, including the Lighthorsemen (Phoenix Song: Echo #2, 2022); of Maya being part-Choctaw nation (Phoenix Song: Echo #3, 2022); of Maya being able to conjure up power from her connection to her ancestors (Phoenix Song: Echo #5, 2022)

Stan Lee: co-creator of the Kingpin, a bald, heavset crimelord who wears a white suit, poses as a legitimate businessman (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967); of Daredevil, a costumed crimefighter in red who wields a billy club as a weapon (Daredevil #1, 1964); of Hawkeye, a heroic champion archer (Tales of Suspense #57, 1964)

Brian Michael Bendis: co-creator of Ronin, a costumed identity used by a crimefighter who uses martial arts and swords in combat (New Avengers #1, 2005); of Maya Lopez connected to the Ronin identity (New Avengers #13, 2005); of Hawkeye as Ronin (New Avengers #27, 2007)

Kyle Charles: co-creator of Maya Lopez communicating with the spirits of her ancestors, including the Lighthorsemen (Phoenix Song: Echo #2, 2022); of Maya being part-Choctaw nation (Phoenix Song: Echo #3, 2022)

John Romita: co-creator of the Kingpin, a bald, heavset crimelord who wears a white suit, poses as a legitimate businessman (Amazing Spider-Man #50, 1967)

Dave Ross: co-creator of Maya Lopez learning the Kingpin had killed her father and turning against him, shooting and blinding him (Daredevil #14, 2001)

Bill Everett: co-creator of Daredevil, a costumed crimefighter in red who wields a billy club as a weapon (Daredevil #1, 1964)

Mark Gruenwald: creator of Hawkeye suffering hearing loss, requiring him to obtain a hearing aid (Hawkeye #4, 1983)

Frank Miller: creator of Wilson Fisk's name; of Fisk as an enemy of Daredevil (Daredevil #170, 1981)

Don Heck: co-creator of Hawkeye, a heroic champion archer (Tales of Suspense #57, 1964)

Matt Fraction: co-creator of the Tracksuit Mafia, a Russian crime cartel (Hawkeye #1, 2012)

David Aja: co-creator of the Tracksuit Mafia, a Russian crime cartel (Hawkeye #1, 2012)

David Finch: of Maya Lopez connected to the Ronin identity (New Avengers #13, 2005)

Ed Brisson: co-creator of the Black Knife Cartel, a criminal organization (Bullseye #2, 2017)

Guillermo Sanna: co-creator of the Black Knife Cartel, a criminal organization (Bullseye #2, 2017)

Charles Soule: co-creator of Wilson Fisk running for mayor of New York City (Daredevil #28, 2017)

Ron Garney: co-creator of Wilson Fisk running for mayor of New York City (Daredevil #28, 2017)

Leinil Francis Yu: of Hawkeye as Ronin (New Avengers #27, 2007)

2023: Media Retrospective

A brief look back at what media I most enjoyed in 2023

Comics

For the most part, I turned to familiar titles in 2023. Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo has made a most welcome return to regular publishing and 2023 saw a mini-series team-up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Space Usagi one-shot and new ongoing stories. Larry Hama unexpectedly returned to his G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero following its cliffhanger ending at IDW; now at Image, he's picking up right where he left off. The best super hero book I read in 2023 was Al Ewing and Kasia Nie's Wasp mini-series, which had an interesting retake on the Wasp's original antagonist.

Books

There were only a few examples of fiction that really engaged with me in 2023. I finally read T. S. Stribling's short story collection Dr. Poggioli, Criminologist, a great continuation of his unusual psychologist/crime solver. I also found some enjoyment in Jo Eisinger's mystery novel The Walls Came Tumbling Down, even though it's a bit too much like Hammett's Maltese Falcon (more about Eisinger's book in this blog post). I read a bit of Oscar Wilde's fairy tale collections and particularly enjoyed the Happy Prince and Other Stories, they somehow manage to be very satirical yet sentimental. I read Nicholas Blake's the Smiler with the Knife because I was curious as to why Orson Welles had wanted to make a film of it; it's a lot like one of John Buchan's spy novels such as the Power-House, a good read. I read Algernon Blackwood's short story collection Shocks, which might be the last of his anthologies I hadn't read; most of the stories were in some manner a ghost story and began to feel a little familiar but other tales had strong twists on the format. And I read Endo Shusaku's historical novel the Samurai, largely because it had been recommended in Philip Yancey's Sole Survivor.

But the best fiction I read in 2023 was by Budd Schulberg. Reading about Jack Kirby had revealed to me that Kirby was a big fan of Schulberg's novel What Makes Sammy Run? so I sought it out to learn why; it's a compelling book, not only an examination of the dark side of Hollywood but of American values as well. I also read Schulberg's short story anthology, Some Faces in the Crowd; more about that when I write about films.

One of the best non-fiction works I read was American Midnight, the latest bit of journalism by Adam Hochschild, this time focusing on how World War I undid many of the socialist politicians of the time. And my wife led me to two great works about how to express belief through one's art - Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle and Art + Faith by Makoto Fujimura.

The rest of the significant books I read in 2023 were Christian books, including the Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen, Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey and N. T. Wright's books Simply Jesus, Reflecting the Glory and Following Jesus.

Cinema

I went to the cinema more frequently in 2023 than most years, due almost entirely to my wife (of the 7 films I saw in cinemas, the only one I didn't see with her is the one I saw before we started dating). I was pleased to find that Avatar: The Way of Water was a pretty good film (and I blogged about it in this post). Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was okay, though the Wasp didn't do much to earn her byline (it was really more about Ant-Man and his daughter). Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was an excellent send-off to that film series. I found Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny wasn't up to the standards of the earlier films but was all right (I shared more thoughts in this post). Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One was easily the best action movie I saw in 2023, particularly with a very fun car chase and a great set piece aboard a falling train. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer was an excellent biographical film, the sort of story Ridley Scott's Napoleon aspired to be; I don't hesitate to call Nolan's film a triumph but Scott's film had some moments too, mostly due to oddly-chosen dialogue.

Other Films

At this point I'm so well-versed in old films that I seldom discover anything from the '30s-50s that really stands out, yet A Face in the Crowd (based on one of Schulberg's stories from Some Faces in the Crowd) was a very strong work and surprisingly relevant to today's USA (also very much like Schulberg's What Makes Sammy Run?). I enjoyed the documentary films Louis Armstrong's Black and Blues and Sidney. I was surprised to find I enjoyed the 1960s musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and very pleasantly surprised to discover the satirical film Johnny Dangerously, which fit precisely into my sense of humour. The Disney film Elemental was a fun one to watch with my wife and she, in turn, got me to watch Blast from the Past, which I had known for decades was supposed to be very funny - it was!

Television

I might have watched more television programming in 2023 than any other year in the last decade. Not all of the programs were memorable, but my wife got me watching the comedy series Arrested Development (which I like a lot) and the action program Alias (which I'll post about when I finish the series). 2023 was the year Ted Lasso ended, not entirely on its best footing but definitely as a strong program (I shared my closing thoughts on the series in this post). That also led me to the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham which has been pretty enjoyable. I also enjoyed the mini-series the 1619 Project, based on the book, but the series seems to have attracted a lot of online hate (just as the book did). Beyond that, I've been slowly revisiting the Dick Van Dyke Show, which I hadn't seen since my early teenage years and I appreciate being in a place now where I understand all of the jokes.

And that was my 2023. How was yours?