|
At the
South Sioux Public Library - Monday, September 8 at Noon!
Part 5 -- the 1960s to the 1980s
Travis McGee
Continuing our look at the development of the uniquely American Private
Detective novel, this time we leave California and head to the sunny
eastern coast of Florida. Our destination? The go-go 1960s, and boat
slip F-18 in Fort Lauderdale. We will look at an investigator that
rejects everything about the era - including the name 'detective.'
As the 1960s dawned, the spy was in, and the private eye was out. But
hard boiled PI's still populated the pulp magazine racks, from Shell
Scott to Mike Shayne. Each took their cues from Mike Hammer, but they
could not sustain Mickey Spillane's tough guy swagger and his one track
anti communist vengeance crusade. Soon the other stories sounded more
like a spoof than a detective story.
And why not? The spy, sci-fi, and yes, comic books had come to dominate
book spinners and magazine racks that once were the domain of hardboiled
private eyes and westerns. While some were serious, as the 1950s turned
to the 1960s, the police detective owned the investigations. The private
detective was out, and the police detective was in. It was the triumph
of the routine, the day in - day out work that slowly tracked and
trapped the bad guy. Very serious. The International Spy, dashing and
sophisticated, working for the government and living life in European
hot spots, was now the key player on the bookshelf and the movies. The
Private Detective, an independent agent, relying on wit, wisdom, and
grit, working out of a dusty office with dingy windows was certainly
outclassed by Bond and and his associates.
Into this morass wandered Travis McGee - a lean, wind burned, 6 foot-something of a man who seemed to know his way around - but avoided
getting too involved in the modern 'organized' world that was being born
in the 1960s.
The setting may be Florida instead of LA, but McGee was very much Sam
Spade crossed with Philip Marlowe. A participant of the Korean 'police
action' and an observer of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, he cast a wary eye on
the idea of government authorized adventuring. Written by John D. MacDonald, the
action is fast. McGee - and MacDonald - saw the go-go 1960s much as
Hammett saw the roaring 1920s - a time filled with sucker traps. He
never lacked for clients, as few people were paying attention until it
was too late.
Join me as we follow the character and the stories Lee Child listed as
the inspiration for his Jack Reacher character.
About the presenter:
Russ
Gifford, Senior Lecturer with Western Iowa Tech’s Institute for Lifelong
Learning, delivers tales of American history to audiences in the
tri-state region. His two decades of programs include nearly 400 unique
talks, plus numerous articles and historical papers. Gifford’s work
garnered two teaching awards and his lectures have been supported by
grants from Humanities Iowa, the Kind World Foundation, and others.
“His ratings were the highest for our entire season of 12 workshops, and
far eclipsed those for the previous season. He created a fantastic
class, and people left feeling empowered.”
-- Dr. Lynn Barteck, Tri
State Graduate Center
Why Hire Russ
Gifford?| Connect with Russ Gifford
|