Recommended reading - Little Caesar by W.R. Burnett (1929 & 1981):

Little Caesar

by W.R. Burnett

ASIN: B0012363AA

Published by Dial.

Published 1929.

Hardcover.

First edition.

Description:

Rico is a small, pale man, but he has guts, endurance and a steely single-mindedness. When Vettori sends the gang out to rob a local nightclub, Rico shoots a cop who pulls a gun on him. They get away, but Vettori is shocked. He had told Rico, no gunplay. That’s when Rico realizes that Vettori has gone soft. He’s too old to control the gang anymore. So Rico takes over. With the faithful Otero at his side, the rest of them quickly shift their allegiances. Now the world is Rico’s. It’s his gang, and he’s calling all the shots. But there is always a weak link, someone who’s ready to spill when the bulls get tough. And sooner or later the nightclub killing is bound to catch up with him.

 

Little Caesar

By Gerald Peary.

Edited by Tino Balio.

Published by University of Wisconsin Press.

Wisconsin / Warner Bros. Screenplays.

Published 1981.

First edition.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 029908454X

ISBN-13: 978-0299084547

Description:

Little Caesar, a 1931 Hollywood gangster classic, is viewed in revivals today with nearly as much audience enthusiasm as it enjoyed a half-century ago, in the depths of the Great Depression.

In general, the Hollywood film industry responded to the dark economic conditions of the 1930s with escapist and non-topical films. The fascinating exception was the gangster film, through which the studios joined in the debate over the spiritual and economic health of the nation. Little Caesar, considered by many to be an architype of the genre, is one of the most memorable dramatizations of the discontent and alienation, the deep anxiety and hostility shared by millions of Americans during those dark years. 

On this day in television history - Justified (2015)

Justified

Season 6. Episode 1.

Episode entitled: Fate’s Right Hand.

Released January 20, 2015.

Directed by Michael Dinner.

Written by Graham Yost, Michael Dinner, Fred Golan, Chris Provenzano, Keith Schreier.

Based on the short story Fire in the Hole by Elmore Leonard.

Music by Steve Porcaro.

Cast:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Jere Burns, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Walton Goggins, Garret Dillahunt, Rick Gomez, Damon Herriman, Justin Welborn, Ryan Dorsey, Rolando Molina, Bill Tangradi, Natalie Zea, Cascy Beddow, Pamela Bowen, Kareem J. Grimes, Shawn Parsons, Chet Grissom, Aubrey Wood, Russell Bertolino, David Meunier.

A Dream Within a Dream, by Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

 

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow-

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand-

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep- while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream? 

Recommended reading - 711 - Officer Needs Help

711 - Officer Needs Help

by Whit Masterson.

 

Filmed as Warning Shot (1967), directed by Buzz Kulik.

 

ASIN: B000CC6L22

Published by Popular Library.

First published 1965.

Paperback.

 

Description:

A Man on the run for his life...

A suspense novel to startle and shock...

Detective Sergeant Tom Valens was a tough man in a tough business--with an unblemished record, a long scar in his gut to prove his integrity and a beautiful ex-wife to prove his devotion to the Force.

Then one night he made a cop's worst mistake--and found himself alone, with ten days to clear his name and save his life. Ten chilling days which led to a gorgeous redhead named Liz, a secret potent enough to blow half of Los Angeles society sky-high, and a psychotic killer who would stop at nothing...including triple murder.

Keep warm and read a good book:

 

Keep warm and read a good book.

Recommended reading – The Cowboys

The Cowboys

by William Dale Jennings.
 
Published by Bantam.
First published 1971.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0552089796
ISBN-13: 978-0552089791
 
Description:
 

The time is 1877, the place the wild Wyoming-Montana territory. Will Anderson, a flinty old rancher, has a huge herd of cattle ripe for market when his regular hands, inflamed by gold fever, desert him. In desperation, he hires the only "men" available for the perilous 400 mile drive – a pack of scraggly schoolboys. Through skill and harsh discipline, Wil Anderson whips them from greenhorns into seasoned cowhands. But before the long drive is over, the boys discover that the price they must pay for manhood is a terrible one- murder and revenge! the stunning, heartbreaking climax of this extraordinary story will surprise you - and perhaps even sock you.

Jimmy Carter road sign

 Jimmy Carter road sign

January 9, 2025