Simon Van Booy, on books and reading:

 

I read books because I love them,

not because I think I should read them. 

- Simon Van Booy.

Born on this day – Joseph L. Mankiewicz:

 

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Writer

Producer

February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993

Credits:

5 Fingers (1952); A Christmas Carol (1938); A Letter to Three Wives (1949); A Letter to Three Wives (1985); After Office Hours (1935); Alice in Wonderland (1933); All About Eve (1950); Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935); Cairo (1942); Carol for Another Christmas (1964); Cleopatra (1963); Close Harmony (1929); Diplomaniacs (1933); Double Wedding (1937); Dragonwyck (1946); Dude Ranch (1931); Emergency Call (1933); Escape (1948); Fast Company (1929); Finn and Hattie (1931); Forsaking All Others (1934); Fury (1936); Guys and Dolls (1955); House of Strangers (1949); I Live My Life (1935); If I Had a Million (1932); I'll Never Forget You (1951); Julius Caesar (1953); June Moon (1931); King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1969); Love on the Run (1936); Manhattan Melodrama (1934); Mannequin (1937); Meet the Baron (1933); Million Dollar Legs (1932); Newly Rich (1931); Night After Night (1932); No Way Out (1950); Only Saps Work (1930); Our Daily Bread (1934); Paramount on Parade (1930); People Will Talk (1951); Pleins feux (All About Eve) (1993); Pleins feux (All About Eve) (2017); Reckless (1935); Redheads on Parade (1935); Reunion in France (1942); Skippy (1931); Sky Bride (1932); Sleuth (1972); Slightly Scarlet (1930); Somewhere in the Night (1946); Sooky (1931); Strange Cargo (1940); Suddenly, Last Summer (1959); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939); The Barefoot Contessa (1954); The Bride Wore Red (1937); The Dummy (1929); The Feminine Touch (1941); The Gang Buster (1931); The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947); The Gorgeous Hussy (1936); The Great Waltz (1938); The Honey Pot (1967); The Keys of the Kingdom (1944); The Late George Apley (1947); The Light of Western Stars (1930); The Man I Love (1929); The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929); The Philadelphia Story (1940); The Pirate (1948); The Quiet American (1958); The River of Romance (1929); The Saturday Night Kid (1929); The Shining Hour (1938); The Shopworn Angel (1938); The Social Lion (1930); The Studio Murder Mystery (1929); The Virginian (1929); The Wild Man of Borneo (1941); There Was a Crooked Man... (1970); This Reckless Age (1932); Three Comrades (1938); Three Godfathers (1936); Thunderbolt (1929); Too Much Harmony (1933); Two Fisted (1935); Woman of the Year (1942); Woman Trap (1929).

Born on this day and book recommendation – Sidney Sheldon; The Doomsday Conspiracy (1991)

Sidney Sheldon

Writer

Producer

Director

February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007

Credits:

Books:

A Stranger in the Mirror (1976); After the Darkness (2010); Angel of the Dark (2012); Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2004); Bloodline (1977); Chasing Tomorrow (2014); If Tomorrow Comes (1985); Master of the Game (1982); Memories of Midnight (1990); Mistress of the Game (1988); Morning, Noon & Night (1995); Nothing Lasts Forever (1994); Rage of Angels (1980); Reckless (2015); Roman Candle (1960); Tell Me Your Dreams (1998); The Adventures of Drippy (1996); The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1961); The Best Laid Plans (1997); The Doomsday Conspiracy (1991); The Naked Face (1970); The Other Side of Me (2005); The Other Side of Midnight (1973); The Phoenix (2019); The Sands of Time (1988); The Secret Keepers (2024); The Silent Widow (2019); The Sky is Falling (2000); The Stars Shine Down (1992); The Tides of Memory (2013); Windmills of the Gods (1987).

Movies and television:

A Stranger in the Mirror (1993); All in a Night's Work (1961); Annie Get Your Gun (1950); Anything Goes (1956); Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962); Bloodline (1979); Borrowed Hero (1941); Buster and Billie (1974); Colgate Theatre (1958); Dangerous Lady (1941); Dream Wife (1953); Easter Parade (1948); Ek Hasina Thi (2004); Fly-By-Night (1942); Gambling Daughters (1941); Hart to Hart (1979–1984); Hart to Hart Returns (1993); Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart (1994); Hart to Hart: Harts in High Season (1996); Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (1994); Hart to Hart: Old Friends Never Die (1994); Hart to Hart: Till Death Do Us Hart (1996); Hart to Hart: Two Harts in 3/4 Time (1995); Howie (1962); I Dream of Jeannie (1965–1970); I Dream of Jeannie... Fifteen Years Later (1985); I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991); If Tomorrow Comes (1986); Jeannie Aur Juju (2012–2014); Just This Once (1952); Master Dearest, from the Diaries of Jeannie (2020–2021); Master of the Game (1984); Mayonaka wa betsu no kao (2002); Memories of Midnight (1991); Mr. District Attorney in the Carter Case (1941); Nancy (1970–1971); Nancy Goes to Rio (1950); No Questions Asked (1951); Nothing Lasts Forever (1995); Pardners (1956); Rage of Angels (1983); Rage of Angels: The Story Continues (1986); Remains to Be Seen (1953); Rich, Young and Pretty (1951); Shadow on the Land (1968); Sheriff's Star (1991); She's in the Army (1942); South of Panama (1941); Stage 7 (1955); The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947); The Barkleys of Broadway (1949); The Birds and the Bees (1956); The Buster Keaton Story (1957); The Comedy Spot (1960); The Naked Face (1984); The Other Side of Midnight (1977); The Patty Duke Show (1963–1966); The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights (1999); The Sands of Time (1992); The Twilight Zone (1986); Three Guys Named Mike (1951); Windmills of the Gods (1988); You're Never Too Young (1955).

Recommended reading:

This is my favorite of all Sidney Sheldon’s books. Very different from his other glossy, more mainstream stories, this one surprised me; an entertaining and suspenseful science-fiction thriller. Fans of the movies Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), The Fugitive (1993), and the TV show The X-Files will see similar plot elements in The Doomsday Conspiracy.
– Jack Kost.

----------

The Doomsday Conspiracy

by Sidney Sheldon. 

Paperback.

Published 1991.

Published by Warner Books.

ISBN 13: 9780006472087

ISBN 10: 0006472087

ASIN: 0006472087

Sample:

Prologue:

Uetendorf, Switzerland

Sunday, October 14, 1500 Hours

The witnesses standing at the edge of the field were staring in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. The scene that lay before them was grotesque, a primeval nightmare dredged up from some deep, dark depths of primitive man’s collective consciousness. Each witness had a different reaction. One fainted. A second one vomited. A woman was shaking uncontrollably. Another one thought: I’m going to have a heart attack! The elderly priest clutched his beads and crossed himself. Help me, Father. Help us all. Protect us against this evil incarnate. We have finally seen the face of Satan. It is the end of the world. Judgment Day has come.

Armageddon is here. … Armageddon … Armageddon …

Description from cover jacket:

‘The witnesses standing at the edge of the field were staring in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. The scene that lay before them was grotesque, a primeval nightmare…’

So begins The Doomsday Conspiracy, Sidney Sheldon’s eleventh novel and one that has been called his most ingenious and surprising. Navy Commander Robert Bellamy is assigned to investigate the crash of a weather balloon in the Swiss Alps. All witnesses to the accident must be found and questioned. However, for Bellamy it is the beginning of a journey of terror into the incomprehensible.

From Washington to London, Zurich, Rome, and Paris the story unfolds to reveal Bellamy’s past — why the woman he loves most cannot return his love, why his friends become his deadly enemies, and why the world must never learn an incredible secret shielded by an unknown lethal force.

Master of the unexpected. Master of the game. Best-selling author Sidney Sheldon has created The Doomsday Conspiracy, a tightly plotted, breathlessly paced thriller — and compelling love story — that confirms his best-selling status.

Born on this day – Daniel F. Galouye:

 

Daniel F. Galouye

Writer

February 11, 1920 – September 7, 1976

Credits:

Books:

An ABC of Science Fiction (1966); Black Cat Weekly #132 (2024); Bodyguard (1960); Counterfeit World / aka Simulacron-3 (1964); Dark Universe (1961); Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 1 (2013); Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 2 (2013); Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 3 (2013); Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 4 (2013); Lords of the Psychon (1963); Project Barrier (1968); Space Opera (1974); Tales from Super-Science Fiction (2012); The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction 4th Series (1955); The Infinite Man (1973); The Last Leap (1964); The Lost Perception / aka A Scourge of Screamers (1966); The Six Fingers of Time (1965); The Year 2000 (1970); This Crowded Earth / Reign of the Telepuppets (2012).

Movies and television:

The Thirteenth Floor (1999); World on a Wire (1973).

Born on this day – Kim Stanley:

 

Kim Stanley

Actress

February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001

Credits:

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984); The Right Stuff (1983); Quincy M.E. (1983); Frances (1982); It Takes Two (1982); Night Gallery (1971); Medical Center (1969–1971); The Name of the Game (1971); Dragon Country (1970); NET Playhouse (1970); Flesh and Blood (1968); The Three Sisters (1966); Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964); The Eleventh Hour (1964); Ben Casey (1963); To Kill a Mockingbird (1962); Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going (1962); Armchair Theatre (1958–1960); Playhouse 90 (1957–1960); The DuPont Show of the Month (1960); The Goddess (1958); Kraft Theatre (1954–1957); Studio One (1957); Goodyear Playhouse (1952–1956); Playwrights '56 (1955–1956); The Elgin Hour (1955); Armstrong Circle Theatre (1954); Kraft Theatre (1953–1954); Inner Sanctum (1954); Danger (1951–1954); Omnibus (1954); You Are There (1953); The Gulf Playhouse (1953); Out There (1951); The Hurricane at Pilgrim Hill (1950); Sure As Fate (1950); The Trap (1950); Escape (1950).

Born on this day – Leslie Nielsen:

Leslie Nielsen

Actor

Comedian

February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010

Born on this day – Bob Yerkes:

Bob Yerkes

Stunt man

Actor

Producer

February 11, 1932 – October 2, 2024

Credits:

1000 Ways to Die (2010); 1941 (1979); A Case for Murder (1993); A Light in the Darkness: The Hollywood Cross Turns 100 (2024); Adaptation (2002); Airport (1970); Airport 1975 (1974); Along Came Polly (2004); Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009); Angels & Demons (2009); Assassin (1986); At Home with the Webbers (1993); Back to the Future (1985); Back to the Future Part III (1990); Batman & Robin (1997); Batman Forever (1995); Bearers of the Promise (2012); Bedazzled (2000); Behind the Action: Stuntmen in the Movies (2002); Big Top Pee-wee (1988); Breakout (1975); Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979–1981); C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989); California's Gold (1999); Cheating Death (2005); Circus (1988); Circus of the Stars #10 (1985); Class Act (1992); Color of Night (1994); Commando (1985); Crazy as Hell (2002); Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975); Drum (1976); Earthquake (1974); Evilution (2008); Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986); Forced Vengeance (1982); Ghostbusters (1984); Going Ape! (1981); Gotcha! (1985); H.O.T.S. (1979); Hard Time: Hostage Hotel (1999); Her Alibi (1989); High School High (1996); Hollywood on Fire (2009); Hollywood Vice Squad (1986); Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989); Hook (1991); Hop (2011); House Party 2 (1991); I Believe (2006); In God We Trust (or Gimme That Prime Time Religion) (1980); Julia Misbehaves (1948); Killing Hasselhoff (2017); Larger Than Life (1996); Letter to My Killer (1995); Little House on the Prairie (1979); Liv (2009); Mad Mission (1982); Magnolia (1999); Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001); Mirage (2007); Mitchell (1975); Mom and Dad Save the World (1992); Mr. Saturday Night (1992); My Favorite Martian (1999); Nightflyers (1987); No Brakes (2013); On Screen (2005); One from the Heart (1981); Out on a Limb (1992); P.U.N.K.S. (1998); Plimpton! The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1971); Poltergeist (1982); Poseidon (2006); Problem Child (1990); Psycho II (1983); Psycho III (1986); Pump Up the Volume (1990); Purple People Eater (1988); Rainy Day Friends (1985); Ratboy (1986); Red Carpet Report (2011); Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985); Retribution (1987); Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993); Short Circuit 2 (1988); Side Show (1981); Sonic Boom (1975); Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983); State of Play (2009); Strong Medicine (2006); Stuart Saves His Family (1995); The Amazing Dobermans (1976); The Back-up Plan (2010); The Big Circus (1959); The Butterfly Circus (2009); The Dukes of Hazzard (1979); The Guyver (1991); The Hunted (2015); The Key (2010); The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981); The Monster Squad (1987); The Odd Couple II (1998); The Omega Code (1999); The Sandlot (1993); The Sandra West Diaries (2017); The Silence of the Hams (1994); The Silver Chalice (1954); The Stand (1994); The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982); The Towering Inferno (1974); They Call Me Superseven (2016); Throw Me Away (2009); Trapeze (1956); Tuff Turf (1985); Twin Peaks (1990); Ultra Flesh (1980); Unbound (2008); Underground Aces (1981); Up in the Air (2009); Virtual Combat (1995); Water for Elephants (2011); What Dreams May Come (1998); When the Circus Came to Town (1981); Where the Red Fern Grows (2003); Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988); Zoom (2006).