The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Robert Anton Wilson with Miriam Joan Hill Wilson and co-author Hill present a breezy overview  of conspiracy thinking at the turn of the century that is concise and entertaining even if it is not comprehensive.   Robert Anton Wilson A dabbler in the world of conspiracy, I enjoyed starting with an entry and following the cross-references around the book.   The JFK assassination, UFOs, organized religion, the Council on Foreign Relations, the plan to genetically engineer a flying elephant--it's all here.   "Lexicon of Conspiracy Theories: Conspiracies, Intrigues, Secret Societies" (German) Even if you, like me, believe that conspiracy enthusiasts are out to lunch, you may find something here to give you pause.  For me, it was suspicious information regarding the US currency and Constitution.  It also serves as a reminder of more innocent times, when it was fun to laugh about the nutty things some people believed out on the fringes, as opposed to now, when ...

Director: Don Siegel Writers: Harry Julian Fink & RM Fink and Dean Riesner, from a story by Harry Julian Fink & RM Fink Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni, John Vernon, John Larch, John Mitchum, Mae Mercer When a serial killer called Scorpio (Andy Robinson) brings a new level of savagery to the streets of San Francisco, it takes a loose-cannon cop named Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) to meet the threat with a new level of disregard for the formalities of police work. One might view this film as a knowing  commentary on the frustration and impotence Americans felt in the 70s (not unlike today) because of high crime rates and how this can lead us to accept infringements on our civil rights just so long as those who do the infringing promise to produce results--all we need is a benevolent fascist to take care of us and we'll be alright.  One might also see it as a revenge fantasy and a cry of frustration that simply plays on our basest ins...

by Richard Ellmann Richard Ellman's fascinating biography follows Wilde  from his beginnings as a brilliant student to his tragic end, when he haunted European locales that had delighted him in better times like a living ghost.   Richard Ellmann The early part of the book is the least interesting.   Wilde was one of the first useless celebrities--figures who gain notoriety simply because something odd or appealing about them keeps them in the public eye apart from any actual talent (although Wilde was, by all accounts, an excellent speaker).   Ellman's analysis of Wilde's aestheticism is, I suppose, essential to a complete understanding of the man, but since the matters to which Wilde devoted so much of his energy were so frivolous and trivial, it doesn't make for a very good read.   "Oscar Wilde" (French) Later, though, Wilde demonstrates his talent with the publication of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and his successful plays, and the biography pick...

by Leon Uris While conducting business in Greece during WWII,  American writer Mike Morrison is trapped by the German advance.   When he comes into possession of a secret list of Greek patriots who are pretending to be collaborators, he must go on the run to escape the enemy forces that have been assigned to retrieve the information.   This is the only book by Leon Uris that I have read to date.   Leon Uris I was under the impression that he was a writer who researched his subjects meticulously.  However, there is very little local color here, nothing that one couldn't glean from watching movies and skimming a few travel books.  Worse than that, the characters and situations are clichés from start to finish, and the prose is dull.  It reads like a treatment for an unremarkable 50s WWII programmer. However, this appears only to be Uris's second published work, so it is likely that he improved considerably later on. "The Mountains Rose" (German) "The Ang...