Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Random Releases from 1973


As today is my birthday and having been born in 1973, I decided to do a random search for books released in that year.  So here are 20 books from 1973 in no particular order.


The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Summary:
What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.


Postern of Fate (Tommy & Tuppence #5) by Agatha Christie
Summary:
The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to William Morrow Paperbacks. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford return in Christie’s classic Postern of Fate, to investigate a deadly poisoning sixty years after the fact.


Cromwell by Antonia Fraser
Summary:
In Cromwell, award-winning biographer Antonia Fraser tells of one of England's most celebrated and controversial figures, often misunderstood and demonized as a puritanical zealot. Oliver Cromwell rose from humble beginnings to spearhead the rebellion against King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649, and led his soldiers into the last battle against the Royalists and King Charles II at Worcester, ending the civil war in 1651. Fraser shows how England's prestige and prosperity grew under Cromwell, reversing the decline it had suffered since Queen Elizabeth I's death.


Some Lie and Some Die (Inspector Wexford #8) by Ruth Rendell
Summary:
A mutilated body found at a rock festival.

In spite of dire predictions, the rock festival in Kingsmarkham seemed to be going off without a hitch, until the hideously disfigured body is discovered in a nearby quarry. And soon Wexford is investigating the links between a local girl gone bad and a charismatic singer who inspires an unwholesome devotion in his followers. Some Lie and Some Die is a devilishly absorbing novel, in which Wexford's deductive powers come up against the aloof arrogance of pop stardom.

With her Inspector Wexford novels, Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award, has added layers of depth, realism and unease to the classic English mystery. For the canny, tireless, and unflappable policeman is an unblinking observer of human nature, whose study has taught him that under certain circumstances the most unlikely people are capable of the most appalling crimes.


Please Pass the Guilt (Nero Wolfe #45) by Rex Stout
Summary:
A bomb explodes in the desk drawer of a top TV executive. But was the death trap intended for him or for the man who opened the drawer? Each man had a host of enemies, so was it the ambitious business partner, the jealous wife, the office secretary, or the man with blood on his hands? Nero Wolfe finds himself up to his corpulent neck as he and Archie Goodwin sort their way through secrets, over-the-top ambition, and a long list of suspects to find the truth and the guilty party.


City of Gold and Shadows (Felse #12) by Ellis Peters
Summary:
When Alan Morris disappears, his great-niece, Charlotte, regrets never having got to know the renowned archaeologist better. In an attempt to remedy that deficiency, she goes to visit one of his digs. But there she finds more than just a few old stones.


The Bedside Book of Bastards by Dorothy M Johnson and RT Turner
Summary:
This entertaining and informative book is a collection of amusing tales and anecdotes about villains, murderers, cannibals, plotters, and knaves--among them, Nero, Attila the Hun, the Borgias, Blackbeard, the Marquis de Sade, a curiously ravenous fellow named Liver-Eating Johnson, among others. As the authors say in their preface: "History records the names and misdeeds of some perfectly awful people. The list, alas, is all too long. We present some of the worst of them, some famous and some obscure."


Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
Summary:
Here is the unbelievable yet true story of Sybil Dorsett, a survivor of terrible childhood abuse who as an adult was a victim of sudden and mysterious blackouts. What happened during those blackouts has made Sybil's experience one of the most famous psychological cases in the world.


Phase IV by Barry N Malzberg
Summary:
Triumphant from a fifteen thousand year battle in space, a bolt of energy reached the third planet of a Class B star. A new life force spawned seven grey towers in the Arizona desert.

Now, from out of their dark mysteries marches a new breed of killer ants to herald the dawn of Phase IV…

In their path wait two men, a frightened girl and the resources of modern science. Mankind's first line of defense—and its last…

Note: Novelization based on a story and screenplay by Mayo Simon.


Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 1973
Summary:
Experiments in Utopias • essay by Carl Sagan
A Program for Star Flight • essay by G. Harry Stine
Whalekiller Grey • novelette by William E. Cochrane
Notes from Magdalen More • shortstory by Robert A. Heinlein [as by L*z*r*s L*ng ]
An Earnest of Intent • shortstory by Alfred D'Attore
Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand • novelette by Vonda N. McIntyre
Antalogia • shortstory by Walt Richmond and Leigh Richmond
The Hand is Quicker • shortstory by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.
The Far Call (Part 3 of 3) • serial by Gordon R. Dickson


Beulah Land by Lonnie Coleman
Summary:
BEULAH LAND.....
the tremendously engrossing saga of a great Georgia plantation in its golden age, and of the men and women, white and black, who were born and died there, knew every pain and pleassure, virtue and vice.
BEULAH LAND....
where the old South as it really was is brought to intense life, in all its outward splendor and secret shame.


Jaws by Peter Benchley
Summary:
"Relentless terror." The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The classic, blockbuster thriller of man-eating terror that inspired the Steven Spielberg movie and made millions of beachgoers afraid to go into the water. Experience the thrill of helpless horror again -- or for the first time!


The Last Cop Out by Mickey Spillane
Summary:
A tough-guy mystery to please even the most bloodthirsty of fans


The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Summary:
In the twenty-second century Earth obtains limitless, free energy from a source science little understands: an exchange between Earth and a parallel universe, using a process devised by the aliens. But even free energy has a price. The transference process itself will eventually lead to the destruction of Earth's Sun—and of Earth itself.

Only a few know the terrifying truth—an outcast Earth scientist, a rebellious alien inhabitant who senses the imminent annihilation of the Sun. They know the truth—but who will listen? They have foreseen the cost of abundant energy—but who will believe? These few beings, human and alien, hold the key to Earth's survival.


How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Summary:
Because of a bet, Billy is in the uncomfortable position of having to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. The worms are supplied by his opponent, whose motto is "The bigger and juicier, the better!" At first Billy's problem is whether or not he can swallow the worm placed before him, even with a choice of condiments from peanut butter to horseradish. But later it looks as if Billy will win, and the challenge becomes getting to the worm to eat it. Billy's family, after checking with the doctor, takes everything in stride. They even help Billy through his gastronomic ordeal, which twists and turns with each new day, leaving the outcome of the bet continually in doubt.


The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon
Summary:
An innocent American girl becomes a bewildered pawn in a game of vengeance and betrayal.


Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
Summary:
Bawdy and moving, the ultimate word-of-mouth bestseller, Rubyfruit Jungle is about growing up a lesbian in America--and living happily ever after. "A truly incredible book".--The Boston Globe.


Deenie by Judy Blume
Summary:
When Deenie finds out that she has scoliosis, she’s scared. When she sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream.
But the words won’t come out. And Deenie, beautiful Deenie, who everyone says should be a model, is stuck wearing a brace from her neck to her hips. For four years—or longer. She never worried about how she looked before—how will she ever face the hard times ahead?


I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
Summary:
It was only an accident -- but it would change their lives forever. Last summer, four terrified friends made a desperate pact to conceal a shocking secret. But some secrets don't stay buried, and someone has learned the truth. Someone bent on revenge. This summer, the horror is only beginning....


Burr by Gore Vidal
Summary:
Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to the post-World War II years. With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observers.

Burr is a portrait of perhaps the most complex and misunderstood of the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. Burr retains much of his political influence if not the respect of all. And he is determined to tell his own story. As his amanuensis, he chooses Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler, a young New York City journalist, and together they explore both Burr's past and the continuing political intrigues of the still young United States.



Ellis Peters

Rex Stout

Ruth Rendell

Antonia Fraser

Agatha Christie

William Goldman

Mickey Spillane

Isaac Asimov

Lonnie Coleman

Barry N Malzberg

Flora Rheta Schreiber

Dorothy M Johnson

RT Turner

G Harry Stine

Carl Sagan

William E Cochrane

Robert A Heinlein

Gordon R Dickson

Leigh Richmond

Alfred D'Attore

Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.

Vonda N McIntyre

Walt Richmond

Ben Bova(Editor)

Gore Vidal

Lois Duncan

Judy Blume

Rita Mae Brown

Sidney Sheldon

Thomas Rockwell

Peter Benchley



The Princess Bride

Postern of Fate
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Cromwell
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Some Lie and Some Die
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Please Pass the Guilt
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

City of Gold and Shadows
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

The Bedside Book of Bastards
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Sybil
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Phase IV
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Analog Science Fiction and Fact, 1973

Beulah Land
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

The Last Cop Out
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Jaws
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

The Gods Themselves
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

How to Eat Fried Worms
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

The Other Side of Midnight
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Rubyfruit Jungle
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Deenie
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR

Burr
Amazon  /  B&N  /  Goodreads TBR



The New York Times Best Sellers Lists 
for the week of October 21, 1973


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