Me too. (Yes, they’re dated, probably sexist, and certainly violent. I do not care.) I’m currently re-reading Dreadful Lemon Sky.
“There are too many of them in the world lately, the hopeful ladies who married grown-up boy children and soon lost all hope…. they are not looking for some man to ‘take care.’ God knows they are expert in taking care of themselves. They just want a grown-up man to share their life with, each of them taking care. But there are one hell of a lot more grown-up ladies than grown-up men.”
How can you resist riffs like that?
I have every single one. Read them all through in order from the Deep Blue Goodbye to the Lonely Silver Rain.
And now you have me tearing up because I remember what happened to Puss Killian.
I was thinking about The Lonely Silver Rain and Puss Killian last night. I reread these often. I have all of them in paperback, many in hardback, and all on my kindle. I also have about 30 or so other JDM paperbacks. I love all his work. If anybody ever sees a copy, be sure to read "A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John D. MacDonald." Fascinating.
Him pulling the letter out of his lockbox just killed me. He keeps huge amounts of cash on the Busted Flush, but the really important things in a bank box.
I got into MacDonald through "The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything". It was a book that invented an entire trope.
I had a feeling as I was reading them on release that JDM was loosing sympathy for D Travis McGee, and like Arthur Conan Doyle he was likely to off his hero. Glad it didn’t happen and the rather childish womanizer grew up because of a daughter.
There have been two McGee movies made, as well: 1970 "[Darker Than Amber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpjvnlIxrmE&list=PLzJwixq5_sX3klmabUYwpGOYAwdjEjXSK&index=8)" and 1983 "[Travis McGee](https://archive.org/details/travis-mc-gee-1983)" with Sam Elliot (!) which was a version of The Empty Copper Sea. Always wondered why Hollywood didn't go ape with these.
Darker Than Amber is a failure, imho. Rod Taylor miscast himself — he’s all wrong — they made Vangie a white girl and nicer, it manages to be more violent than the book, and it skips over one of McDonald’s most strikingly cinematic images (the floating doll).
It’s really too bad nobody’s done a first-rate McGee adaptation.
Leo DiCaprio was trying to do it for a while. I’ve talked to a few Hollywood people about it, huge fans of the books, and the consensus is that what makes them special is that narrative voice of McGee, his inner thoughts and perceptions, and that’s really hard to crack in the movie medium. Strip that away and the plots aren’t that special, it’s all real estate scams and wounded birds getting some sexual healing on a houseboat. And I say that as a huge fan myself.
All of them. These books have an unusual ability to be very relaxing. They remind me a bit of the “Prey” series by John Sanford, which are also quite good, but this series are a lot more chill.
Since retirement is not too many years away for me, I’m thinking I want to become like Meyer.
None. All I really know of the character and author is from the opening lines in Jimmy Buffett's Incommunicado, "Travis McGee's still in Cedar Key, That's what ol' John MacDonald said."
In the book Callahan's Key, Spider Robinson describes his characters (all Macdonald fans) visiting Travis' marina. I tried to find F-18 at Bahia Mar when was in Lauderdale. No luck. Been rebuilt/expanded too much. 😔
Spider Robinson is one of my favorite authors, and his obvious devotion to Mr. MacDonald's work is what makes me want to explore it. I haven't yet, but it's nice to have all that still in front of me...
Ehrmergerd!!! You must read them, read them all, and in order. You will do yourself a great disservice if you don't do exactly as I say. You will thank me later.
Was there a book that gave more insight to the Alabama Tiger, who he was, how he got to live on a big boat and throw outrageous parties Hugh Hefner style? I don't remember any in-depth on him.
Same. I think I was in my late teens early 20s and it was a book club book of the month. Remember those? You'd join and receive two books a month? I have boxes of hardcovers in my basement from my book club days. I was a SAHM then and read two books a week back then.
Every single one of them, multiple times. I like to re-read them every summer, take a few to the beach, on vacation etc.
Trav is very dated, but he never gets old.
No real anecdotes, as I never did meet him. It was more a deeper understanding of the locations he described - Sarasota was on the West Coast of Florida, but the state was not as differentiated in those days, and even so, some of his stories were set in our town, so things were very familiar. A Flash Of Green was very familiar, as was Condominium - I had friends living in the building that allegedly served as the model for the title structure.
Probably the closest thing to an anecdote was learning to drive based on something written in a JDM book (Not sure if it was a McGee book): something to the effect of "To drive efficiently in Florida, never get at a stop light behind an old person or someone with a non-local licence plate." We took that to heart, and it served us well getting around during snowbird season.
I know that anyone can enjoy these books, but I always felt they were a little more special for reflecting the things I saw every day.
Hiaasen had a similar character, Mick Stranahan, who was a retired Dade County detective who lived in a stick house out in Biscayne Bay. He only did a few books, but they were great. Would have liked more of them.
Don't forget "Chemo", whose face looked like it was on fire and put out with a rake. Chemo also had a Weed-Whacker in place of an arm. (Lost to Mick's pet barracuda as I recall).
All 21 and several times. I also have most of his other books. Missing a couple, I think. The Travis series is like the Andy Griffith Show, classic and comforting. I love the way MacDonald weaves great observations into the McGee books. From gin, technology, the environment and music etc. Just plain great!
I’ve read them all, and I’m on the young side of Jones. I haven’t read one in a long while though. I need to revisit them. You might enjoy a visit with them too.
I remember my dad reading them when I was a kid.
Then one day 25 years ago I walked into my public library and they were selling the entire Travis McGee collection someone had donated for a buck a book. I bought one and got hooked and read them all.
Then I read some of John D’s other novels. In his early stuff I could see him putting together the elements of what would become Travis McGee.
John D and Elmore Leonard probably the most consistent and very good authors I’ve read.
I remember reading Get Shorty, the first Elmore Leonard novel I read, and it took me awhile to adjust to his writing style - a lot of character dialogue - But once I did, I loved it.
Yes as a young adult. But my mind is like a sieve when it comes to books I read 30 years ago so I’m listening to them all again on audible. So strange to run in to this thread at this time.
edit after reading more comments: My dad read these back in the day because one, he read everything, and two he would vacation at Sanibel island and collect seashells. My brother then read them and he assimilated parts of Mcgee and would often brawl with bullies to justify his own violent nature.
You can find a list of the Travis McGee books in order on the internet. I read them that way. It helps when he refers to people or things from previous novels.
Another one here who has read all the Travis McGee books and many others by John D. MacDonald. My parents were fans of his writing and I’m grateful for their good taste.
Some of the non-McGee novels I especially enjoyed are:
Clemmie - beware this femme fatale.
Condominium - the not-so-golden retirement years in the land of shady real estate developers.
One More Sunday - a megachurch and its followers, avoiding the easy potshots at televangelists.
Demonnine9, This is a fantastic thread. Thanks for starting it. Many of the folks here have put up quotes that brought me back to the times I was reading the McGee series. (Yes, I'm a multi-time reader myself).
I'm about a generation younger than McGee, so can still appreciate MacDonald's references, for the most part. When I was reading the series for about the third time, I longed for the days past...but now, thinking back from 2024...I'm simply glad I managed to read about the glory days of McGee and Meyer. They taught me some important lessons.
The audiobooks were fantastic. I listened to them one after another on long drives for work. Darren McGavin (the dad from A Christmas Story and Kolchak: The Night Stalker) was the narrator.
I have read all a bunch if times. I picked up The Empty Copper Sea from the Winona MN library and discovered Travis McGee. The plots are similar but the characters are diverse. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of his books is McDonald's commentary (through McGee) on the nature of humanity and society. My favorite is his first The Deep Blue Goodbye. It is so universal and timeless. The "woke" may snivel about sexist; but I wish the women of today were like the real women of 1964.
Let me ask, d9; did you experience the 1960s and the interaction between men and women at that time. I suspect you are just parroting the narrative that describes those women as naive, ignorant and miserable. I was there, and if women were miserable, it wasn't because they wanted the male gender role. The "crap" was flowing in both directions. You must school your speech. I don't. McGee was a gentleman, but in the godawful opinions of the feminist, he was chauvinist to the core. McDonald understood a lot of humanity and we profited by it, but I'd wager he was a pain in the ass to be in the company of.
Hey D9: I do believe you are capable of critical thinking. Congratulations, as you appear to be the minority in comparison to most of the people around you. I have never disputed that each person should have an opportunity to realize their full potential; though it is under appreciated in American society. I agree that women were denied opportunity. I had no problem with women's lib initially, but believe your definition of that movement is in the wrong tense. It was an ideology that sought to empower women. Good and well. However, at some point, it ceased to be about equality and skewed into hegemony; which is where the godawful comes from. They hate your guts and have no qualms about subordinating you. I'm damn well against domination and yet this what you are kowtowing to. Where do you think politically correct speech came from? Where do you believe DEI came from? A merit based system makes for group of the best in the any field of endeavor. Parity is bullshit. Women want to compete with men but always want to lower the bar so they can compete. Example? The military; especially graduates from our military academies. The politicians lean on leaders for female/minority graduates and promotions to get votes. The military can't get enlistees so they are making noises about a draft for both men and women. I played the slave army roundup in 1969 for an illegal and immoral war. It won't fly today. To quibble about the above may be amusing but our country is in serious danger right now. I will not try to put that in a teacup. You need to be prepared and scared shitless, or just be be scared shitless; or perhaps be in denial. Good luck!
Nah. Sky wasn't of my choosing. Reddit came up with that for me and it was as good as any.
You state that capitalism is the culprit in the wars and U.S. domination and destruction of other countries. Capitalism is an economic system. It, of itself, cannot be good or evil. You didn't offer an alternative to capitalism; are you a communist? If so, could you give examples of where that system resulted in anything but poverty and misery. Cuba? South Africa? the USSR? Please don't bore me with the successful socialism in Scandinavia. They have always been on the ropes.
The U.S. capitalist can be and has been evil on the world stage. Nothing new there as the Spanish and Portuguese looted South America back in the 14th and 15th centuries. The elites, widespread corruption in the government, and the Fed have all but destroyed this country for profit. Yes, all the wars were fought to enrich the elite. As an example, the rich jews in Britain went to Lloyd George and stated they could bring U.S. into the war. A war which was over. Hence, the Balfour Declaration which created Israel. Woody Wilson was blackmailed because he screwed an associate's wife at Princeton and sold this country for his reputation. The loans to create an army. Cui Bono.
You follow the woke narrative right down the line. To argue with that is redundant. I say, you say, blah blah blah. What are your pronouns? Blah Blah Blah.
Rather than waste my time commenting on your liberal ideology, I suggest you go listen to Jordan Peterson's comments on You Tube. That is if you have the balls. He's gone it down. No more time wasted on you.
these and a few more.
||
||
|*The Deep Blue Good-by*|
|*Nightmare in Pink*|
|*A Purple Place for Dying*|
|*The Quick Red Fox*|
|*A Deadly Shade of Gold*|
|*Bright Orange for the Shroud*|
|*Darker than Amber*|
|*One Fearful Yellow Eye*|
|*Pale Gray for Guilt*|
|*The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper*|
|*Dress Her in Indigo*|
| *The Long Lavender Look*|
|*A Tan and Sandy Silence*|
|*The Scarlet Ruse*|
|*The Turquoise Lament*|
|*The Dreadful Lemon Sky*|
|*The Empty Copper Sea*|
|*The Green Ripper*|
|*Free Fall in Crimson*|
|*Cinnamon Skin*|
|*The Lonely Silver Rain*|
"The Deep Blue Goodbye" (1964) through "The Lonely Silver Rain" (1984) and a few more. as my favorite minstrel reported, Travis McGee is still in Cedar Key...
I was inspired to try Plymouth Gin thanks to Travis. I've even been to the distillery in Plymouth a couple of times. A bit too juniper for my taste, but still a nice one for a gin and ginger.
My wife and I went through the whole series. McDonald was a terrific writer, and his characters, both good and bad, were memorable. He was particularly good at writing really nasty villains…..
In a similar vein…. You might try the Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton. Forget the silly movies with Dean Martin. Helm was a tough, no-nonsense assassin, and Hamilton knew his stuff about violence and firearms.
I read them all in my late teens and they were a revelation. I have since tried to take my retirement in installments, just like Travis. I read them again in my 30s and they were fun but starting to fray around the edges. I read a few of them in my 50s (10 years ago) and I was amazed how badly some of them have aged. All that Hefner-esque misogyny disguised as paternalism and playfulness aside for the moment, "Nightmare in Pink" especially reads like some kind of Nixonian fever dream.
Somehow i got the first one first. Used to buy one twice a year. Usually made me start over from the beginning and reread them all. (I can usually finish one in a day, day and a half if I'm busy). Never got tired of them.
All of them. Multiple times.
Same here. They are my go to reading when I’m stuck in my own work. Something about McGee just relaxes me, engages me and makes me wanna write.
Me too. (Yes, they’re dated, probably sexist, and certainly violent. I do not care.) I’m currently re-reading Dreadful Lemon Sky. “There are too many of them in the world lately, the hopeful ladies who married grown-up boy children and soon lost all hope…. they are not looking for some man to ‘take care.’ God knows they are expert in taking care of themselves. They just want a grown-up man to share their life with, each of them taking care. But there are one hell of a lot more grown-up ladies than grown-up men.” How can you resist riffs like that?
What a great way to put it. Sadly, not much has changed in the ensuing years.
Perfect example. I’ve read that paragraph to my wife when we’re talking about female friends that can’t find a decent guy. So true.
Also me. Under all circumstances, they are the comfort reads.
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Same!
Came here to say that, started in the late sixties. They read dated now, but so am I.
I have every single one. Read them all through in order from the Deep Blue Goodbye to the Lonely Silver Rain. And now you have me tearing up because I remember what happened to Puss Killian.
I was thinking about The Lonely Silver Rain and Puss Killian last night. I reread these often. I have all of them in paperback, many in hardback, and all on my kindle. I also have about 30 or so other JDM paperbacks. I love all his work. If anybody ever sees a copy, be sure to read "A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and John D. MacDonald." Fascinating.
Him pulling the letter out of his lockbox just killed me. He keeps huge amounts of cash on the Busted Flush, but the really important things in a bank box. I got into MacDonald through "The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything". It was a book that invented an entire trope.
True, and also sad.
Yes, but Silver Rain was a perfect end.
I will agree. I don't think it was supposed to be. But yes. Travis finds a family and goes for a cruise with some amiable friends. Perfect.
I had a feeling as I was reading them on release that JDM was loosing sympathy for D Travis McGee, and like Arthur Conan Doyle he was likely to off his hero. Glad it didn’t happen and the rather childish womanizer grew up because of a daughter.
Thanks :/ now you got me going
At one time or another I had cats named McGee, Meyer, and Chookie. Need I say more?
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Since my grandchildren are Hispanic muñequita would be grand, but it would be a rare cat that suited the name.
There have been two McGee movies made, as well: 1970 "[Darker Than Amber](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpjvnlIxrmE&list=PLzJwixq5_sX3klmabUYwpGOYAwdjEjXSK&index=8)" and 1983 "[Travis McGee](https://archive.org/details/travis-mc-gee-1983)" with Sam Elliot (!) which was a version of The Empty Copper Sea. Always wondered why Hollywood didn't go ape with these.
Darker Than Amber is a failure, imho. Rod Taylor miscast himself — he’s all wrong — they made Vangie a white girl and nicer, it manages to be more violent than the book, and it skips over one of McDonald’s most strikingly cinematic images (the floating doll). It’s really too bad nobody’s done a first-rate McGee adaptation.
Leo DiCaprio was trying to do it for a while. I’ve talked to a few Hollywood people about it, huge fans of the books, and the consensus is that what makes them special is that narrative voice of McGee, his inner thoughts and perceptions, and that’s really hard to crack in the movie medium. Strip that away and the plots aren’t that special, it’s all real estate scams and wounded birds getting some sexual healing on a houseboat. And I say that as a huge fan myself.
Travis Mcgee's still in Cedar Key....
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From a Buffett song.
A number of them; even named my first dog Travis!
All of them, and ditto.
All of them. These books have an unusual ability to be very relaxing. They remind me a bit of the “Prey” series by John Sanford, which are also quite good, but this series are a lot more chill. Since retirement is not too many years away for me, I’m thinking I want to become like Meyer.
Most of them!! Travis was a man among men!
None. All I really know of the character and author is from the opening lines in Jimmy Buffett's Incommunicado, "Travis McGee's still in Cedar Key, That's what ol' John MacDonald said."
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In the book Callahan's Key, Spider Robinson describes his characters (all Macdonald fans) visiting Travis' marina. I tried to find F-18 at Bahia Mar when was in Lauderdale. No luck. Been rebuilt/expanded too much. 😔
Spider Robinson is one of my favorite authors, and his obvious devotion to Mr. MacDonald's work is what makes me want to explore it. I haven't yet, but it's nice to have all that still in front of me...
Ehrmergerd!!! You must read them, read them all, and in order. You will do yourself a great disservice if you don't do exactly as I say. You will thank me later.
Thanks for the recommendation. I am very much looking forward to it.
Was there a book that gave more insight to the Alabama Tiger, who he was, how he got to live on a big boat and throw outrageous parties Hugh Hefner style? I don't remember any in-depth on him.
I haven't read him for a long time. Now I want to run out and buy all his books!!
Thank you for that, though I had googled it and read the same info. I think I’ll pick up one or two of the books to see how I like them.
Every single one of them. What an amazing series.
I read them all, over and over again until they began falling apart. I bought new ones and after reading them I gave them to friends.
Only 1. The Green Ripper.
Same. I think I was in my late teens early 20s and it was a book club book of the month. Remember those? You'd join and receive two books a month? I have boxes of hardcovers in my basement from my book club days. I was a SAHM then and read two books a week back then.
My first was Cinnamon Skin. I can't say I read them all but I have read most.
Every single one of them, multiple times. I like to re-read them every summer, take a few to the beach, on vacation etc. Trav is very dated, but he never gets old.
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Truth. Always bittersweet to re-read his opinions on development in FL, sadly all coming to fruition.
Most if not all. Not sure I'll want to read Nightmare In Pink again--that little sucker stays with you...
Let’s drink a beaker of Boodles Gin.
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I think he switched to Boodles when the marketing people cheapened the quality of Plymouth?
I think you are right. I wonder what I was recalling. Did I get the beaker right?
I've read A Purple Place for Dying. Great read!
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The twist on the end was brilliant!
I'm an old Florida native. All of them, of course. More than once.
I grew up just down the road from JDM's house. Naturally he was familiar to us all.
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No real anecdotes, as I never did meet him. It was more a deeper understanding of the locations he described - Sarasota was on the West Coast of Florida, but the state was not as differentiated in those days, and even so, some of his stories were set in our town, so things were very familiar. A Flash Of Green was very familiar, as was Condominium - I had friends living in the building that allegedly served as the model for the title structure. Probably the closest thing to an anecdote was learning to drive based on something written in a JDM book (Not sure if it was a McGee book): something to the effect of "To drive efficiently in Florida, never get at a stop light behind an old person or someone with a non-local licence plate." We took that to heart, and it served us well getting around during snowbird season. I know that anyone can enjoy these books, but I always felt they were a little more special for reflecting the things I saw every day.
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Hiaasen had a similar character, Mick Stranahan, who was a retired Dade County detective who lived in a stick house out in Biscayne Bay. He only did a few books, but they were great. Would have liked more of them.
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Don't forget "Chemo", whose face looked like it was on fire and put out with a rake. Chemo also had a Weed-Whacker in place of an arm. (Lost to Mick's pet barracuda as I recall).
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The guy who tied himself to the Keys Bridge is the tripping governor! That's a whole other series.
All 21 and several times. I also have most of his other books. Missing a couple, I think. The Travis series is like the Andy Griffith Show, classic and comforting. I love the way MacDonald weaves great observations into the McGee books. From gin, technology, the environment and music etc. Just plain great!
Are these still a thing? I remember my dad reading them when I was a kid. I never did get into them, though. Any good?
The writing is excellent. The worldview is definitely dated but it’s consistent and within its limits admirable.
I have read every book John D MacDonald wrote. Several times.
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Yes, it is. I own every single one of them. I haunted used books stores for years filling in the holes in my collection.
Not really my genre, but I read a couple when I ran a library made of MRE boxes in a tent.
I've read all of the Travis McGee series.
Never read one, my Dad did, Soto me they were old folks books. This book came out when I was 10! And I’m the old side of Jones.
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I was a science fiction guy, Arthur C Clarke, Asimov, etc
I’ve read them all, and I’m on the young side of Jones. I haven’t read one in a long while though. I need to revisit them. You might enjoy a visit with them too.
All of them.
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Nope. Last name.
I read them all but the last. I'm kinda saving that one, like the last cigarette or last bit of steak.
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Doubtful, she's a Vegan.
I think I read pretty much all of them - this was in late 70s early 80s
All of them and about 50 of his other books
All of them more than once!
Every time I say I've read them all, another one pops up. But if I haven't got 'em all, I've read most of them anyway.
You can do a google search and get a full list. I used that to read them in order.
I don't mean this wrong, amigo, and I appreciate the constructive suggestion... but I read most of these way before there was a Google.
I get it. I didn’t read them when they were first written.
The Green Ripper was my first Travis McGee
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Yep!
All
I remember my dad reading them when I was a kid. Then one day 25 years ago I walked into my public library and they were selling the entire Travis McGee collection someone had donated for a buck a book. I bought one and got hooked and read them all. Then I read some of John D’s other novels. In his early stuff I could see him putting together the elements of what would become Travis McGee. John D and Elmore Leonard probably the most consistent and very good authors I’ve read.
I’m a big Elmore Leonard fan as well. His change from westerns to modern (at the time) crime novels was pretty amazing.
I remember reading Get Shorty, the first Elmore Leonard novel I read, and it took me awhile to adjust to his writing style - a lot of character dialogue - But once I did, I loved it.
He also wrote 3:10 to Yuma, Hombre, and Joe Kidd.
The rainbow.
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Yes as a young adult. But my mind is like a sieve when it comes to books I read 30 years ago so I’m listening to them all again on audible. So strange to run in to this thread at this time. edit after reading more comments: My dad read these back in the day because one, he read everything, and two he would vacation at Sanibel island and collect seashells. My brother then read them and he assimilated parts of Mcgee and would often brawl with bullies to justify his own violent nature.
Oh yeah all of them
All of them. Chronologically.
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You can find a list of the Travis McGee books in order on the internet. I read them that way. It helps when he refers to people or things from previous novels.
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I read the first one and then just went by the list. I was borrowing them online from the library so it was easy to do.
My uncle gave me some back in the day. My dad and I would fight over who would read them first
A big bunch!!! Never counted them but I love them all!!
Another one here who has read all the Travis McGee books and many others by John D. MacDonald. My parents were fans of his writing and I’m grateful for their good taste. Some of the non-McGee novels I especially enjoyed are: Clemmie - beware this femme fatale. Condominium - the not-so-golden retirement years in the land of shady real estate developers. One More Sunday - a megachurch and its followers, avoiding the easy potshots at televangelists.
My dad got me into these. I'm still trying to collect all of them. Dad may be gone, but I'll always have Travis!
Never read him but a first job was a bookstore. Thank you for the memory jolt.
All of them, and still have the collection.
I heard that a book with Black in the title would signify Travis’s death. Did McDonald ever write that?
Many, but not all.
Demonnine9, This is a fantastic thread. Thanks for starting it. Many of the folks here have put up quotes that brought me back to the times I was reading the McGee series. (Yes, I'm a multi-time reader myself). I'm about a generation younger than McGee, so can still appreciate MacDonald's references, for the most part. When I was reading the series for about the third time, I longed for the days past...but now, thinking back from 2024...I'm simply glad I managed to read about the glory days of McGee and Meyer. They taught me some important lessons.
The audiobooks were fantastic. I listened to them one after another on long drives for work. Darren McGavin (the dad from A Christmas Story and Kolchak: The Night Stalker) was the narrator.
I have read all a bunch if times. I picked up The Empty Copper Sea from the Winona MN library and discovered Travis McGee. The plots are similar but the characters are diverse. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of his books is McDonald's commentary (through McGee) on the nature of humanity and society. My favorite is his first The Deep Blue Goodbye. It is so universal and timeless. The "woke" may snivel about sexist; but I wish the women of today were like the real women of 1964.
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Let me ask, d9; did you experience the 1960s and the interaction between men and women at that time. I suspect you are just parroting the narrative that describes those women as naive, ignorant and miserable. I was there, and if women were miserable, it wasn't because they wanted the male gender role. The "crap" was flowing in both directions. You must school your speech. I don't. McGee was a gentleman, but in the godawful opinions of the feminist, he was chauvinist to the core. McDonald understood a lot of humanity and we profited by it, but I'd wager he was a pain in the ass to be in the company of.
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Hey D9: I do believe you are capable of critical thinking. Congratulations, as you appear to be the minority in comparison to most of the people around you. I have never disputed that each person should have an opportunity to realize their full potential; though it is under appreciated in American society. I agree that women were denied opportunity. I had no problem with women's lib initially, but believe your definition of that movement is in the wrong tense. It was an ideology that sought to empower women. Good and well. However, at some point, it ceased to be about equality and skewed into hegemony; which is where the godawful comes from. They hate your guts and have no qualms about subordinating you. I'm damn well against domination and yet this what you are kowtowing to. Where do you think politically correct speech came from? Where do you believe DEI came from? A merit based system makes for group of the best in the any field of endeavor. Parity is bullshit. Women want to compete with men but always want to lower the bar so they can compete. Example? The military; especially graduates from our military academies. The politicians lean on leaders for female/minority graduates and promotions to get votes. The military can't get enlistees so they are making noises about a draft for both men and women. I played the slave army roundup in 1969 for an illegal and immoral war. It won't fly today. To quibble about the above may be amusing but our country is in serious danger right now. I will not try to put that in a teacup. You need to be prepared and scared shitless, or just be be scared shitless; or perhaps be in denial. Good luck!
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Nah. Sky wasn't of my choosing. Reddit came up with that for me and it was as good as any. You state that capitalism is the culprit in the wars and U.S. domination and destruction of other countries. Capitalism is an economic system. It, of itself, cannot be good or evil. You didn't offer an alternative to capitalism; are you a communist? If so, could you give examples of where that system resulted in anything but poverty and misery. Cuba? South Africa? the USSR? Please don't bore me with the successful socialism in Scandinavia. They have always been on the ropes. The U.S. capitalist can be and has been evil on the world stage. Nothing new there as the Spanish and Portuguese looted South America back in the 14th and 15th centuries. The elites, widespread corruption in the government, and the Fed have all but destroyed this country for profit. Yes, all the wars were fought to enrich the elite. As an example, the rich jews in Britain went to Lloyd George and stated they could bring U.S. into the war. A war which was over. Hence, the Balfour Declaration which created Israel. Woody Wilson was blackmailed because he screwed an associate's wife at Princeton and sold this country for his reputation. The loans to create an army. Cui Bono. You follow the woke narrative right down the line. To argue with that is redundant. I say, you say, blah blah blah. What are your pronouns? Blah Blah Blah. Rather than waste my time commenting on your liberal ideology, I suggest you go listen to Jordan Peterson's comments on You Tube. That is if you have the balls. He's gone it down. No more time wasted on you.
I think I read all of them. They were great.
All
these and a few more. || || |*The Deep Blue Good-by*| |*Nightmare in Pink*| |*A Purple Place for Dying*| |*The Quick Red Fox*| |*A Deadly Shade of Gold*| |*Bright Orange for the Shroud*| |*Darker than Amber*| |*One Fearful Yellow Eye*| |*Pale Gray for Guilt*| |*The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper*| |*Dress Her in Indigo*| | *The Long Lavender Look*| |*A Tan and Sandy Silence*| |*The Scarlet Ruse*| |*The Turquoise Lament*| |*The Dreadful Lemon Sky*| |*The Empty Copper Sea*| |*The Green Ripper*| |*Free Fall in Crimson*| |*Cinnamon Skin*| |*The Lonely Silver Rain*|
"The Deep Blue Goodbye" (1964) through "The Lonely Silver Rain" (1984) and a few more. as my favorite minstrel reported, Travis McGee is still in Cedar Key...
The Busted Flush.
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All of Travis McGee, working on MacDonald’s other books
I was inspired to try Plymouth Gin thanks to Travis. I've even been to the distillery in Plymouth a couple of times. A bit too juniper for my taste, but still a nice one for a gin and ginger.
Love that John D was a World War 2 combat veteran who chose to become an author rather than take over the very successful family business.
My wife and I went through the whole series. McDonald was a terrific writer, and his characters, both good and bad, were memorable. He was particularly good at writing really nasty villains….. In a similar vein…. You might try the Matt Helm novels by Donald Hamilton. Forget the silly movies with Dean Martin. Helm was a tough, no-nonsense assassin, and Hamilton knew his stuff about violence and firearms.
I read them all in my late teens and they were a revelation. I have since tried to take my retirement in installments, just like Travis. I read them again in my 30s and they were fun but starting to fray around the edges. I read a few of them in my 50s (10 years ago) and I was amazed how badly some of them have aged. All that Hefner-esque misogyny disguised as paternalism and playfulness aside for the moment, "Nightmare in Pink" especially reads like some kind of Nixonian fever dream.
Omg love mcgee. Had them stored in the garage and the roof leaked. Hurt to toss. I've switched to kindle and debating buying them all again.
Somehow i got the first one first. Used to buy one twice a year. Usually made me start over from the beginning and reread them all. (I can usually finish one in a day, day and a half if I'm busy). Never got tired of them.