Thursday, September 08, 2005

The Heirs of Anthony Boucher -- Marvin Lachman

Marv Lachman has written a book about mystery fandom that I predict will be on a lot of awards lists next year. In this anecdotal illustrated history, he gives capsule summaries of every Bouchercon (including attendance figures), discusses every mystery fanzine ever published, looks at mystery fandom from its beginnings to the present, and even talks a bit about fannish scholarship and the future of fandom.

For me, reading The Heirs of Anthony Boucher was almost as good as reliving many of the best moments of the last thirty years. When Judy was reading the book last night, she said, "This is like old home week." I think that nails it for those of us who have been fans for many of the years covered in the book.

But The Heirs of Anthony Boucher is certainly more than that. It's an invaluable documentation of the history (so far) of fandom, and it's something that everyone who cares about mysteries, mystery writing, and mystery fandom should own and read. I suggest that you order a copy now. You won't regret it.

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