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F. BOOK REVIEWS
F5.1. Beals, Carleton. Saturday Review of Literature 30, no. 27 (July 5, 1947): 26-27.
“However, by his own account, he came pretty close to perfection as a general ignoramus and easy-mark, and it is precisely this ‘Innocents Abroad,’ babe-in-the-woods approach that provides much of the hilarity of this little volume. ... Mr. Dodge has written a delightful, mirthful book, which was all he set out to do.”F5.2. Berrett, Jesse. What I’m Reading, December 4, 2006. http://jesse_berrett.typepad.com/what_im_reading/2006/12/dodge_how_green.html
“The really sad part is that the family ends up in Guatemala, which [Dodge] considers fairer, more clean, more efficient, and more generally honest than Mexico--a mere 7 years before the US-backed overthrow of the Arbenz regime, which led to more than forty years of dirty war against the people. It’s a sad extra-textual gravity to add to the book.”F5.3. New York Times Book Review 52, no. 18 (May 4, 1947): 20.
“THIS BOOK COULD CAUSE A LOT OF TROUBLE (But it’s worth it). Thousands of disappointed American tourists may demand their money back from the Mexican government because THEY motored through Mexico and nothing funny happened at all ... Disputes over favorite passages may break out into physical violence now and then ... School kids may start playing hookey from their language classes ... American women will be outraged by what the author says about Mexican women ... Stout-hearted disciples of Benchley, Perelman, Thurber, etc., may start writing the critics poison-pen letters ... Hell hath no fury like the disciple of a great humorist when informed by a critic that another humorist is just as funny. Luckily our man Dodge isn’t following in any footsteps buthis own (which gives his prose that weavy feeling) so let Benchley-ites, Perelmanites, and Thurberites just swallow the sugary pill that another fine humorist has come along.” [Advertisement]F5.4. Wedeck, Harry E. “Que Tal, Hombre?” New York Times Book Review 52, no. 18 (May 4, 1947): 43.
“In essence this is a travel book, but with a difference. It is spontaneous, free from any trace of stodginess, and is even informative, in a distorted kind of way. Mature and wildly boisterous, it is the fantastic, zanylike and at all times unpredictable odyssey of the Dodge family—two adults and an inquisitive offspring—to Guatemala via Mexico.”F6.1. James, Edith. “Greenhorn in Guatemala,” San Francisco Chronicle 166, no. 113 (May 7, 1948): 22.
“Now come further funny words from Mr. Dodge in the form of “another sort of travel diary” titled ‘How Lost Was My Week End’ ... The week end he lost in Guatemala (with side visits to Honduras and Antigua) was actually a year and a half, but according to the author, there were compensations. And there were ...”F6.2. Mellinger, Margaret. “Coctels and Barracuda,” New York Times Book Review 53 (June 20, 1948): 10.
“Having successfully rollicked through Mexico, Mr. Dodge, erstwhile mystery-story writer turned professional traveler, moves southward in his most recent book to the banana republics. The ostensible purpose of his fifteen-month residence in Guatemala was to gather material for future murder mysteries. Thus, not without reason, much of the book is given over to the exploration of oddities of Central American custom.”F6.3. New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review 25, no. 13 (Nov. 14, 1948): 38.
“This vivid account of a mystery writer’s semi-holiday in Guatemala is complete with incidents, accidents and the usual troubles involving customs officials, auto licenses and Latin-American ways in general.”F6.4. Ross, Jean L. Library Journal 73, no. 7 (Apr. 1, 1948): 554.
“This book continues the family’s hilarious adventures as residents of Guatemala. It is really funny, often brash, but gives real information and some excellent pictures of life in Central America. Will be popular.”F7.1. Cuppy, Will. New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review 24, no. 52 (Aug. 15, 1948): 10.
“Mr. Dodge, an experienced baffler, is now working his way through Latin America with considerable effect.”F7.2. Doyle, Edward Dermot. “A Check List of Some of the Better Titles of the Past Quarter for Christmas Giving,” San Francisco Chronicle Christmas Book Issue (Nov. 28, 1948): 9.
“Dazzling scenery and some equally dazzling doings en route.”F7.3. Doyle, Edward Dermot. This World [San Francisco Chronicle] 12, no. 14 (Aug. 8, 1948): 13.
“‘I am a native of San Francisco. I still like San Francisco better than any place except possibly Guatemala City ...’ These words appear on the dust jacket of Traitor Dodge’s new book. For shame, Davy, for shame. Nevertheless, the new book is a honey ...”F7.4. Henderson, Robert W. Library Journal 73, no. 13 (July 1948): 1026.
“Author’s penchant for Latin American peregrinations obtrudes into his novel in which there is as much travel as plot.”F7.5. New Yorker 24, no. 26 (Aug. 21, 1948): 80.
“A neat puzzle, considerably enhanced by an authentic-sounding South American background.”F7.6. Saturday Review of Literature 31, no. 33 (Aug. 14, 1948): 24.
“Plenty of punch and color ... Better grade.”F7.7. Sherman, Beatrice. New York Times Book Review 53, no. 32 (Aug. 8, 1948): 15.
“Romance, shooting and even a bit of grave-robbing ...”F8.1. Boucher, Anthony. New York Times Book Review 54, no. 23 (June 5, 1949): 25.
“This trick of fitting your characters into what you know, plus an equal clarity and directness in the handling of language, may account for the vivid authenticity of all Dodge’s mysteries ... When you’ve recovered your breath at the end, you’ll know more than you did about the past and present of Peru and you’ll have read some fine, hard-packed, hard-hitting prose.”F8.2. Cuppy, Will. New York Herald Tribune Weekly Book Review 25, no. 42 (June 5, 1949): 12.
“Mr. Dodge, a glutton for local color, loads his tale with same, including suitable reference to the llama, the alpaca and the vicuna. A readable travel-mystery, violent in spots, with a sketchy background deriving from ‘The Conquest of Peru.’”F8.3. Doyle, Edward Dermot. This World [San Francisco Chronicle] 13, no. 6 (June 12, 1949): 13.
“For color and action and plenty of Dodge-Colby rip-snorting, try ‘Plunder.’”F8.4. Hartlaub, Joe. Bookreporter.com (May 2005).
“This is a great story, by an under-acknowledged master. Highly recommended.”F8.5. Jackson, Joseph Henry. “Notes on the Margin,” San Francisco Chronicle 168, no. 113 (May 28, 1949): 10.
“Take [C.E.] Scoggins’ material and work it over more or less in the style of Raymond Chandler, so to say, and you’ve got an idea of what Dodge’s ‘Plunder of the Sun’ is like. It’s pure escape, moves at a fast clip, and will provide its readers with an hour or two of suspense and excitement.”F8.6. New Yorker 24, no. 15 (June 4, 1949): 95-96.
“Al Colby, Mr. Dodge’s resourcefully drawn private detective, is fast becoming our leading expert on South American skullduggery ... Good, solid stuff.”F8.7. Saturday Review of Literature 32, no. 22 (May 28, 1949): 34.
“Struggle to get parchment that tells all about Inca hoard provides plentiful action, information, colorful backgrounds, and some romance ... Exciting.”Reviews of the Hard Case Crime reprint.
Clarke, Craig. Craig’s Book Club, [2005?] http://www.geocities.com/craigsbookclub/plundersun.html
“It’s a first: a novel from Hard Case Crime that I didn’t particularly like ... [but] I liked Dodge’s style enough that I would likely try another of his books.”Hartlaub, Joe. “Review: Plunder of the Sun.” Bookreporter.com, [2005?] http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews2/0843953586.asp
“One cannot read the book without spending at least a few moments wondering how such a work could have gone out of print for so long ... This is a great story, by an under-acknowledged master. Highly recommended.”Lott, Rod. Bookgasm, [2005?] http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/thrillers/plunder-of-the-sun/
“There are few thriller scenarios more fun than a treasure hunt ... It’s amazing that PLUNDER, at more than 55 years old, is as vibrant and thrilling as ever.”Siders, Robert. 52 Novels, August 30, 2006. http://novels2006.robertsiders.com/library/david-dodge/plunder-of-the-sun/
“I enjoyed this read but there was something about it that didn’t pull me in the way I’d hoped.”
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