Masters of Thriller Writing--- Robert Parker

 

Sir Lancelot and others of his ilk, it is said, travelled on their prancing steeds and in their glittering armour all alone in search of evil dragons to slay and fair maidens to rescue. It came to pass, however, that over time brave knights seeking adventure, and of course fair maidens, felt the need of a travelling companion, assistant and lackey to do the hard work and while away the time between dragon-slaughter-and-maiden-rescue missions. Thus, were conjured up the Sancho Panzas’ to the itinerant Don Quixotes’ in the world of derring- do and high adventure.

Lackeys, however, tend to get boring; and so, creative writers like Alexander Dumas put together a group of pals who would adventure together -- drinking, wenching and politicking -- with both morals and armour (if they wore any) a trifle tarnished. The dragons became powerful, greedy men and if the fair maidens were not quite maidenly any more, they were nonetheless beautiful and often grateful for services rendered.

In modern times, some superb thriller writers have elaborated on this ‘pals paradigm’ and written some wholly absorbing accounts of principal protagonist and pal sallying out into the bad, bad world, righting wrongs and bashing the bad guys.

One such thriller writer was Robert Parker (1932-2010)

If a writer can create a character or two whom every reader ‘likes’ -- is impressed by and half in love with -- then she has got it made; success and a large readership is assured.

Parker has succeeded in doing so in forty odd novels featuring a private dick named Spencer and his pal, Hawk.

Spencer is big and tough -- which is more than just being strong -- and white, while Hawk is big and very tough and black. And, together, they are the scourge of bad guys in and around Boston. They do, of course, go out of town occasionally, sometimes all the way to California too, when crime calls, but they are Boston based.

The two met when they were young and trying to make a living as professional boxers. Spencer then became a cop, got fired for insubordination and moved into the private eye business. He does not have a college degree but reads serious books about culture and sociology and other such stuff and finds a long-term monogamous partner in Susan, a psychiatrist with a Harvard PhD. Hawk, on the other hand is a shadowy ‘enforcer’ in the underworld -- details not given -- plays the field and also reads serious books on Race and stuff. We, however, see him only when he and Spencer are working together on some case. The nature of the cases they deal with varies significantly, and the storytelling is always gripping and great fun. Even the occasional ‘love-relationship-commitment’ sermons, thankfully always brief, are executed skillfully and with finesse.

In addition to the Spencer series, Parker wrote a few other novels and one reads them more out of a sense of loyalty than interest, but one still reads them.

If you are just starting on Robert Parker, pick up a Spencer and you are guaranteed paisa-vasool and a hugely entertaining time.

Happy reading.

 

Verse and Worse-A private collection By Arnold Silcock

 

On popular demand from friends I’m posting a few more gems from Verse and Worse. The more one explores this magical collection the more great stuff one finds, so here goes. Enjoy!

 

Kicking Away the Ladder-- Development Strategy in Historical Perspective By Ha-Joon Chang

 

 

Down the ages, the wise have insisted that we learn the lessons of history, as ignoring them is risky business. In order to make sense of the present and plan effectively for the future, it is essential to study and understand the past. For this, however, we have to get history right, separate the myths from the realities, and check what was done right and what wrong.   

In ‘Kicking Away the Ladder’ Ha-Joon Chang, who teaches Political Economy of Development at Cambridge University, has argued that the policies the developed countries of the West used to climb the ladder of economic prosperity are not those they recommend to the developing nations of today. What they advise as ‘correct’ and ‘good’ and insist on as preconditions for any assistance from them and the international institutions they control, are not, in fact, what they themselves used to grow. They are, in effect, kicking away the ladder they used to climb up and thereby are adversely impacting the developing world’s efforts to follow in their footsteps.

Before you conclude that these are the rants of a nutty conspiracy theorist, it is essential to read the book. It is a slim volume, just 140 pages of argument, and with hard data the author dispels a number of myths and brings surprising and disturbing facts to light.

Consider the case of Great Britain, where the Industrial Revolution started in the 18^th century and established the nation’s economic supremacy for a time. Active intervention to encourage domestic manufacturing and discourage manufacturing imports through tariffs and subsidies characterized the British state’s economic policies till overwhelming technical superiority was achieved by the mid 19^th century and British manufacturing became confident enough to ask for ‘free’ trade. Free trade then became the instrument for growth in a world where British manufactures held a dominant position. Besides, British liberalization was also very state controlled, not a free operation of the famous ‘invisible hand’, not laisse faire. And when Britain lost its technical lead around the early 20^th century, tariffs came back!

The USA, too, grew to economic dominance under the umbrella of ‘infant industry’ protection that included not just tariff measures but also other active state interventions. From the late 18^th century till the mid-20^th century (World War II), high tariff walls protected US industry. Liberalization began only later, when dominance had been achieved and ‘free’ trade became necessary for growth. In addition to tariff protection, direct state action to promote agricultural research, public education and transport infrastructure also contributed significantly to growth. Laisse Faire, minimal government and the ‘invisible hand’ were not the driving forces behind the USA’s rise to world economic dominance. And even after the War, defence procurement and R&D financing remain very significant drivers of US growth. For example, a critical chunk of Research and Development in pharmaceuticals is funded by the US government. The lesson is, that despite what the Washington Consensus says -- liberalize, liberalize, liberalize -- development requires considerable protection and assistance from a proactive state!

The history of Intellectual Property Rights is also revealing! Everyone was ‘borrowing’ and nobody was protecting IPR till they had, by generally dubious means, established technical dominance. Then, of course, it became imperative -- in their national i.e. commercial interest -- to insist on protection for Intellectual Property. As illustration consider the following:

·       In the US, before 1836, patents were granted without any proof of originality; thus enabling patenting of imported technologies. Till 1891 the US did not acknowledge foreigners’ copyrights!

·       Switzerland did not have a patent system till 1907 and in the late 19^th century Germany was complaining of theft, by the Swiss, of IPR in the chemical industry, while the British were complaining of IPR theft by the Germans!

 

The author then discusses the issue of institutions and development. Extant economic wisdom insists that ‘good’ institutions -- liberal democracy, efficient bureaucracies, transparent and market oriented corporate governance and financial institutions, amongst others -- are necessary conditions for growth. History, however, teaches that so called ‘good’ institutions were more a consequence of sustained growth over a long period of time in the developed nations of the world. They were not growth drivers. It may be contended that some of these are ‘good’ in themselves -- of absolute value -- but the point is that they are not necessary conditions for growth. At least, they have not appeared to be so in the history of the advanced countries of today.

The above is just indicative of the food for thought that the book provides.  It is, in addition, simply and convincingly written and short, to boot.

Like all ‘good’ books, Kicking Away the Ladder makes one question preconceived notions and established wisdom. It is both educative and thought provoking. It teaches us some lessons from history that are hard to forget.

Happy reading.

 

Masters of thriller writing-Robert Crais

 

 

 

 

Robert Crais hit the thriller space with a bang in 1987, with the publication of his first novel The Monkey’s Raincoat featuring Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. And he hasn’t looked back since!

The thriller landscape is littered with wanna-be tough guys and private eyes but distressingly few can hold one’s interest even through the course of one complete book. Crais however, belongs to the select club of authors who convert a curious reader into a dedicated fan at their first encounter and retain that loyalty over more than thirty years and twenty  plus books.

Elvis Cole has a sense of humour and a smart mouth to go with it, but behind all the laid- back cleverness is a former US Ranger who lives in LA in “..a little A frame house perched on the side of a mountain just off Woodrow Wilson drive in Laurel Canyon”. He does Surya Namaskar and practices Taekwondo on his deck and runs a private detective agency with his friend Joe Pike.

Joe is a perfect foil to his friend and partner and more overtly lethal. He speaks little and smiles less; is a vegetarian, sleeps on the floor in a very bare condo,meditates, runs long distances and owns a gun shop. He is a former Marine-Force Recon-, served in Vietnam, the LAPD and as a mercenary before partnering with Elvis.

Together Elvis and Pike work the dark side of glittering LA, righting wrongs, catching crooks and generally being a pain in the whoosis of old antagonists in the Police force.

Everyone of the eighteen odd Cole and Pike novels is a delightful read. We suspend disbelief very willingly and dive in and relish every clever move by Elvis and every violent one by Pike. Superb entertainment -every time!

In addition to the Cole and Pike series, Crais has written a few stand-alone novels and these too, are outstanding examples of the genre. To give you just a quick peek, a recent book has, as principal protagonist, Maggie Marine. Her formal name is Military Working Dog Maggie, an eighty five pound black and tan German shepherd trained to attack and to detect IEDs. She served two tours in Afganistan , got wounded and lost her handler to an IED and ended up with the K9 unit of the LAPD. Maggie and her new handler together help build a vastly entertaining story.

In sum, you cannot go wrong with a Robert Crais. If you spot one you haven’t read, pick it up instantly before someone else does; find a comfortable couch and a free weekend and enjoy!

Happy reading.