The Columbo Phile: A Casebook

The indispensable guide to America's greatest television detective, "The Columbo Phile" is a must-have for any fan. It includes detailed episode summaries, behind-the-scenes production information, and interviews with many of the guest murders including Leonard Nimoy, Richard Kiley and Robert Conrad. The writers, creators, and directors are all heard from, and there are extensive quotes from Peter Falk himself that show just how much he cared about the character and the series. The book details the original run of Columbo episodes, beginning with the made-for-TV movie "Prescription: Murder" and ending with "The Conspirators." Although the 1980's revival (beginning with "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine" and ending in the 2000's with "Columbo Likes the Nightlife") is mentioned, the book was published before any of the new episodes aired, so information on them is not included. Whatever price you can find it at is well worth it!

...and yes, someone needs to undertake a follow-up volume for the new episodes. However, this would be an intimidating task because Dawidziak has writen such a tremendous volume.

I refer to the book many times when I watch Columbo episodes I've taped over the years. I think it's a great book, but like others, I think it should either be updated, or a sequel book, possibly titled "The Columbo Phile - Just One More Thing" that just covers the newer cases and updates the statistics (such as how many times William Shatner has been a murderer on Columbo, which used to be 1 and now is 2). Maybe they could use color photos in it, too.

This is a fine book - I've read it cover-to-cover. It's all you need if you are interested in the fumbling, bumbling ways of this great detective.I hope that Mark Dawidziak revises it someday to include the newer additions to the Columbo saga.

This is to my knowlege the only Columbo book on the market and it is the only one that a true Columbo fan needs. It is detailed an its analysis of the character and highly enjoyable to read. I recommend this book to every Columbo fan out there