The Red Hot Typewriter: The Life and Times of John D. MacDonald

The Red Hot Typewriter gets a 4 star rating from me because after having read it, I know considerably more about the life of John D. MacDonald than I did before. Author Hugh Merrill lays out in straightforward fashion the salient facts of MacDonald's biography. Where he was born and raised, his education, how he met his wife, his military service, the places he lived, etc. Merrill also takes us through MacDonald's transition from pulp magazine contributor to paperback original novelist and ultimately to respected author of critically acclaimed hardcovers. All important information for John D. MacDonald fans. Yet many questions remain as to who John D. MacDonald really was. For example, I would like to know why the Travis McGee series has such a disturbing amount of misogyny running through it. Merrill attempts to answer that question by citing the work of Mickey Spillane as having had a commercial (not artistic) influence on MacDonald as he was getting started. An interesting theory, but one that fails to satisfy. Similarly, unusual aspects of MacDonald's persona are alluded to but never fully explained. Like why he would allow an overcharge of a few dollars on his American Express card to escalate into a major battle with lawyers having to become involved. Bottom line: The Red Hot Typewriter gives us the facts but falls short in providing much in the way of analysis.

Good book, enjoyable read. I am a author myself and I enjoy books about the great ones of our times. I would have liked more insight into the inner world of John D, but this is a still a must for fans of his work.

Having grown up reading the Travis McGee series and more recently reading the rest of the vast library of John D. MacDonald, I found this book personalized the late pulp master for me, as I hoped and expected. You get a feel for the intellect of both John D. and his wife; the influence of his romance and relationship with his wife comes through in his life's work. My only complaint about the book is that I wanted more...but, then again, that is the feeling that I have as I re-read all of John D. MacDonald's books.

Like the best of his subject's work, Hugh Merrill has fashioned a lean, direct biography of John D. MacDonald, creator of the Travis McGee series. The design and feel of the book transports the reader back to the age of pulp fiction and early paperback originals. Fans of John D. will find all the highlights of his career here. Gaps are filled in family background and some insights are provided to the inner workings of the author's mind and motivations. This is not an exhaustive examination of his career but a very good starting place. One wishes for some more details. How does the non-athletic youth become the adult who on occasion has grabbed another by the lapels, or broken up a fight outside Billie Holliday's dressing room? Does research and work ethic enable a writer to so powerfully describe casual violence and banality? John D. was a private man who obviously guarded his feelings. Perhaps the real John D. is most visible in Travis and Meyer. An enlightening and informative, easy read that only makes one appreciate and miss John D. even more.