I always wanted a pith helmet when I was a kid, probably because of all the jungle adventure movies I'd watched on TV. I never got one, which was almost certainly a good thing, as I'm not sure how well it would have gone over in the small Texas town where I was already something of a weirdo. And there's no way I would have looked as tough and dashing as the guy on the cover of this issue of SHORT STORIES. The art is by William Reusswig. The lead novel by Eustace L. Adams sounds like a good one, and Adams was a reliably entertaining author of adventure fiction. Also on hand were Karl Detzer, Conrad Richter, Bill Adams, Jacland Marmur, Charles Green, Cliff Farrell, and Garnett Radcliffe. Those names don't mean much now, with the possible exception of Conrad Richter, but they were top-notch pulp authors. (You know, you can buy pith helmets on Amazon . . . I'm just sayin' . . . Nah, I probably shouldn't.)
4 comments:
I certainly have enjoyed fiction by Farrell and Richter, but not yet the others.
Texas does get pith helmet weather, though...springtime hail makes it just the thing...
George Orwell - who had to wear one - did not share your enthusiasm for pith helmets: http://www.telelib.com/authors/O/OrwellGeorge/essay/tribune/AsIPlease19441020.html
Todd,
That is indeed an excellent reason to get a pith helmet.
Roger,
That's an entertaining essay. Thanks for the link.
I'd like to think that if I wore a pith helmet I'd evoke Ramar of the Jungle. The truth is I'd look more like Captain Spaulding.
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