From Library Journal
Floridians and snow birds who aren't already fans of the writing of John D. MacDonald will race to the shelves for his works after reading this fascinating history of the man who has been called a very good writer, not just a good mystery writer. Drawing on extensive research, Merrill (Univ. of West Florida) offers a succinct biography of the man who invented Travis McGee. Readers learn of MacDonald's early works, published as paperbacks at a time when the government was attempting to label all paperbacks as pornography; MacDonald's respect for the untarnished environment of Florida; and his life as an active member of a Sarasota writer's group that met for loud storytelling, serious drinking, and sometimes heated rounds of liar's poker. Through letters to such well-recognized people as Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, and Dan Rowan, readers get a glimpse of how Travis McGee developed and how MacDonald, after putting his character in movies and on television, decided that McGee was bound by the printed page. There is also some discussion of MacDonald's respectful treatment of sex and women in his short stories and novels. This solid appreciation of one of America's favorite popular authors is highly recommended.DJoyce Sparrow, Juvenile Welfare Board Lib., Pinellas Park, FL Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The life of John D. MacDonald, author of the perennially popular Travis McGee mysteries, offers a revealing look at what it meant to be a professional writer in the last half of the twentieth century. Neither a literary novelist, supported by universities, nor a best-selling author (at least not for most of his career), MacDonald was a craftsman who wrote for pay, first in the pulps, later as a paperback novelist in the Fawcett Gold Medal stable, and finally in hardcovers, where the later McGees coexisted with such high-concept melodramas as Condominium. Merrill follows MacDonald's life in straightforward, no-nonsense prose (Travis would have approved), moving from the author's early experience in the insurance business, through service in World War II, and on to his seemingly quixotic decision to launch a freelance career. The text is peppered with quotes from MacDonald on the subjects he cared most about: the environment and how to make money from the writing game. For anyone interested in the history of publishing in the paperback era, the life of John D. MacDonald is the ultimate primary source. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


From Kirkus Reviews
The life, career, and era of mystery writer MacDonald have been painstakingly researched and presented by journalist Merrill (ESKY: The Early Years at Esquire, 1995).Generous helpings from MacDonald's many letters enliven the narrative and help to offer an up-close look at this prolific author's personal and professional life. A graduate of the Harvard Business School, MacDonald approached writing with an eye toward daily productivity and an aversion for genres that were not selling. His output (at his death in 1986, he had published 70 novels, more than 500 short stories, and 4 books of nonfiction) is a testament to that no-nonsense approach. Merrill notes the unique characteristics of MacDonald's style-among them, the transplanting of the plot of the hard-boiled detective story from the dark streets of the mean city into the bright light of suburbia. Women characters met with more respect from MacDonald than they did from the pens of other favorites like Mickey Spillane and Ian Fleming. Perhaps most outstanding, MacDonald's main characters held strong moral convictions: Travis McGee, hero of the well-known 21-book series, worried about racism, corporate greed, and ecology. The details of MacDonald's career serve as a study of a transformational era in publishing. When he started, there were hundreds of pulp magazines. He wrote for them, paid by the word. During WWII, he saw the pulps' huge numbers dwindle. Right in time, though, his career was significantly aided by the advent of the paperback book. He also experienced firsthand (and none too happily) the writing of screenplays and the adaptation of several of his books into films or television productions. For potential and actual MacDonald fans, a worthwhile read. It will interest many others, too, who can learn about a revolutionary period in publishing through the eventful career of John D. MacDonald -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Although John D. MacDonald published seventy novels and more than five hundred short stories in his lifetime, he is remembered best for his Travis McGee series. He introduced McGee in 1964 with The Deep Blue Goodbye. With Travis McGee, MacDonald changed the pattern of the hardboiled private detectives who preceeded him. McGee has a social conscience, holds thoughtful conversations with his retired economist buddy Meyer, and worries about corporate greed, racism and the Florida ecolgoy in a long series whose brand recognition for the series the author cleverly advanced by inserting a color in every title. Merrill carefully builds a picture of a man who in unexpected ways epitomized the Horatio Alger sagas that comprised his strict father's secular bible. From a financially struggling childhood and a succession of drab nine-to-five occupations, MacDonald settled down to writing for a living (a lifestyle that would have horrified his father). He worked very hard and was rewarded with a more than decent livelihood. But unlike Alger's heroes, MacDonald had a lot of fun doing it.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Although John D. MacDonald published seventy novels and more than five hundred short stories in his lifetime, he is remembered best for his Travis McGee series. He introduced McGee in 1964 with The Deep Blue Goodbye. With Travis McGee, MacDonald changed the pattern of the hardboiled private detectives who preceeded him. McGee has a social conscience, holds thoughtful conversations with his retired economist buddy Meyer, and worries about corporate greed, racism and the Florida ecolgoy in a long series whose brand recognition for the series the author cleverly advanced by inserting a color in every title. Merrill carefully builds a picture of a man who in unexpected ways epitomized the Horatio Alger sagas that comprised his strict father's secular bible. From a financially struggling childhood and a succession of drab nine-to-five occupations, MacDonald settled down to writing for a living (a lifestyle that would have horrified his father). He worked very hard and was rewarded with a more than decent livelihood. But unlike Alger's heroes, MacDonald had a lot of fun doing it.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Floridians and snow birds who aren't already fans of the writing of John D. MacDonald will race to the shelves for his works after reading this fascinating history of the man who has been called a very good writer, not just a good mystery writer. Drawing on extensive research, Merrill (Univ. of West Florida) offers a succinct biography of the man who invented Travis McGee. Readers learn of MacDonald's early works, published as paperbacks at a time when the government was attempting to label all paperbacks as pornography; MacDonald's respect for the untarnished environment of Florida; and his life as an active member of a Sarasota writer's group that met for loud storytelling, serious drinking, and sometimes heated rounds of liar's poker. Through letters to such well-recognized people as Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, and Dan Rowan, readers get a glimpse of how Travis McGee developed and how MacDonald, after putting his character in movies and on television, decided that McGee was bound by the printed page. There is also some discussion of MacDonald's respectful treatment of sex and women in his short stories and novels. This solid appreciation of one of America's favorite popular authors is highly recommended.--Joyce Sparrow, Juvenile Welfare Board Lib., Pinellas Park, FL Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

Kirkus Reviews

The life, career, and era of mystery writer MacDonald have been painstakingly researched and presented by journalist Merrill (ESKY: The Early Years at Esquire, 1995).