Joe Jackson

"Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street..." Now, that's an opening line worthy of a novel! From the very first time I heard "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", I was a Joe Jackson fan. When he did the song on "American Bandstand", he introduced it by saying, "This is for anyone who's ever had acne." The fresh-faced dancers on the show laughed lightly, politely. I knew they didn't get it.

All of this is an extremely roundabout way of saying that I've found another Joe Jackson to admire! I'm currently reading A FURNACE AFLOAT, which is about the 1866 disaster in which a clipper ship called the Hornet burned at sea. The crew and passengers all survived the blaze, but they were crowded into small lifeboats with minimal provisions for 4,300 miles until they were finally rescued.

All of Jackson's books look wonderful to read. He's also wrote LEAVENWORTH TRAIN: BITTER JUSTICE IN THE VANISHING WEST which is a true crime story. He also co-authored DEAD RUN: THE SHOCKING STORY OF DENNIS STOCKTON and LIFE ON DEATH ROW IN AMERICA.