Monday, November 16, 2009

The Latest Supplement (R-S) and a Little Bragging!

Just got back from the fabulous Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York where my "s.o." and I spent the weekend attending Will Shortz' annual "Wonderful World of Words" event. Aside from Will's usual expertise and hospitality, the guests included Dick Cavett and author/biographer Stefan Kanfer. Treasure hunts and puzzles galore, great food and great conversation- highly recommended.

I was a little sleepy this morning and "didn't want to go to school" but dutifully trudged into the office for a morning of neurology. Almost immediately, I received a call from the co-author of our FDR biography, Eric Fettmann, who read me the pre-publication review of our book in Publisher's Weekly. From there on in, the day was pretty darned good. Here's the review:

"This is a superior addition to the diseases-of-famous-men genre. Journalist Fettmann and neurologist Lomazow assert that they've discovered the true cause of FDR's 1945 death, building on a 1979 medical paper by Dr. Harry Goldsmith and revelations in the 1995 publication of the diary of FDR's cousin Daisy Suckley. A lifetime smoker, Roosevelt suffered from extremely high blood pressure. In 1944, a cardiologist found him in severe heart failure. Although historians blame these for his fatal stroke at the age of 63, the authors point out that photographs show a dark spot over his left eyebrow that grew throughout the 1930s. Experts nowadays agree it resembles a melanoma, a highly malignant skin cancer that often spreads to the brain. Metastatic cancer, not heart disease, may have produced the increasing frailty, weight loss, and confusion that alarmed observers during his final year. We will never know the truth, but the authors make a reasonable case. As a bonus, they recount Roosevelt's numerous medical problems and questionable care at the hands of a personal physician who relentlessly assured the public of the president's excellent health and possibly destroyed FDR's medical records after his death. (Jan.)"

Now back to magazines. As promised:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/22634043/r-s

Highlights include The Smoker, an amazing and unique magazine with the earliest illustrations of Palmer Cox, early baseball magazines and Ernest Hemingway's first literary appearance in his high school magazine.

Enjoy! In deference to Will Shortz, the next post will be on puzzle magazines and the great Sam Loyd.

C U again shortly!

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