Actor, comedian, song writer, and author, the versatile Steve Allen has shared his very special brand of entertainment with audiences the world over. His penetrating wit and wisdom allows us to laugh at ourselves while thinking about some of the serious issues of our time. Drawn from life's raw materials and his own fertile imagination, "The Man Who Turned Back the Clock" is a delightful yet provocative collection of short stories as only Steve Allen could write them. This wide-ranging assemblage includes 31 tantalising tales. In addition to the title story, readers will find: "The Humor Strike"; "It's Nice to See You Again"; "The Day the Jews Disappeared", (addressing anti-Semitism); "The Sunday Morning Shift" (focusing on the scandals of money-grubbing evangelists); "The Jensen Theory" (which takes a look at racism); "The Girls on the Tenth Floor"; "Point of View"; and many more. Readers will find in some the surprising twists and turns of an 'O Henry' yarn. This collection is funny, it's thoughtful, it's vintage Steve Allen!
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This short fiction collection from comedian and prolific author Allen (see Forecasts, July 17, for a review of his mystery Murder on the Atlantic) is an uneven performance. Settings and subjects range from a few reworked biblical stories to the N.Y.C. jazz scene and the inanities of the L.A. entertainment industry. Of the 31 stories, only nine are new; the rest come from previous collections dating back to the 1950s. The best of the group is the patently autobiographical ``Joe Schulman Is Dead,'' Allen's poignant account of hearing of the death of a favorite bass player. There is some merit to the frequently reprinted ``The Public Hating,'' although it owes a great deal to Shirley Jackson's ``The Lottery'' and, like many of the stories, sags under the weight of heavy-handed social commentary. One of the longest stories, ``Quiet Desperation,'' stumblingly imitates detective noir, but its punch-line ending comes in on a freight train. Allen is best when he stays in the territories he knows best--music and entertainment. In the title piece, a man goes back in time, intending to make a profit by introducing the world to hula hoops and the Beatles. Overall, flat characters, bland plots and undeveloped narratives make this a less than sparkling anthology.
Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
poor stories,
By Loomis (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Man Who Turned Back the Clock: And Other Short Stories (Hardcover)
I bought this book thinking it would have some humour, some good stories, etc. However, after reading five stories, I'm giving up on it. The stories are so bad (kind of like things you'd write for high school english class), I'm not even going to donate this book to the local charity thrift store --- I'm going to throw it out so nobody else wastes their time like I did...
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