What could possibly make this even better? I AM QUOTED IN IT! Years ago, I did a fact-finding trip to Piper's stomping grounds, and corresponded with Carr about my findings. And so "Piper researcher David Hines" is quoted several times in Chapter 1. Another of my contributions, though it's not attributed to me in the book, is the inventory of H. Beam Piper's gun collection, by himself, from a letter to the Lycoming County Historical Society of June 12, 1956, which is reproduced as an appendix. So it's not volumes of stuff, but I made some meager contributions to the biography of my favorite SF writer. Yay!
And Carr has done a *fantastic* job of amazing and substantive research, greatly aided by the family of Ferd Coleman, a longtime friend of Piper's whose archives -- thank Ghu! -- contained tons of letters between the men. And it's great, great stuff, down to Piper's recipe for Katinkas (he insisted that cocktail was properly stirred, not shaken), photos of Piper I've never seen anywhere, even pictures of the man's dachshund. If you are a fan of H. Beam Piper, BUY THIS BOOK. You will not regret it in the slightest.
