After you've bought this I have bridge you may be interested in buying...

TV Game Shows by Norman Blumenthal

$180??? Lucky for me I bought that in '75. Try a used bookstore first.

Lotsa luck, though, it's very tough to find. I specifically sought it for years before coming across one in Ann Arbor. Thing is, if you DO find it, you'll probably not pay much for it. To most used booksellers, it's just one more paperback. I too am astonished at the outrageous price the internet dealers want for it.

(And frankly, it's not all that interesting, especially compared to the other books that are out there.)

One of my favorites is Maxene Fabe's book (TV Game Shows!). Possibly the only library book I ever "lost" so I could eat the fine (it came to about $10) and keep the book.

Just the other day, I was at a used bookstore and the place was just overrun with old paperbacks and the nice lady who runs the place sells her books for the cover price, no matter what the age. I got a couple of somewhat rare movie tie-in paperbacks for 75 cents each, the same price they were in 1970. Try those stores first, not the "antique" dealers.

Lucky for me it was still available at a Waldenbooks store in Des Moines in 1976; that's when I bought my copy. Despite its absence of illustrations outside of four Concentration puzzles, this book was worth the cover price to me simply because it spelled out the rules of Spin-Off and acknowleged its then-presence in a favorable light, rather than dismiss it and about 700 other games that never approached the classic status of a J!, NG or LMAD as having "stunk", as did Maxene Fabe's typo-ridden tome.

And, gosh! It's not even complete! He claims to have listed every game show aired up to the book's publication, and IIRC, he made some comment along the lines of "If you manage to come up with a game show title that begins with U, X or Z, you'll be the first in history..." blah blah blah. He was not thrilled when I mentioned he missed "Up To Paar". Listen to the others....don't pay more than a single digit figure to the left of the decimal point for one.

Having met him in person last year, I get the impression he's not thrilled by a lot of stuff. It was genuinely an honor to meet the man who gave me so many fond childhood memories, but he never really seemed all that crazy about being there.

If you were Mr. Blumenthal, would you be thrilled about an hour briefing with Dr. Beverly before, during and after arriving, speaking and eating?

Did the Perfesser really do that?

I did see the Prefesser and Norm chatting more than once off to the side. In one instance, Norm was outside trying to enjoy his cigar and there was Dr. Steve.