Reviews for Captain Underhill Uncovers the Truth: Behind Edgar Allan Crow and the Purloined, Purloined Letter

The average rating for Captain Underhill Uncovers the Truth: Behind Edgar Allan Crow and the Purloined, Purloined Letter based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-02-12 00:00:00 Kelly England Very nearly mediocre. Public radio host Garrison Keillor's fanciful false biography of his home state's former governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura represents as much of an acquired taste as his long-running radio show. The most daunting challenge to acquiring a taste for Keillor's storytelling comes from his reliance on prolonged lists to get his point across sometimes using individual short sentences but other times just placing "and" over and over again to restate the same thought in slightly different ways. The second major either storytelling device or annoying habit depending on your fondness for Keillor results from his use of wildly unrealistic propositions or scenarios. In this story, Ventura's alter-ego Valente drives a Porsche on a dirt road at 250MPH and incorporates cruise missiles into his wrestling act. The ridiculousness snaps the reader out of the hypnotic tale-spinner Keillor can excel at when things go right. Putting aside these trademarks / bad habits in his writing style, the book also suffers from its subject. Given the yarn hews so close to Ventura's life and given that life is as improbable as it gets, an autobiography of Ventura would likely make for more interesting reading. In Keillor's hands the seeming unlikelihood of Ventura's life story mixed with Keillor's preposterous takes of wrestling rings exploding makes for strained credulity over what is actually a true tale. Having said that, the book yields some good lines. When the 300 pound Ventura confronts the much smaller chief of the wrestling show he works for over television and merchandising revenues, he states in a Minnesota deadpan: "someone of your size should not cheat someone of my size, - it demonstrates poor judgment" as if gaining the reputation for lacking judgment is the bigger insult versus a severe beating. Ventura's Homer Simpson-esque inability to personal decision as being correct no whatever what the outcome entertains as it does on the long-running television show. In short, however, picking out the modicum of decent lines and compelling plot twists from the chaff of loquacious point repetitions does not make for a recommended read.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-09-01 00:00:00 Debra Goldhecht This audiobook was very clever and witty, and also had a lot of humorous characters. I listened to an abridged version narrated by Keillor. Usually I don't like to listen to abridgements, but this seemed well edited and just long enough. I don't think I missed much. An enjoyable satire of Jesse Ventura and pro westling, perhaps it would be more meaningful if read when Ventura was Minnesota's governor. Keillor's narration was a definite plus - I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much just reading the book.