R.I.P.: Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009)

Sorry to hear about the passing of writer Stuart M. Kaminsky, whose intelligent and insightful 1974 book Don Siegel: Director remains carefully positioned on my bookshelf for easy access and quick reference. Indeed, I paged through it just two weeks ago while preparing a lecture for my University of Houston students prior to a classroom screening of Siegel's seminal Dirty Harry. Kaminsky also wrote well-received books about Clint Eastwood, Ingmar Bergman and John Huston. But he remains best known as a prize-winning mystery writer with dozens of novels to his credit.