{"product_id":"the-red-hot-typewriter-the-life-and-times-of-john-d-macdonald","title":"The Red Hot Typewriter: The Life and Times of John D. MacDonald","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough John D. MacDonald published seventy novels and more than five hundred short stories in his lifetime  he is remembered best for his Travis McGee series. He introduced McGee in 1964 with The Deep Blue Goodbye. With Travis McGee  MacDonald changed the pattern of the hardboiled private detectives who preceeded him. McGee has a social conscience  holds thoughtful conversations with his retired economist buddy Meyer  and worries about corporate greed  racism and the Florida ecolgoy in a long series whose brand recognition for the series the author cleverly advanced by inserting a color in every title. Merrill carefully builds a picture of a man who in unexpected ways epitomized the Horatio Alger sagas that comprised his strict fathers secular bible. From a financially struggling childhood and a succession of drab nine-to-five occupations  MacDonald settled down to writing for a living (a lifestyle that would have horrified his father). He worked very hard and was rewarded with a more than decent livelihood. But unlike Algers heroes  MacDonald had a lot of fun doing it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44965320917045,"sku":"ByrdShop_0312209053","price":25.81,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780312209056_f6a294e8-1800-48fc-8fef-ace2b79b7db3.jpg?v=1770492840","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-red-hot-typewriter-the-life-and-times-of-john-d-macdonald","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}