Figment

Richard Gallun is a renaissance man in the time of Google. He excels in a variety of subjects, some of which he knows a lot about—some not so much. His difficulty is that now his facts can be checked in a nanosecond and often they are found wanting. However, not so with most of this book. While many of the participants in his narrative will not agree with his recall of events, they would admit to their role in the underlying story and credit Richard with telling a better story than they would have told. His writing, as somewhat a surprise to his wife, is delightful. Sometimes witty, usually factual and true. But sometimes, as was always his want, invented. I would challenge the reader to cross check his facts and discover what is true and what is a product of his imagination or his fallible memory. Or possibly of his creative mind. As he says about history: “there is no truth except what is remembered or recorded. And in the long run it is the recording that makes it true!” —Judith McGregorThose are the words of my wife; and while they may contain an element of truth, I would contend that, even though a memoir may be tainted by the perceptions of the author, there is little in the recollection of a critic that is pure.