June 04, 2007
RIP: James Deakin
I was reading the P-D's obituary of former, longtime reporter James Deakin today, thinking that the name was familiar. When I ran across this paragraph in Aisha Sultan's piece, it clicked:
Mr. Deakin also wrote several books, including "The Lobbyists," "Lyndon Johnson's Credibility Gap," "Straight Stuff: The Reporters, The White House and the Truth," and "A Grave for Bobby," a heavily researched look at the 1953 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Bobby Greenlease of Kansas City.
If you've not had the chance, seek out "A Grave for Bobby." About a year back, Christian Saller handed me a copy and I jumped right in, reading the book in just a couple nights. Colorfully describing the infamous Greenlease case, Deakin struck a perfect noir-ish, mid-century feel in describing the bumbling, ill-fated rogues surrounding the story. In doing so, he wrote about the working class St. Louis of that time, putting you right into the barrooms, four-family flats and taxi cabs of that moment, with even a few, memorable sidetrips to the late, lamented Coral Court Motel.
Obvisouly, James Deakin wrote about a lot more than just that celebrated case, but if he'd only done that book, I'd still have to say "thanks."