The Wit & Wisdom of Robert Ferrigno

Got an email last night from Mr. Ferrigno, tipping me to a terrific interview he did with Bob Cornwell that's now up on Tangled Web. I was going to offer some commentary, but the inestimable Sarah Weinman beat me to it.

I will single out one excerpt, though, that I loved:

The political upheavals of the late 60s left the young Ferrigno with an abiding distrust of politicians, a fact that perhaps explains the lack of overt politics in his novels. He cites the Chappaquidick incident in which a young Edward Kennedy "while probably drunk" left his date, Mary Jo Kopechne, to drown whilst he swam free, "He got a wrist slap. Last week he was on television haranguing a Republican nominee for attorney general who had written a memo suggesting that terrorists don't warrant coverage by the Geneva convention. What Kennedy seemed most upset about was the nominee allowing the use of 'water boards' which simulated the fear of drowning in the terrorists. I found Kennedy's outrage hilarious. I hate all politicians but I hate the ones who drown their date the most."

Great stuff. And Ferrigno is a great writer. If you haven't read his books, you're really missing out.

Try his latest, The Wake-Up, a recent nominee for the Gumshoe Award for Best Thriller. You won't be disappointed.