If you're hoping to learn anything about the history, development, writing, or production of Dr. Kildare in radio and television, or simply want an in depth, detailed episode guide, you are going to be sorely disappointed by the DR. KILDARE SCRAPBOOK. This isn't a book. It's barely more than a brochure. At best, it's a lengthy article…and yet it still lacks any substance. This exceedingly thin (100 pages, including the index) paperback is nothing more than a bare bones episode guide…and even on that level, the summaries are so sparse and devoid of details that it's a major failure. It's also very badly written. For example, here's the first line of chapter one:
As part of its bringing some of its most famous movie series to radio, MGM put the team of Lew Ayres and Lionel Barrymore from the Dr. Kildare movies back together for a radio series called The Story of Dr. Kildare.
It only gets worse, and less informative, from there.
This "book" might have worked as an appendix to an actual book about Dr. Kildare on radio and television, but as a standalone reference work, it's terrible. I am a huge admirer of Bear Manor Media, the company that published this book…so I am not only surprised that that they took this poorly executed, superficial project on, but that they had the chutzpah to charge $14.95 for it in print and $9.99 for the digital edition. Don't waste your money on this one.
This is tragic. I would have loved a real in-depth Dr. Kildare book, and am sorry to hear that this isn’t it. Perhaps McFarland & Co. has one?