STEVE CARROLL WRITES

Lawrence Block is a true literary legend, followed by   millions of readers and the recipient of the title  Grand   Master by the  Mystery   Writers of America . He   has published over 100 books in a career that spans over   half a century. His area of expertise is crime and he is best known for his long-running   series   of books focused on recovered alcoholic private investigator Matthew   Scuddard. The Naked and the Deadly , a new compilation courtesy of Bob Deis   and   Wyatt Doyle and their Men’s Adventure Library, collects Block’s earliest work   from his days as a young contributor to the sensationalistic men’s   adventure magazine   (MAM) market of the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s. The famous author Lawrence Block is not   exactly the same Lawrence Block that is found in this robust and informative   volume. Or as the back-cover   blurb notes: “Not that Lawrence Block. Not yet...”   In the highly entertaining forward, written by Block himself, we are told how a   college-bou