Sobol doesn't make any glaring errors in this edition (at least none that I spotted), but he has more than one problem with the final mystery.(view spoiler)[The book was published in 1967. Mexico stopped printing Mex$1 notes in 1962. It is entirely unlikely that a bank would be holding one million Mex$1 notes, let alone five years after they ceased to be printed. Given that a Mex$1 note weighs approximately as much as a $1 bill, that would mean that two men stole over 2000 lbs of currency. On a pallet, that is not a huge deal. It is somewhat harder for two men to flee with out of a bank. Plausible, sure, but not entirely believable for the age range. If we accept that the robbers were sophisticated enough to pallet the money out of the bank, why is it too much to accept that they would employ bill counters (around since the 1920s) to figure out how much money they had? Moreover, why couldn't a criminal lie about counting the money again? And let's examine the quibble over Mex$1000. Given the exchange rate Sobol gives, that is a disagreement over $80 (in 1967 dollars). Real exchange rates from 1967 put it at $6.58. Let's assume Sobol is right. Is an $80 slight against a $40,000 expectation (this means pocketing $39,920) a real deal-breaker? Is this not within the realm of 'cost of doing business'? But the real problem is that Sobol gives not one single line for how the money was accounted. To expect children to estimate counting time is a bit of a reach. It feels every bit like a cheat on the author's part. (hide spoiler)]
The Encyclopedia Brown series never disappoints me. It is clever and Encyclopedia is so likable and funny.As always, Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man has 10 short stories with cases to solve. Out of these, I think I solved 7 or 8 of them. A couple were really easy if you had been paying attention, but some were pretty tough!I think my favorite story was The Case of the Murder Man. It was different than the rest since it was about a play written by Encyclopedia instead of a case he had to solve.The Case of Bugs Meany, Detective was a fun one, too. I always love it when Bugs and the Tigers are at odds with Encyclopedia. And in this story they even start their own detective agency!Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man is just as good and fun as the previous three books. Each of them makes you want to read them to other people, just to see which cases they solve.
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This is another one of those books I remember reading from the '70s. I think I went through all of the books in the library.I just noticed something in the front of the book which I haven't seen before.HEY, KIDS!Do you have a wacky story to tell about an animal, a fact, a crime, a sport? The funnier and wackier the better! But it must be true.You can write about it, or enclose a clipping from your local newspaper, or send a note from your parents or teacher verifying the story. If it is included in an Encyclopedia Brown book, your name will appear in the book. Send your wacky true story (along with your name and address) to: Encyclopedia Brown, c/o Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York 10103
—David
