The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 107

Sunday, September 3, 1989 G6 The Pittsburgh Press BOOKSBRIDGE i I i 'H ft Greer Garson and Gregory Peck W-Vi "Kiinii mm Till I WWI "nil II ii Mil III i III -a I i ma starred in movie version of "Valley Of Decision WRITERS CAPTURE AREA'S PAST Infants' deaths the focus of 'Cradle' FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE by Joyce Egginton. William Morrow and Co. 18.95. By Deborah Price MARYBETH Tinning had nine children. Each one died mysteriously before age 3.

Doctors attributed their deaths to sudden infant death syndrome, Reye's syndrome, heart failure and viral pneumonia. But prosecutors suspected a single cause: murder. In "From Cradle to Grave: The Short Lives and Strange Deaths of Marybeth Tinning's Nine Children," author Joyce Egginton attempts to answer one of the most painful questions of this bizarre case: Why didn't someone a neighbor, a detective, a doctor, a social worker stop the deadly pattern that lasted more than 13 years? Suspicion was never in short supply. "Every funeral was a party for her, with hardly a tear shed," Ms. Egginton quotes one of Ms.

Tinning's relatives as saying. "After three or four of them, I gave up going." A clergyman recalled: "You knew what was going to happen to the next child, but you couldn't prevent it because nobody in authority would listen." Eventually authorities did more than listen, but murder was far more difficult to prove than to suspect. Ms. Egginton, the New York correspondent of The Observer of London for 20 years, skillfully explains the forensic difficulties of determining the cause of death in young children. The 1970s and early 1980s, when the Tinning children died, were the height of diagnoses of sudden infant death syndrome and Reye's syndrome.

Most medical examiners and doctors, however, did not know the signs that distinguish "crib death" whenj a baby inexplicably but naturally stops breathing from murder by suffocation. "Infanticide is more common than most people care to acknowledge," Ms. Egginton writes. "It is the dark side of crib death statistics In their most frequent form suffocation with a soft object they are virtually impossi ble to distinguish from natural death, and there is usually only one material witness, the mother, and she blanked the whole thing out of her consciousness." In July 1987, Ms. Tinning was convicted of second-degree murder for smothering Tami Lynne, 4 months old, and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

She confessed to police that she killed three of her children. "Prosecutors, faced with a backlog of drug cases, decided not to try her further." MS. TINNING claimed that her confession was made under duress and has maintained her innocence. At her trial, she argued, with the aid of medical experts, that she and her husband: passed a rare and deadly genetic disorder to their children. She did not persuade The author suggests the Schnec-tady, N.Y., housewife suffered from "postpartum psychosis," a severe and rare psychiatric disorder in which women are prone to kill their babies.

Sufferers often see the baby as an evil part of themselves that they must destroy, Ms. Egginton, explains, and they crave attention' from neighbors, nurses and doctors. Ms. Egginton's creepy portrait of' Ms. Tinning is convincing, although she takes some unfortunate short' cuts for example, conveniently oscillating between considering Ms.

Tinning a reliable source and a habitual liar. But it is Ms. Egginton's fascinating medical exposition that elevates "From Cradle to Grave" above the run-of-the-mill, true-crime book. And what at first seems too ghastly to consider infanticide later seems too ghastly not to consider. (Deborah Price is an editor in the national section of The Washington Post.) BEST SELLERS Ty k.

If 1 ft nrnnm I 1111 iiiiinnii Colombia drug war at heart of novel CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER by Tom Clancy. G. P. Putnam Sons. $21.95.

By Sam Spatter The Pittsburgh Press TOM CLANCY must have a crystal ball. The author of best sellers such as "The Hunt for Red October," "Red Storm Rising," "Patriot Games" and "The Cardinal of the Kremlin," must have had some classified information on today's current events, because he bases his latest novel, "Clear and Present Danger," on the Colombian drug industry. All one has to do is read the newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio to hear about the Colombian government crackdown on drug lords in that country. So what could be more timely than a Clancy novel on an American covert action against the drug cartel in Colombia? Clancy does it in his usual crisp, no-nonsense style. He allows the American president to justify this war-like action against the drug kingpins of a friendly nation by claiming the action as a war on drugs, an attempt to stop these drug lords from waging chemical warfare against the United States.

Justified or not, the action described in the novel by the American CIA, FBI and its military forces, moves along at the traditional fast pace that Clancy's faithful readers have learned to expect and appreciate. As if it is a condition for all Clancy books, some of the chief characters involved in the novel are ones who have played important roles in his previous novels. Among them are Jack Ryan, a top CIA official, John Terence Clark, the mysterious CIA operative, and several of Ryan's CIA bosses. THE "WAR against drugs" includes a full-blown land-air-and-sea attack, all undercover, with American soldiers (of Latin descent) actually attacking drug production outposts in Colombia. There also are several air strikes against the fortress-homes of Colombian drug lords that everyone believes are car bomb attacks.

But, as in all Clancy novels, covert operations run into problems. That's a recurring theme in most of Clancy's books. It starts when the president and his national security adviser, Vice Admiral James A. Cutter, decide to abort the operation without withdrawing the American troops in Colombia. Ryan, Clark and their companions won't stand for this and set up their own plan to bring out the troops.

And, in the process, the author selects Ding Chavez, an American sergeant in Colombia, as a name that will pop up in a future Clancy novel. "Clear and Present Danger" lives up to the Clancy tradition. It is a bloody, suspenseful, at times heartrending story that is also full of realism. For those who have not read other Clancy books, this may be the one to bring them into the author's circle of readers. Tom Clancy Lives up to reputation By James Jacoby SUCCESSFUL defense requires fast thinking.

In particular, a defender must use the bidding to picture the strength of declarer's hand. This information, plus that gained from partner's opening lead, should help a defender be ready with the right plays. Look at today's deal from the point of view of East. After the no-trump opening and the two-club inquiry for a major suit, South became declarer at four hearts. The opening lead was the diamond queen.

If South held only a 15-point no-trump opening, that would give West five high-card points, and East could see that three of those would be the Q-J of diamonds. At best West could hold another queen. East could see a heart trick, only one club trick, and the ace of spades coming tp the defense, but 11 Vi some during the night by the fierce downpour. When he woke before dawn he told his new wife he was going to work at the Woodvale plant as usual. "It was a relatively short distance from the Young home to the Franklin Street Bridge, crossing the Stonycreek River.

From the bridge he caught a glimpse of Blue Hole, now almost twice its usual width. The roilly water running savagely beneath him was within four feet of the bridge flooring A longtime writer and community activist, author Phil Walters has lived and worked near Johnstown for nearly 80 years. Copies of "Johnstown, My Uncle and the Flood" can be ordered from Penn News 944 Franklin Johnstown, Pa. 15905. DR.

MARIETTA MORRISSEY was in town recently visiting her parents, Bill and Patricia Morrissey, in Scott. Her father is now retired after years working in public relations. Dr. Morrissey graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1970 and has a doctorate in sociology from Michigan State University. She lives in Toledo, Ohio, with her husband, Jeffry Gamso, and is associate professor of sociology at the University of Toledo.

In July, the University Press of Kansas published "Slave Women in the New World," Dr. Morrissey's study of the lives of slave women in the Caribbean. She is a specialist in Latin American studies and has traveled and researched in that area. In the academic world, this book is praised as an innovative look at slavery in that part of the world. "I was attending a seminar on slavery a hot subject right now and realized no one had looked at the plight of women there," said Dr.

Morrissey. "I went to Jamaica and Cuba to do research, but also found lots of documentation and material in libraries. The book was written because I had things I wanted to say in the scholarly debate on slavery." UNIONTOWN businessman Richard E. Hoffman Sr. has been writing novels and short stories as an avocation ever since he left the U.S.

Army at the end of World War II. Hoffman was stationed in the Philippines during his service and formed a deep affection for that island country. Hoffman's latest book is a 200-page paperback novel, "The Bamboo American," which was published by New Day Publishers in the Philippines. It's an adventure story involving an American millionaire and the kidnapping of an ambassador. International relations are involved in the search for the kidnappers and the victim.

For information on the book, contact Hoffman at 31' Miller Uniontown, Pa. 15401. By Sylvia Sachs The Pittsburgh Press MARCIA DAVENPORT'S "Valley of Decision," which chronicled the steel industry in Pittsburgh and four generations of a family whose lives were bound up in that world, was first published in 1942. A 1945 movie, based on the first section of the 640-page saga, still enchants television viewers and creates new generations of readers for the novel itself. But three years ago, the paperback version of "Valley of Decision" went out of print.

The University of Pittsburgh Press spent more than a year acquiring the rights to the book and has just brought out a handsome trade paperback version available in bookstores nationally. "We wanted to bring 'Valley of Decision' home to Pittsburgh where it belongs," says Peter Oresick, promotion and marketing manager of the University Press. Described in 1942 as "a cavalcade of America, industrially, socially and domestically," the novel was a best seller for years. The love story and the labor story, the people and their passions have proved timeless; they still have the power to grab readers in the 1980s, just as they did in the '40s. Ms.

Davenport, now 86 and living in California, has written a wonderful, new preface to the book, describing the time over a period of several years she spent in Pittsburgh soaking up the atmosphere of the city and its people. A GREAT many people from the Pittsburgh area write books and get them published. And when thy do, they contact The Pittsburgh Press. No matter how long ago they left town, nor how far away they have roamed, these authors are anxious to notify the home folks of their literary efforts. Clairton native Col.

David E. Pergrin whose class at Clairton High School will be marking its 55 anniversary next year, is one. Pergrin now lives in Wallingford, but his friends here have spread the word that his book, "First Across the Rhine," was published in July by Atheneum. This book of military history written with the assistance of Eric Hammel, is the story of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion during World War II. The 291st proved its mettle in 1944 when U.S.

forces were heading across France and Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge, when the German army made its last desperate effort to win the war, took place in December of that year. While the defense of Bastogne generally is BRIDGE Marcia Davenport chronicled Pittsburgh's past. credited with stopping the Germans, Pergrin believes the fact that the engineers of his battalion stuck to their job of blowing up bridges was the vital reason for the Germans' final defeat. Pergrin was the commander of the unit.

His book will fascinate military buffs. IN THE SELF-PUBLISHED, softcover book, "Johnstown, My Uncle and the Flood," Phil Walters tells the story of the 1889 flood as seen through the eyes of his uncle, Gomer Walters. More than just an eyewitness account of that disaster, however, the book is about life in this prosperous town at the end of the 19th century, as seen by Walters, a member of a prominent Johnstown family. That part of the book is folksy, nostalgic reading, peppered with down-home humor. The story tenses up appreciably as Walters relates the way the disaster began: "There were light rain showers after the parade and through mid-evening, then at 11 o'clock the night of Decoration Day the real rain began.

After midnight it seemed as if a rain god was venting all his wrath on Johnstown. "Gomer, in a strange bed, was disturbed ing 6. 5. Wealth Without Risk, Givens 7, 6. From Beirut to Jerusalem: Mak- g' ing Sense of the Middle East, 9, Friedman 7.

The Good Times, Baker 8. The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure, Kowalski 9. Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Re- J-claiming Your Life, Forward and Buck J- 10. The T-Factor Diet, Katahn NORTH 7 VA986 K83 10 9 7 2 WEST EAST 10 9 2 A 8 6 5 3 3 2 10 10 9 6 5 2 5 4 3 SOUTH 4 K754 A74 A86 Vulnerable: Both Dealer: South South West North East 1 NT Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 4 All pass Opening The current HARD-COVER best sellers from Publishers Weekly: FICTION 1. Polar Star, Smith 2.

The Russia House, Le Carre 3. Red Phoenix, Bond 4. Blessings, Plain 5. While My Pretty One Sleeps, Clark 6. The Joy Luck Club, Tan 7.

Knight in Shining Armor, Deveraux 8. Win, Lose or Die, Gardner 9. The Temple of My Familiar, Walker 10. Journey, Michener NON-FICTION 1. It's Always Something, Radner 2.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Fulgham 3. A Woman Named Jackie, Hey-mann 4. A Brief History of Time, Hawk The Shell Seekers, Pilcher She Who Remembers, Shuler Firefly Summer, Binchy Sword Point, Coyle Senatorial Privilege: The Chap-paquiddick Cover-Up, Damore TRADE Codependent No More, Beattie Yukon Watterson The Road Less Traveled, Peck Beyond Codependency and Getting Better All the Time, Beattie The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, King Love in the Time of Cholera, Garcia Marquez Paris Trout, Dexter Love, Medicine Miracles, Sie- gel The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Rice Generation of Swine: Gonto Papers Volume 2, Thompson that would not be enough to set the contract. The defenders also would need to make a diamond trick. Knowing this, an astute defender will decide early in the hand not to rush to grab the ace of spades when declarer leads the lone spade from dummy.

Declarer should win dummy's diamond king and play a spade at trick two. If East ducks without apparent thought, most likely declarer will misguess and put in the spade jack. Now a second diamond play will beat the contract. Obviously it does no good for East to be caught napping and to trance before following with a low spade. It would also be a reprehensible violation of the proprieties of bridge for East, if he held Q-8-6-5-3 of spades, to hesitate even slightly on the play of the spade from dummy, as though he might be ducking with the ace.

The current PAPERBACK best sellers from Publishers Weekly: 6. MASS MARKET 7 1. Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clancy 8 2. Doctors, Segal 3. Zoya, Steel 9 4.

Shining Through, Isaacs 5. Perfect Victim, McGuire and IU Norton.