Justin’s Newsletter: July 2025
Vol. 5, Issue 7
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What’s Up With Me
I was interviewed for a City of Pasadena project about preserving Pasadena's history. Click here to watch.
Pasadena Now covered my Paradise Springs book talk here, and you can watch the entire event here.
Watch the latest episode of “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman.” This episode features a review of the month's top stories, a history segment, and an interview with Tom Coston, president of the Light Bringer Project and czar of the Doo Dah Parade. Read more here.
Around Town
Great Reads
Here are some recommendations for interesting books I’ve read recently:
The Day of the Jackal—Frederick Forsyth
This author died the same day I picked up this classic book and started reading. He had a dry style of writing, but masterfully built suspense throughout the book. The main character, a mysterious international assassin, would of course go on to inspire the real life terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Spoiler alert (stop reading if you haven’t read the book or watched the new show): interestingly enough, because of the ending of the new TV show adaptation of the same name starring Eddie Redmayne (which is excellent and I can’t wait for season two), I thought the Jackal was going to come out on top at the end of the book, but of course he didn’t. Strange that a writer would kill off a character that makes them famous in one book, though perhaps at the time of writing he couldn’t know that. Still, it’s a classic for a reason.
Talk of the Devil: The Collected Writings of Ian Fleming—Ian Fleming
This book was finally made available to the general public a couple months ago after first being published many years ago by a high-end publisher who sold it for hundreds of dollars. It’s a collection of the journalism, travel writing, essays, and other odds and ends of James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s writing life in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. It would be great to see his journalism from the 30s, when he traveled to the Soviet Union to cover the Metro-Vickers Affair, a high-profile show trial in Moscow in which six British engineers were falsely accused and convicted of sabotage and espionage, for Reuters. But it’s a great collection as it is, including two early short stories, essays and reports on World War II when he worked in British naval intelligence, his advice on writing thrillers, his adventure journalism, and much more. Highly recommended.
Great Listens & Watches
While I was hoping Alfonso Cuarón would be chosen for the next Bond film director, I’m very hopeful after Amazon chose Denis Villeneuve (“Sicario,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dune I & II,” etc.). I was nervous when Amazon took over, but it seems the franchise is in good hands.
Spotlight on My Past Stories
A look back at my report about immigration policy during the first Trump administration for the Pacific Council on International Policy when I traveled with them to El Paso and Juárez in 2019. On a somewhat related note, I met Pam Brady, actor and writer from “South Park,” on that trip, and we laughed about how I played Trey Parker as a kid in “BASEketball.” She took a photo of us and sent it to Trey. (If you’re not sure why it’s somewhat related, go watch the first episode of the new season of “South Park,” lol.)
And read all of my journalism here.