As anyone who has ever watched hammy knight Anthony Hopkins in Magic or deceased, bi-knight Sir Michael Redgrave in Dead Of Night will know, the defining characteristic of ventriloquists' dummies is that they turn their owners into perma-drunk neurotics with predilections for homicide and demented, high-pitched giggling.

Is that indisputable fact reflected in this supposed homage to the early days of what those in the know (and not yet dead of old age) call 'the vents'? Is it bollocks. On the other hand, Dummy Days does have some interesting material about radio ventriloquism (why don't we still have that?), enough showbiz anecdotes to fuel the undead carcass of Michael Parkinson for a million years, and hundreds of pictures of extremely sinister-looking dolls. With the focus very much on America, there are no mentions of such UK giants as De Courcey, Harris and Carolgees, but nonetheless, this is almost certainly the best book about old-time ventriloquism that you'll
read this month.

Dummy Days
by Kelly Asbury
(ISBN 1883318289)
is available now from Angel City Press for $30