Talk:The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp

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Name of the Band Supertramp[edit]

The article for the band Supertramp still claims that the name was inspired by the book. See also http://www.mott-the-dog.com/reviews/new_05/060120_supertramp.htm. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:54, 29 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Further investigation reveals that on the bands own official site it states the name of the band was taken from Mr. Davies book. [[1]] The statement of naming the band independent of the book is incorrect. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jamesinklebarger (talk • contribs) 21:16, 11 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well almost. On the band's own website.... it's only reviewer P. Robichaud who credits Davies' 1908 book for the origin of the band's name. Hardly definitive. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:42, 11 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Novel?[edit]

Well a short story maybe, but principally this work is a factual autobiography. So not sure it does fall within the NovelsWikiProject? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:59, 11 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

ISBN[edit]

I have replaced the ISBN in the infobox with 0-192-81293-9, which seems to have been the first used, e.g. for the 1980 OUP paperback edition. There were at least 40 editions published before that one. And many since, including now e-book facsimile and Kindle editions. I'm not sure if the ISBN in the infobox is meant to reflect first edition with an ISBN, or the most available edition still in print, or something else. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:13, 5 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Boodle?[edit]

The article reads: "He took advantage of the corrupt system of "boodle", in order to pass the winter", with Boodle as a hyperlink to a wiki article on Boodle. However, the linked article describes boodle as slang for bribe money, which doesn't make sense. Did these penniless tramps bribe their way into jail? This needs clarification. John Schulien (talk) 02:54, 5 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

As I understand it, the local sheriff would benefit if his jail was full. So passing vagrants would agree to be locked up (and fed and watered), especially over the winter, so that the sheriff could get his full subsidy. But there was no bribery. I think the boodle article needs to be adjusted. An expert on historical American law enforcement would be very useful here! Martinevans123 (talk) 06:50, 5 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Stonesifer (1963) does not use the word "boodle", but he does explain the situation on page 29 of his Critical Biography, quoting from Davies: "Brum [the notorious tramp with whom Davies pairs up] explains all this to the incredulous Davies when they are warmly received by the Marshal in a Michigan town: "It simply means this," he said, "that the marshall gets a dollar each for every arrest he makes – in our case three dollars; the judge receives three or four dollars for every conviction, and the sheriff of the jail is paid a dollar a day for boarding each prisoner under his charge, we benefit by a good rest, warmth, good food and plenty of sleep, and the innocent citizens have to pay for it all." (see pages 58- 64 of Super-Tramp: [2]). Martinevans123 (talk) 08:45, 5 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Cover artwork[edit]

Good to see a cover. But I'd suggest the 1980 OUP is hardly the biggest seller or the most distinctive cover. The first edition had no dust jacket, but apart from the early one issues, there are quite a lot of different covers to choose from: [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], etc etc. Martinevans123 (talk) 07:27, 11 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]