Recommended reading - The Blue Hammer, by Ross Macdonald (1976):

The Blue Hammer

By Ross Macdonald.

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

First published 1976.

ISBN-10: 0307279065

ISBN-13: 978-0307279064

Description:

The desert air is hot with sex and betrayal, death and madness and only Detective Lew Archer can make sense of a killer who makes murder a work of art.

Finding a purloined portrait of a leggy blonde was supposed to be an easy paycheck for Archer, but that was before the bodies began piling up. Suddenly, Archer find himself smack in the middle of a decades-long mystery of a brilliant artist who walked into the desert and simply disappeared. He left behind a bevy of muses, molls, dolls, and dames-each one scrambling for what they thought was rightfully theirs.

On this day in movie history - W. C. Fields and Me (1976):

W. C. Fields and Me

directed by Arthur Hiller,

written by Bob Merrill,

based on the book by Carlotta Monti and Cy Rice,

was released in the United States on March 31, 1976.
Music by Henry Mancini.

Cast:

Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, John Marley, Jack Cassidy, Bernadette Peters, Dana Elcar, Paul Stewart, Billy Barty, Allan Arbus, Milt Kamen, Louis Zorich, Andrew Parks, Linda Purl, Selma Archerd, Paul Barselou, John Bleifer, Buff Brady, Donald Briggs, Mathilda Calnan, Frank De Vol, Eddie Firestone, Jacques Foti, John Furlong, Jack Griffin, Bob Harks, Crane Jackson, Jimmy Joyce, George Loros, Patch Mackenzie, Paul Mantee, Mary McLain, Victor Millan, Carlotta Monti, Judith Novgrod, Gerald Peters, Leoda Richards, Hank Rolike, Clay Tanner, Elizabeth Thompson, Kenneth Tobey, William Wintersole, Steffen Zacharias, Bill Zuckert.

On this day in movie history - Police Python 357 (1976):

Police Python 357

aka The Case Against Ferro,

directed by Alain Corneau,

written by Alain Corneau and Daniel Boulanger,

based on the novel The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing,

was released in France on March 31, 1976.
Music by Georges Delerue.

Cast:

Yves Montand, François Périer, Simone Signoret, Stefania Sandrelli, Mathieu Carrière, Vadim Glowna, Claude Bertrand, Gabriel Doulcet, Alice Reichen, Tony Rödel, Georges-Fréderic Dehlen, Serge Marquand, Stéphane Macha, Roger Muni, Malvina Penne, Michel Ruhl, Franz Sauer, Daniel Breton.

Recommended reading - The Star Trek Reader I, by James Blish (1976):

The Star Trek Reader I

By James Blish.

Published by E P Dutton.
First Edition.
Published 1976.
Hardcover.
ISBN-10: 0841504679
ISBN-13: 978-0841504677

Description:

Episodes from the popular TV series, many of which have been selected by fans themselves, have been adapted into short stories.

On this day in music history - Dúlamán, by Clannad (1976):

Dúlamán

Album by Clannad,

released March 5, 1976.

Track list:

Dulaman; Cumha Eoghain Rua Ui Neill; Two Sisters; Eirigh Suas a Stoirin; The Galtee Hunt; Eirigh Is Cuir Ort Do Chuid Eadaigh Coiriu; Siuil a Run; Mo Mhaire; Dtigeas a Damhsa; Cucanandy/The Jug of Brown Ale.

On this day in music history - Dreamboat Annie, by Heart (1976):

Dreamboat Annie

Album by Heart,
released February 14, 1976.

Track list:

Magic Man; Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child); Crazy on You; Soul of the Sea; Dreamboat Annie; White Lightning and Wine; (Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song; Sing Child; How Deep It Goes; Dreamboat Annie.

On this day in movie history - Taxi Driver (1976):

Taxi Driver

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Paul Schrader,

was released in the United States on February 8, 1976.

Music by Bernard Hermann.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Steven Prince, Harvey Keitel, Martin Scorsese, Harry Northup, Victor Argo, Joe Spinell, Diahnne Abbott.

On this day in movie history - Killer Force (1976):

Killer Force

aka The Diamond Mercenaries,

directed by Val Guest,

written by Val Guest, Gerald Sanford and Michael Winder,

was released in the United States on January 14, 1976.
Music by Georges Garvarentz.

Cast:

Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda, Hugh O'Brian, Christopher Lee, O.J. Simpson, Maud Adams, Ian Yule, Michael Mayer, Victor Melleney, Richard Loring, Stuart Brown, Marina Christelis, Frank Shelley, Peter van Dissel, Cocky Tlhotlhalemaje, Ian Hamilton, Dale Cutts, Don McCorkindale, Marigold Russell, Frank Douglas, Kevin Basel, Stuart Parker, Albert Raphael, Russell Newman, Clive Scott, Robert Davies, David C. Anderson, Anthony Fridjhon, Giles Ridley.

Recommended reading - City of the Dead (1976):

City of the Dead

By Herbert Lieberman.

Hardcover.

First published 1976.

Published by Simon & Schuster.

ISBN 13: 9780671222727

ISBN 10: 0671222724

ASIN: 0671222724

Description:

The grim and fascinating world of the big-city pathologist is the backdrop for this terrifying journey into the depths of the human soul.

In 1970s New York, a forensic pathologist must use his professional skills to save his own daughter in this “harrowing” award-winning crime novel (The New York Times).

In the gritty seventies, Manhattan is a dark, dangerous, and threatening place. One of the bright spots in this decaying metropolis is Paul Konig. As the city’s chief medical examiner, he has developed an impressive reputation for his skills in forensic pathology – skills that will be put to the ultimate test when a dangerous psychopath kidnaps Konig’s daughter.

Awakened by phone calls featuring his daughter’s desperate screams each night, Konig finds his life unraveling, not only personally but professionally. Between the case of a serial killer who leaves a trail of severed body parts in his wake, an investigation into the forensic work on an alleged prison suicide, and a nakedly ambitious deputy medical examiner, he is at the end of his rope, and it will take every ounce of his strength to save his own life – as well as his family’s.

Perfect for fans of Patricia Cornwell or Kathy Reichs, City of the Dead is a chilling thriller by the author of Crawlspace and a winner of the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, featuring “a massive amount of authoritative detail” about the life of a coroner (Kirkus Reviews).