Where Eagles dared

At the 1985 Cotton Bowl, quarterback Doug Flutie (center, rear) and his offensive linemen, known as the ''Secret Service.'' (''Boston College Football Vault'')

The storied past of Boston College's football team tumbles out of a hefty new high-end scrapbook. Tucked into sleeves are vintage photographs (such as below), cartoons, bumper stickers, and BC songs and cheers.

"Boston College Football Vault: The History of the Eagles" was written by BC's own Reid Oslin with contributions from Jack Bicknell and Doug Flutie. The book is part of a new focus for Atlanta-based Whitman Publishing, which for decades has catered to coin collectors with its best-selling annual price guide. By the end of the year, it will have published books about 36 college football and basketball teams, with BC the only New England team on its roster.

PEN parties
Four Stories, the hip salon in Cambridge, has endeared itself to the local literary establishment. PEN New England will honor Tracy Slater, Four Stories founder, with its Friend of Writers award at a party on Tuesday.

PEN's annual celebration of authors with new books out within the past year is a lively affair, if less edgy than Slater's Four Stories events. This year, PEN invites guests to dress in costume. As always, there will be food and drink as well as newly published books to browse. The party is from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lesley University in the old Porter Exchange, 1815 Mass. Ave., Cambridge.

Slater, a writer who divides her time between Boston and Osaka, is the consummate host for the author series she started in the fall of 2005. Each evening features a provocative theme, four writers, a DJ, and her own banter. Rebecca Goldstein, winner of a MacArthur "Genius" award, will headline the final event of the fall, "Saints and Sinners: Stories of Temptation, Seduction, and Redemption," on Nov. 3 at the Enormous Room, 569 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Music starts at 6, readings at 7. Early arrival is a must.

Death in a milltown
In 1850, Saco, Maine, was a rapidly growing community with an influx of factory girls working in the textile mills. That spring the unidentified body of a young woman was discovered in an icy stream. As the news spread, so did fears: Had she fallen victim to a criminal on the street?

It turned out that she died of a botched abortion. Her doctor was sent to prison. Historian Elizabeth A. De Wolfe unearthed new details about the death and examined the changing role of women in 19th-century society in 2007's "The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories" (Kent State University). Yesterday the New England Historical Association honored De Wolfe with its annual book award.

Coming out
"John Lennon: The Life," by Philip Norman (Ecco)

"Alex and Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence - and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process," by Irene M. Pepperberg (Collins)

"With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars," by Jonathan Kellerman (Ballantine)

Pick of the week
Josh Cook of Porter Square Books, in Cambridge, recommends "The Best American Comics 2008," edited by Lynda Barry, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden (Houghton Mifflin): "Barry gives us a volume that is an editorial miracle. The whimsical, the malicious, the heartbreaking, the surreal, the hilarious - all the work included testifies to the vibrancy of the contemporary comic form. This is a collection to convert the remaining unbelievers and to excite the connoisseurs."

Jan Gardner can be reached at JanLGardner@yahoo.com.