New Non-Fiction (Wednesday Edition)

No, Whoopi. It's not just you.

IS IT JUST ME: ....or is it just nuts out there?(Hyperion) by Whoopi Goldberg hits the shelves this week. Whether you love her or hate her, you cannot deny her.

I have been railing against the declining social graces in America for a few years now. I am most often looked upon with either scorn, confusion or a mixture of both. Having worked in a service industry for 20 years, I had to always do my best to be courteous and respectful to everyone I met. But it wasn't always that I was forced to do it -- it actually became my favored response. It was the path of least resistance. I actually think it takes more work to be rude than it does to be kind.

Sociologists have their theories and I have mine. The truth of the matter is that no matter the cause, the solution is easy. Decide to be nice. Oh hey...Whoopi wrote a book.....

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As a kid I didn't go to shopping malls much, so Mad Magazine raised me. One of my favorite artists featured in the magazine, and I'm not just saying this, was Sergio Aragones. Well Running Press has just released MAD'S GREATEST ARTISTS - Sergio Aragones: Five Decades of his Finest Works. Of course, back then I wouldn't have been able to tell you his name, I wasn't that sophisticated a reader. But I always recognized his characters and was more likely to read his contributions than most.....

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I have read two previous books about the American rock/country band, the Eagles. Something about the band appeals to be beyond their music and it's hard to explain. Maybe it's the Southern California hippie vibe, or maybe it's just how these long-haired dope smokers took over country music for a time. Who knows?

Either way, a new book on the band has emerged. THE EAGLES: An American Band (Sterling Publishing) by Andrew Vaughan. Vaughan is Nashville-based (yay!) and is an authority on country music. This book promises to be a definitive history of a still beloved American band......

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And finally today, in paperback, a book about the year before I was born: 1960: LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon - The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies (Union Square) by David Pietrusza.

I can't speak for you but I am interested in the world in which I arrived. I look forward to reading this book much like I wish my mom had kept a diary of my younger years -- except less embarassing.

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