Common Nonsense

October 21, 2002
He's at it again. In his inimitable style, the 60 Minutes
commentator and bestselling author picks apart the stuff of our lives—from the ordinary to the extraordinary—to get to the heart of the matter. Whether it be chairs that are too small for comfort, or why Americans have trouble understanding the Koran, no subject is too small or too grand for Rooney to scrutinize. The 154 essays are, he says, "a reflection of a flawed brain with a capacity for being interested in more things than it can comprehend." Hilariously funny at times, Rooney also takes a tender turn and despairs at some of the sadder aspects of American life. He laments the decline of family farms, yet marvels at the beauty of their crumbling barns: "It's sad to see something so noble as a barn die a slow and painful death." He has precise, sometimes surprising—and rarely nonsensical—insights into dieting ("If you're going to lose weight, you can't be sensible about it. You have to do something extreme"), Jimmy Stewart as war hero ("He was a bomber pilot in WWII and he did it better than he acted") and religion ("The Catholic church has never officially recognized that sexual desire cannot be suppressed by resolve). Though rambling at times, this is a funny, touching, charming work that will be welcome alongside Rooney's previous collections; his take on the annoyances and joys of humanity always hit home.

October 15, 2002
Oh, sure, people like to make fun of Andy Rooney, just as he pokes fun at American life and customs from his desk-front vantage point on the "60 Minutes" television show. But people sure do read his books, and both "My War" (1995) and "Sincerely, Andy Rooney" (1999) have landed on the best-sellers lists. His latest book is a collection of 153 short essays about--"everything"! In them, he comes across just like he does on TV: grumpy and irritable but also witty and avuncular. These essays are arranged into 14 broad categories, including food and drink, politics, sports, entertainment and the arts, and travel. Rooney waxes on about sentiments easy to agree with, such as, "Tops of jars and bottles are hard to take off" and "Common courtesy has all but disappeared in many public places." However, he also focuses on aspects of American life we may not have thought of but certainly can stand to be reminded about, such as, "A well-built barn is a thing of beauty. . . . The bad news is, wooden barns, like farmers, are disappearing." And there are topics we actually "want" him to rail against, such as when he insists that "advertising is out of control but so is packaging." Actually, he's more a humorous than an activist-type essayist, but we need all the humor we can get in this dysfunctional world. Expect considerable demand for this sure-fire best-seller. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)