Compiled from his syndicated column and from his pieces in The New Yorker, this whimsical, uproarious collection presents Calvin Trillin's witty take on all the zany people, happenings, and events that have so boldly colored life so far in the 1990s.

Calvin Trillin is the author of twenty books, including Family Man (FSG, 1998) and Messages from My Father (FSG, 1996). He writes a weekly column for Time and a weekly poem for The Nation. He lives in New York City.

Introduction	p. 3
Family Business	p. 9
A New Arrival	p. 12
Return of the Rubes	p. 15
Worms Turning	p. 18
Talk About Ugly!	p. 21
Special Dish	p. 24
Agents, Agents Everywhere	p. 27
Time and Tide	p. 30
Iowa on My Mind	p. 33
Believable History	p. 36
Sound Policy	p. 39
Stargazing	p. 42
Adventures in the Book Game	p. 45
The Alice Tax	p. 48
Check Him Out	p. 51
Women, Women	p. 54
Lip-Synching	p. 57
Truth Is Stranger	p. 60
A Traditional Family	p. 63
Gecko Redux	p. 66
Dog-Bark Duet	p. 69
Keeping Up with Geography	p. 72
Frog Theories	p. 75
Mass Exit	p. 78
Rock Threat Subsides	p. 81
Naming the German Baby	p. 84
The Past and the Future	p. 87
Go to Your Room	p. 90
International Chigger Alert	p. 93
Chinese Golf	p. 96
Please Stop	p. 99
Errands	p. 102
Polite Society	p. 105
Who Was First?	p. 108
I'm O.K., I'm Not O.K.	p. 111
Planted Questions	p. 114
Counting My Blessings	p. 117
Too Old	p. 120
Speak Softly	p. 123
Orlando When It Sizzles	p. 126
A Visit from Jean-Michel	p. 129
Blues Blues	p. 132
Don't Mention It	p. 135
Bad Language	p. 138
Searching for the Elite	p. 141
Merger	p. 144
Women and Clubs	p. 147
Folktale, for Real	p. 150
The Right to Bear Chain Saws	p. 153
New Worries	p. 156
Broken English	p. 159
Taxing the Queen	p. 162
Networking for Fun and Profit	p. 165
Just Plain Bill	p. 168
Smoking Incorrectly	p. 171
Presidential Symbols	p. 174
Seat Belts for Dogs	p. 177
Capital Goobers	p. 180
Tabloid in the Tabloids	p. 183
Contemplating the Zoo	p. 186
Steven the Turtle	p. 189
Tough Enough	p. 192
Hurt Feelings	p. 195
In Defense of Sleeping	p. 198
Doubly Generous	p. 201
Alas, Poor Willy	p. 204
Little-Known Facts	p. 207
New Professor	p. 210
The Hot Stuff Cure	p. 213
Unmasked	p. 216
A Christmas Shopping Tale	p. 219
Pacific Insults	p. 222
Networkers Triumphant	p. 225
Exchanging Information	p. 228
Unplugged	p. 231
Out of Style	p. 234
Dangerous Machines	p. 237
Movie Reality	p. 240
Din! Din! Din!	p. 243
Beware of Pickpockets	p. 246
Eye of the Beholder	p. 249
Brutal Attack on Barney	p. 252
Nerds, Unvanished	p. 255
Hazardous Dining	p. 258
Embarrassment of Riches	p. 261
Questions about Prince Charles	p. 264
Jeff Again	p. 267
The Piping Plover	p. 270
So, Nu, Dr. Freud	p. 273
Hat Trick	p. 276
Sign Writing	p. 279
Video Talk	p. 282
What's the Good Word?	p. 285
Afterword	p. 289
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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