Whose Rose Garden Is It Anyway?

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In the world according to Buchwald, facile actor Ronald Reagan has passed the torch to ``I am not a wimp'' President George Bush, whose right-hand man, proud ex-National Guardsman Dan Quayle, brings impressive golfing skills to his new post. This latest batch of columns from the prolific Washington humorist considers Gary Hart, who ``chose love over his country'' and was sent home by the voters, and the gun lobbyists, fearful that the shrapnel will hit the fan. Buchwald has no dearth of targets: public relations-pro Mikhail Gorbachev, airlines mogul ``Captain'' Frank Lorenzo and great humanitarians like Adnan Khashoggi and Donald Trump draw his fire; he also shreds Oliver North, Michael Dukakis, Jimmy Swaggart, the Exxon tanker oil spill, airline unsafety and the commercializaton of Christmas. If the civilizing influence of professional football doesn't save the American people, Buchwald's imaginary dialogues and quasi-populist rants may help to keep us sane. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Buchwald's 27th book is another collection of his columns telling us that modern life, especially politics, is too serious to be taken seriously. His literal or face-value--make that farce- value--acceptance of political communication, advertising, sports, foreign affairs, and just ordinary life reveals the absurdity of much of what we do, say, and tell others to do. Few things escape his satire. Readers who enjoy Buchwald's daily columns will enjoy this; they only need to ask whether love of Buchwald's humor lessens somewhat when the essays have lost the immediacy of their daily publication. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/89.-- Mark K. Jones, Cincinnati