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Summary
Summary
Every Sunday evening, millions of viewers tune in to 60 Minutes to hear Andy Rooney riff on everything from coffee percolators to the state of the union. Millions more read his weekly newspaper column. Why? Because Rooney tells it like it is. But Rooney fans have never seen him quite like this. Andy Rooney is plain frustrated by what's going on in America and the world. Why can't Americans--let alone our president--speak English anymore? How do we expect to fight a terrorist enemy that we can't even locate? And when did capitalism go so terribly wrong? This book isn't all heady stuff, though. Readers will also get the familiar--and hysterical--Rooney gripes about everyday foibles, such as the impossibility of physically locating your driver's registration, of purchasing a genuinely healthy breakfast cereal, or of enjoying a college reunion--unless everyone ends up in their nighties, that is. PublicAffairs is pleased to present its fifth collaboration with Andy Rooney. Loyal Rooney fans and anyone who enjoys a good laugh at life's absurdities will be thrilled to add it to the bookshelf during the holidays.
Author Notes
Andy Rooney, January 19, 1919 - Andrew Rooney was born January 14, 1919 in Albany, N.Y. He attended Colgate University until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. In February 1943, he was one of six correspondents who flew with the Eighth Air Force on the first American bombing raid over Germany.
After the War, he wrote for "The Garry Moore Show" from 1959 to 1965, and for Arthur Godfrey from 1949 to 1955, both on CBS. He also wrote for CBS News public affairs broadcasts such as "The Twentieth Century," "News of America," "Adventure," "Calendar" and "The Morning Show with Will Rogers Jr." Rooney wrote the first example of what has become his specialty, the television essay, with "An Essay on Doors" in 1964. From 1962 to 1968, he collaborated with Harry Reasoner on such CBS News specials as "An Essay on Bridges" in 1965, "An Essay on Hotels" in 1966, "An Essay on Women" in 1967, "An Essay on Chairs" in 1968 and "The Strange Case of the English Language" also in 1968. "An Essay on War" in 1971 won Rooney his third Writers Guild Award. In 1968, he wrote two CBS News specials in the series "Of Black America." His script for "Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed" won him his first Emmy Award
In addition to his contributions to 60 Minutes, Rooney wrote, produced and narrated a series of broadcasts for CBS News on various aspects of America and American life, including "Mr. Rooney Goes to Washington," for which he won a Peabody Award, "Andy Rooney Takes Off," "Mr. Rooney Goes to Work" and "Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner." The 2002-03 season marks Rooney's 25th season on 60 Minutes. His reports, "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney," became a regular feature in September 1978. He won Emmy Awards for these essays in 1979, 1981 and 1982. On May 19, 2002 he presented his 800th segment on the broadcast.
Rooney, the CBS News correspondent, writer and producer, has won the Writers Guild Award for Best Script of the Year six times, more than any other writer in the history of the medium. Rooney's final regular appearance on 60 Minutes was on October 2, 2011, after 33 years on the show. It was his 1,097th commentary. He was hospitalized on October 25, 2011, after developing postoperative complications from an undisclosed surgery, and died on November 4, 2011, at the age of 92.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Rooney, revered 60 Minutes commentator, weekly syndicated newspaper columnist, and best-selling author (most recently of Years of Minutes) delivers a collection of caustic, comic essays on topics ranging from the serious (Iraq, global warming) to the absurd (the outdated semi-colon, irritating cell phone ring tones) that proves he hasn't lost his cranky appeal. Written over the past four years, these highly opinionated and often chuckle-worthy vignettes are refreshingly candid and paint a fortified portrait of Rooney's frustrations with the state of the world. In 10 themed sections (including Daily Life, Politics and Sports), Rooney showcases his broad knowledge and voluminous gripes; though they won't dazzle the literati, Rooney's signature cynicism and stream-of-consciousness voice shine through. There is something for everyone in this collection: election junkies will find the petulant "Crab Grassroots Campaigning" particularly amusing; pack rats and recyclers alike will identify with "We're Wasting Away" (the perfect case of "sad, but true"); and those who just plain love Andy will cherish his quirky lists in "Things I Love to Hate" and "Things to Do Today." In the preface, Rooney asks himself, "How much do I have to say that anyone cares about reading?" Luckily for him-and for us-he has an entire book's worth. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Booklist Review
The reader can almost hear Rooney's meandering delivery of his 60 Minutes commentaries in this essay collection. In his inimitable rambling but cogent style, Rooney delivers probing questions, sound observations, and occasional whimsy. Rooney concedes that he is no great writer, but he has a wry sense of the everyday life that puts both the large issues and the small stuff into perspective. The essays focus on philosophy, food and drink, work, politics, war, sports, money, his life, and the English language. In an essay on the enormous amount of trash Americans generate each day, he notes that when we speak of throwing things away, there's really no such place as \lquote away.' Rooney riffs on marriage statistics and adds some of his own homemade statistics as observations of the likelihood of lasting unions. Rooney also defends the profession of journalism, questions Tom Brokaw's assertion that Rooney's generation--who fought World War II--was the greatest, and wonders why so many Americans speak English so poorly. Rooney's observation on war: Americans learned more firsthand in a day about the progress of World War II than we will learn in a year about the current war as long as the military controls information. Responding to inquiries about when he will retire, Rooney declares: Never. I am never happier than when I am working. Fans will adore this collection. --Vanessa Bush Copyright 2006 Booklist