cover image Diary of a Flying Man

Diary of a Flying Man

Randy Cohen. Alfred A. Knopf, $16.95 (145pp) ISBN 978-0-394-56124-0

Winner of an Emmy as a writer for David Letterman's TV show, Cohen is also known for laser-sharp pieces appearing in the New Yorker , the Nation , Harper's. This is a collection of previously published features which au courantital unnec.-in web. culture mavens, especially those tuned in to Cohen's ``subversive'' views, should appreciate. Inevitably, though, time has blunted the edge on some selections: burlesques of Brezhnev, Nixon and N.Y.'s Mayor Koch, for example, are dated. Most of the entries, however, remain richly entertaining. Cohen's nimble wit targets glib counselors on the electronic medium; a sexy teenaged would-be model (``I study Dan Rather; he smolders''); a man escaping humdrum ways by living in trees; runaway housewives pursued by a ``mom squad'' et al. These outlandish types come alive via the pen of this talented satirist. (Nov.)