White's Law Dictionary

White, a Washington D.C. attorney, is a gifted humor writer. He defines a file cabinet as ""a five-drawer, manually activated trash compactor''; conscience is ``a disease of the brain. Painful for anyone, but fatal for a lawyer. Fortunately, very rare in the profession.'' White's previous effort, The Official Lawyer's Handbook, was wickedly accurate, biting, funny and readily accessible. Unfortunately, the appeal of this book, a parody of Black's Law Dictionary, is less universal. Many of the definitions are based on those in the original and require some legal background to appreciate fully. Yet even the layperson will recognize White as a clever humorist and should find quite a bit to chuckle at here. Foreign rights: Debbie Phillips, Warner. December