cover image The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Everyday Advice

The Old Farmer's Almanac Book of Everyday Advice

Judson D. Hale, Sr., Yankee Publishing Inc. Random House (NY), $22 (212pp) ISBN 978-0-679-43673-7

The Old Farmer's Almanac has been around since 1792, and Hale has edited it for the past quarter-century, assembling this compendium from various issues but admittedly with more than a little Procrustean pulling and tugging to fit some items in. The result, which Hale recommends reading piecemeal, is bright and entertaining. It delves into such subjects as whether a clam is really happy, all the while presenting nuggets like ``Only the young die good'' and giving recipes for cheesecake, eggnog (courtesy, G. Washington) and Democratic Cake. Occasional quaint entries reappear from the past, like the 1853 instruction to homemakers to separate the books of male and female authors on their shelves. Illustrated. Author tour. (Mar.)