The Slightly Older Guy

Males over 50 will find the light touch of top humorist Friedman (The Lonely Guy's Book of Life) bringing smiles of recognition on page after page. The SOG will see himself in the man with wattles under his chin, a memory that is not totally reliable and the recollection of that traumatic moment when the pretty girl he was ogling on the subway smiled and said, ``Would you like my seat?'' There are recommendations on diet (order half a sandwich), sex (remember, you are no longer a gymnast), exercise (walk, don't run), economics (buy generics and check for change behind the sofa cushions) and insomnia (read Solzhenitsyn). And for readers so inclined, there are also words of wisdom about going into politics and moving to the country. The breezy text is supplemented by apt line drawings. (June)