Singer-songwriter-humorist Friedman, author of more than 20 books (including Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned
and You Can Lead a Politician to Water, but You Can't Make Him Think
), now offers a collection of his Texas Monthly
columns plus new essays. These musings (“the leftover lyrics of my life on the road”) get an added boost from 20 outrageous drawings by the gutsy quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan. What emerges can be satirical and evocative, as in his chapter on car radio music at night: “You're blowing through Dripping Springs, and the hills are dark shadows; the highway's just a ribbon in the hair of a girl you used to know.” Free-flowing and free associative, occasionally punctuating with puns, he targets topics from Jack Ruby and Michael Chabon to Texas etiquette and politics. Kinky's writing here is funny, focused and hugely entertaining. (July)
