Not That You Asked...

The whiny, white-haired leprechaun who dispenses cranky advice on CBS-TV's 60 Minutes as if his bromides about life's minor annoyances are raw pearls of wisdom will entertain his fans with this latest assemblage. Rooney, author of four previous books, has fun with easy targets such as the decline of romance, dull textbooks, the U.S. postal service, the dearth of good conversation, unwanted Christmas gifts and the Miss America contest. He skewers Americans' suspicious stance toward the Soviets (``I never met a Russian as mean and macho as Rambo'') and pinpoints the use of sexist language (``No men ever get wed in the New York Times , just women''). Rooney has a knack of talking out of both sides of his mouth when discussing topics such as the arms race, student protest, global eco-catastrophe and the animal rights movement. Ambling from class reunions to credit cards, dogs, cats and the joys of spring in the city, these calculatedly curmudgeonly pieces touch on phenomena with which almost everybody can identify. BOMC featured alternate. (Mar.)