I THINK THERE'S A TERRORIST IN MY SOUP: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter—Seriously

After 9/11, veteran comedian Brenner set off on a "Laughter to the People" tour to spread his message that when we stop laughing, the terrorists have won. This audio adaptation includes much of the material from that tour. Brenner tackles all the typical topics: sex, money, employment, politics, religion. He talks about growing up with a Dad who ran numbers and a Mom whose home economics consisted of buying "100 pair of shoe laces with their metal tips missing." He takes the listener through his first love and first job, but the jokes are lost in his self-indulgent, lengthy stories. At times, Brenner himself seems bored as he reads, and he occasionally hurries past some good material in the process. Still, Brenner has some shining moments. He riffs about cloning Mike Tyson and sending him and his clone into the ring to take each other on, and he plays one terrorist calling another and speaking in code ("the footballs will not bounce this weekend"). Brenner's spot-on accents are the highlight of this collection. His wicked imitation of George W. Bush alone may be worth the price of the audio book. Simultaneous release with the Andrews McMeel trade paperback (Forecasts, Sept. 1). (Sept.)