Molly Ivins December 7AUSTIN, Texas — All right, Christmas procrastinators! The Christmas book list is here! Not that I'm suggesting you do anything alarming, like go out and shop in a timely fashion. But you can clip-and-save for that exciting moment when you realize there are fewer than 24 shopping hours left and something has got to be done or it'll be the drugstore or the U-Tot'Em on Christmas Eve again. The beauty of the bookstore is that it's one-stop shopping: no running all over town to men's stores, women's stores, children's stores, sports shops, art emporiums, you-name-it. At the bookstore, you find presents for your home-improvers, your dancers, your friends on spiritual quests, your aunt who does handicrafts, your great-uncle who was in WWII, your gardening enthusiast, bridge-player, bird-watcher or world-saver and your person who just needs a break from reality. With our usual emphasis on public affairs, let's start with the best book on economics to appear in a long time: "Everything For Sale: The Virtues and Limits of Markets" by Robert Kuttner. Perfect for your conservative friends who believe the market is the answer to everything — civilized in tone, thoughtful, authoritative but not a tough read. "Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos" by Texas populist Jim Hightower — a wonderfully colloquial examination of the corporate takeover of America, from meat to media. Cain-raising, rear-kicking, energizing populism, especially recommended for those who like some spice in their language and their politics, with great appeal not just for those on the left but for all those folks who like to cuss the gummint as well. For something truly different, try "An Intimate History of Humanity" by the British historian Theodore Zeldin. Abandoning the historical account of Great Men and Big Stuff, Zeldin uses history to investigate such astonishing questions as "How some people have acquired an immunity to loneliness," "Why there has been more progress in cooking than in sex," "How men and women have slowly learned to have interesting conversations" and much more that most of us have never even thought to ask about. Much more important and interesting than who won the Battle of Marengo. This one will stretch your mind in the most intriguing and satisfying ways. And then, in case you were wondering, Gerda Lerner answers the question about "Why History Matters" from a unique perspective.
"Money: Who Has How Much and Why" is another of those valuable Andrew Hacker books that gives us facts, facts and more facts. His last book was about race; this one focuses on class — on how the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are getting left in the dirt. Just last week, another cheering report on how the average family is doing better than ever appeared — once again ignoring the problem of using the average instead of the median. As the rich get a lot richer and the poor get a little poorer, of course the average goes up. Hacker's book helps us see through such statistical obfuscation to what's really going on. And now three for murder mystery fans. A new P.D. James — need I say more? "A Certain Justice," featuring the poet/cop Adam Dalgliesh, is as rich and complex as anything she has ever written. Texas writer Mary Willis Walker just gets better and better: "All the Dead Lie Down" is a fascinating double-crime story — one in the past, one in the present. Part of the book hinges on scenes among the homeless, taking us to a truly different world. The only plot weakness is that the present crime involves a dastardly plot to kill off the entire Texas Legislature, a notion that will strike too many of us as a really dandy idea. Another writer, along with James, who threatens to transcend genre entirely is Walter Moseley, whose black detective Easy Rawlins has hooked white readers as well as black. Moseley's new book, "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned," features an ex-con named Socrates — and don't think for a minute that philosophy isn't the real subject in these wonderfully readable stories about ghetto life and choices. A sentimental favorite of mine, since I knew the author, is J. Anthony Lukas' last book, "Big Trouble," about the 1905 assassination of a former Idaho governor and the subsequent murder trial. I grant you, it's a slow starter, but Lukas, a superb journalist, ultimately gives the most satisfying, in-depth look at what this country was like in the days when labor and capital were at war and capital hadn't yet won. Clarence Darrow, "Big Bill" Haywood, Allan Pinkerton of the detective agency — a fascinating roster of characters, plus one of the most enduring themes in American life: how to achieve economic and social justice. More Christmas books to come! *** Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. COPYRIGHT 1997 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
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