Andy Rooney_ 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit - Andy Rooney [0]
Rooney, Andy
Unknown publisher (2011)
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Product Description
Chairs. Neat people. Ugliness. War. Over six decades of intrepid reporting and elegant essays, Andy Rooney has proven a shrewd cultural analyst—unafraid to question the sometimes ridiculous, often surprising facts of our lives. Rooney’s great gift is telling it straight, without a hint of sugar coating, but with more than a grain of truth and humor. His take on America? “It’s just amazing how long this country has been going to hell without ever having got there.” On food? “There’s more dependable mediocrity than there used to be.”
About the Author
Known to millions for his regular commentary on the television news magazine 60 Minutes, and his syndicated newspaper column, Andrew A. Rooney is the author of numerous bestselling books. He has published five previous books with PublicAffairs: My War, Sincerely, Andy Rooney, Common Nonsense, Years of Minutes, and Out of My Mind. He lives in New York.
60 Years of Wisdom and Wit
Also by Andy Rooney
Out of My Mind
Years of Minutes
Common Nonsense
Sincerely, Andy Rooney
My War
Sweet and Sour
Not That You Asked . . .
Word for Word
Pieces of My Mind
And More by Andy Rooney
A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney
The Fortunes of War
Conquerors’ Peace (with Bud Hutton)
The Story of The Stars and Stripes (with Bud Hutton) Air Gunner (with Bud Hutton)
60 Years of Wisdom and Wit
Andrew A. Rooney
With an Introduction by Brian Rooney
PublicAffairs New York
Copyright © 2009 by Andrew A. Rooney. Introduction copyright © 2009 by Brian Rooney.
Published in the United States by PublicAffairs™, a member of
the Perseus Books Group.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
All photographs in this book, unless otherwise indicated, are from the author’s collection and/or the CBS photo archive. Additional photography by Keith D. Kulin. With special thanks to Susie Bieber and Morgen Van Vorst for their editorial work. Ziggy © 1995 Ziggy and Friends, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All Rights Reserved.
Doonesbury © 1982 G. B. Trudeau. Reprinted with permission of Universal Press Syndicate. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, NY 10107.
PublicAffairs books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rooney, Andrew A.
Andy Rooney: 60 years of wisdom and wit / Andrew A. Rooney ; with an introduction by Brian Rooney. — 1st ed.
p. cm
ISBN 978-1-58648-773-7 (alk. paper)
1. American wit and humor. I. Title.
PN6162.R629 2009
814'.54—dc22
2009029909 First Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Timeline ix Introduction by Brian Rooney xv
Part I:
The Beginnings of a Writing Life 1
Drafted, 3
Meeting Marge, 15
A Missive to Marge from England, 19 Places of Business, 22
Combat, 34
Part II:
Mr. Rooney Goes to Work 49
Chairs, 51
Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner, 59 In Praise of New York City, 76 An Essay on War, 84
Part III:
A Few Decades with Andy Rooney 91
The Man Behind the Desk 93 Introducing Andy Rooney, 93
An Interview with Andy Rooney, 95
Sartorial Shortcomings, 97
vi Contents
A World-Class Saver, 99
Born to Lose, 102
My Name’s Been Stolen, 104
On Writing 106 There Is No Secret, 106
It’s a Writer Who Makes a Fool of Himself, 108
The Journalist’s Code of Ethics, 110
A Report on Reporting, 113
Big Business, 115
On Work and Money 118 Procrastination, 118
Fired, 121
Broke, 122
A Cash Standard,