The Tenacity of the Cockroach: Conversations with Entertainment's Most Enduring Outsiders
Here are two quirky and entertaining collections of celebrity  profiles. Since 1993, The Onion's entertainment section, "The  Onion A.V. Club," has regaled millions with its profiles of  artists and entertainers whose stars are not necessarily on the  media ascendant. Section editor Thompson has culled some 68 of  them from the last decade, arranged by tone into ten chapters.  The dazzling diversity of entertainers and personalities on  parade includes Merle Haggard, Elvira, Bob Barker, Joan Jett,  James Elroy, Jello Biafra, Ron Jeremy (discussing his penis  size), Mr. T., "Weird Al" Yankovic, The Unknown Comic, Henry  Rollins (from whom the title is derived), and, wonderfully, Tom  Lehrer. Repeated interviews with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross,  the brain trust of HBO's beautiful Mr. Show, and occasional  observations from "Weird Al" provide a throughline. An excellent  choice for all libraries.  Zehme (Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman),  writes director Cameron Crowe in his foreword, is "the King of  the First Sentence." Journalist to the stars for the past 20  years, he has accrued an amazing list of celebrity profile  credits in, among other high-profile magazines, Rolling Stone,  Esquire, Playboy, and Spy. The 25 reprinted pieces collected  here, all of which are introduced by Zehme with trenchant  comments and observations, reveal his playful irreverance,  openly breezy style, and talent for turning guarded deified  personalities inside out. If The Onion favors stars whose A-list  status has waned, Zehme's milieu is the rarefied air of the most  famous, and so we are fated to spend time with the likes of  Sinatra, Seinfeld, Letterman, Leno, Schwarzenegger, Madonna, and  Howard Stern. Despite its racey and promising subtitle, Zehme  prefers to dish rather than dis. More often than not, in fact,  he is openly sympathetic with his charges. Fun, informative, and  dead-on perfect for insatiable stargazers.Barry X. Miller,  Austin P.L., TXCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.