Common Nonsense [Hardcover]

Andy Rooney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 2002

Straight-talk and big laughs from the bestselling author of My War and Sincerely, Andy Rooney. Andy Rooney's Sunday evening observations on 60 Minutes are an American institution, shaping the way people see everything from coffee percolators to the state of the nation. Rooney's books, most recently the bestselling My War and Sincerely, Andy Rooney, offer his fans the chance to dig deeper into his life and views. Now, Rooney offers up another extended look at the country he lovesenough to criticize. Shouldn't a family of four be able to afford a night at the baseball stadium? Why do political conservatives often preempt the term "Christian" for themselves when the Democratic philosophy comes closer to biblical advice on how we should conduct our lives? And why do some of our heroes keep disappointing us by turning out to be dishonest, corrupt, attracted to sexual perversion or in some other way wanting in the virtues we admire?Common Nonsense is Andy Rooney at his best-acerbic, teasing, witty, insightful, and wise. Each chapter is devoted to a topic close to his heart-food, morality, money, sports, home and work life, government, politics, health, doctors, and the English language. And we get an inside peek at Rooney as a person, including a whole raft of contradictions. A chronic procrastinator, he'll clean the garage to avoid sitting in front of the typewriter (yet he still makes the weekly deadline for his newspaper columns). Even when there's a major world crisis, he turns first to the sports page (but then he'll support U. S. intervention in Bosnia). If you like Andy Rooney, you've got to read Common Nonsense. It's that simple.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

He's at it again. In his inimitable style, the 60 Minutes commentator and bestselling author picks apart the stuff of our lives-from the ordinary to the extraordinary-to get to the heart of the matter. Whether it be chairs that are too small for comfort, or why Americans have trouble understanding the Koran, no subject is too small or too grand for Rooney to scrutinize. The 154 essays are, he says, "a reflection of a flawed brain with a capacity for being interested in more things than it can comprehend." Hilariously funny at times, Rooney also takes a tender turn and despairs at some of the sadder aspects of American life. He laments the decline of family farms, yet marvels at the beauty of their crumbling barns: "It's sad to see something so noble as a barn die a slow and painful death." He has precise, sometimes surprising-and rarely nonsensical-insights into dieting ("If you're going to lose weight, you can't be sensible about it. You have to do something extreme"), Jimmy Stewart as war hero ("He was a bomber pilot in WWII and he did it better than he acted") and religion ("The Catholic church has never officially recognized that sexual desire cannot be suppressed by resolve). Though rambling at times, this is a funny, touching, charming work that will be welcome alongside Rooney's previous collections; his take on the annoyances and joys of humanity always hit home.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Oh, sure, people like to make fun of Andy Rooney, just as he pokes fun at American life and customs from his desk-front vantage point on the 60 Minutes television show. But people sure do read his books, and both My War (1995) and Sincerely, Andy Rooney (1999) have landed on the best-sellers lists. His latest book is a collection of 153 short essays about--everything! In them, he comes across just like he does on TV: grumpy and irritable but also witty and avuncular. These essays are arranged into 14 broad categories, including food and drink, politics, sports, entertainment and the arts, and travel. Rooney waxes on about sentiments easy to agree with, such as, "Tops of jars and bottles are hard to take off" and "Common courtesy has all but disappeared in many public places." However, he also focuses on aspects of American life we may not have thought of but certainly can stand to be reminded about, such as, "A well-built barn is a thing of beauty. . . . The bad news is, wooden barns, like farmers, are disappearing." And there are topics we actually want him to rail against, such as when he insists that "advertising is out of control but so is packaging." Actually, he's more a humorous than an activist-type essayist, but we need all the humor we can get in this dysfunctional world. Expect considerable demand for this sure-fire best-seller. Brad Hooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1st edition (October 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586481444
• ISBN-13: 978-1586481445
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Andy Fans Will Love It, February 3, 2003

By 

Wesley Mullins (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Common Nonsense (Hardcover)

Like most people, I really enjoy Andy's segments at the end of 60 Minutes, but this book was my introduction to his written word. I quickly determined there isn't much of a difference. Each little piece is like something he would say on air, and his voice could be heard in my head as I made my way through his commonly known form of crafting an essay.

I suggest reading this book over an extended period of time. Don't try to read it all in one weekend. He deals with some fascinating ideas that should be given appropriate time for reflection. I would read about ten pages per day, and in those essays, I would find two or three that would stay with me for a while. His greatest quality is his truly independent voice. I find it refreshing that his pieces on popularly discussed issues aren't littered with the same jargon and tired old arguments that are found in works by most pundits.

One last thing...I keep hearing people refer to Andy as grumpy and cantankerous. If I find myself intrigued and persuaded by many of his essays, does that make me grumpy as well?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Andy Rooney., December 16, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Common Nonsense (Paperback)

I enjoyed every page of this book. One critique is for the book's editors, not for Mr. Rooney: numerous small errors divert the reader's attention. Mr. Rooney deserves better. But if you enjoy Andrew Rooney (he writes that he prefers "Andrew"), you'll love this book and will already be waiting for the next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Common Nonsense, September 12, 2010

By 

Mark - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Common Nonsense (Paperback)

I first seen Andy Rooney's book 'Years of Minutes' while using a facility at a friend's house and was extremely interested. So I orderered this book. Very Good Stuff!