Enough's Enough (And Other Rules of Life) [Paperback]

Calvin Trillin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In these 77 wide-ranging essays, selected from his syndicated column "Uncivil Liberties" and dating from 1987 to 1990, Trillin is clever and funny much more than half the time--a remarkably high average. The targets of his wit and scorn include Donald Trump, the "humble roots" of Senator Bob Dole, word processor spell-checks, teenage talk, telephone solicitors who call you by your first name, George Bush's trying to be taken for a regular guy and Ronald Reagan's selective deafness. Trillin tells what to do if you have a cockroach in your computer; exhorts you to send in, at the expense of the magazines, blank subscription cards; and advises Canada to deny that there's any such thing as a cold front. Virtually irresistible.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In spite of the frowns from the faithful, one is compelled to ask if enough isn't enough--at least for a while. How many of these triennial (or so) round-ups of Trillin's syndicated columns (in this case covering the years 1987 to 1990) does the typical library need to stock? There isn't a great deal to be said for or against this latest entry into the anthology sweepstakes. There are no new ingredients, no innovations in method. Trillin is still as discursive as the Walrus, though far less paradoxical. Out of everyday stuff he is able to spot things the ordinary eye misses. He is sprightly, nimble, and clever, but he never plunges very far beneath the surface. There is no investigation of whys and wherefores--things just are. Only for the definitive Trillin collection. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/90.
- A.J. Anderson, Graduate Sch. of Lib. & Information Science, Simmons Coll., Boston
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Mariner Books (February 10, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395611601
• ISBN-13: 978-0395611609
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,540,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never enough from this cumudgen, July 24, 2004

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ENOUGH'S ENOUGH (Hardcover)

Have you heard about the Retentive family of Canada? That's not their real name,it's just what Calvin Trillin dubbed them after reading somewhere that there was a family of four that produced only three bags of garbage a year.Trillin seems to excell in writing about the obvious,odd and ponderable. If he didn't display (quietly)such a sense of humor,I would
suspect he was the neighborhood "Hey you kids, get off my lawn",guy. Every neighborhood has one, the guy who vigilantly guards his lawnagainst attacks by footballs, frisbees and the damages caused by 42 pound children cutting across the corner). Actually, Mr. Trillin is a sane voice in these times when we are bombarded with information and seem to have lost the ability to sort through the drivel think for ourselves. When asked about childcrearing advice he opines "get one that doesn't spit up." This collection of his syndicated columns is sure to delight,amuse,irritate and to make you think.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun., March 24, 2006

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ENOUGH'S ENOUGH (Hardcover)

Calvin Trillin is a delightfully funny writer, somewhat reminiscent of Dave Barry with a touch of Mike Royko thrown in. This book was written around the end of the 1980s, so some of the topics are a bit dated. This is no problem for those of us not only old enough to remember the late '80s, but old enough to find it hard to believe that they were really almost 20 years ago (wasn't all of that just the other day?) but younger readers might wonder what some of the columns were actually about. This makes it not only funny, but educational. Good for the young whippersnappers to discover that the world was already darned silly back in the dark ages. Maybe some of them will actually look up some of the topics and learn something. Maybe pigs will fly.