Out of My Mind [Paperback]

Andy Rooney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

This is a new collection of writings by one of America's favourite commentators. Every Sunday evening in America, millions of viewers tune into 60 Minutes to hear Andy Rooney riff on everything from coffee percolators to the state of the union. Why? Because Rooney tells it like it is. But Rooney fans have never seen him quite like this. Andy Rooney is plain frustrated by what's going on in America and the world. Why can't Americans - let alone their President - speak English anymore? How does America expect to fight a terrorist enemy which can't be located? And when did capitalism go so terribly wrong? This book isn't all heady stuff though. Readers will also get Rooney's hysterical gripes about everyday foibles such as the impossibility of locating your driving license, of buying a genuinely healthy breakfast cereal, or of enjoying a college reunion. This is PublicAffairs' fifth collaboration with Andy Rooney, and it will be welcomed by his fans, and anyone who enjoys a laugh at life's little absurdities.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rooney, revered 60 Minutes commentator, weekly syndicated newspaper columnist, and best-selling author (most recently of Years of Minutes) delivers a collection of caustic, comic essays on topics ranging from the serious (Iraq, global warming) to the absurd (the outdated semi-colon, irritating cell phone ring tones) that proves he hasn't lost his cranky appeal. Written over the past four years, these highly opinionated and often chuckle-worthy vignettes are refreshingly candid and paint a fortified portrait of Rooney's frustrations with the state of the world. In 10 themed sections (including Daily Life, Politics and Sports), Rooney showcases his broad knowledge and voluminous gripes; though they won't dazzle the literati, Rooney's signature cynicism and stream-of-consciousness voice shine through. There is something for everyone in this collection: election junkies will find the petulant "Crab Grassroots Campaigning" particularly amusing; pack rats and recyclers alike will identify with "We're Wasting Away" (the perfect case of "sad, but true"); and those who just plain love Andy will cherish his quirky lists in "Things I Love to Hate" and "Things to Do Today." In the preface, Rooney asks himself, "How much do I have to say that anyone cares about reading?" Luckily for him-and for us-he has an entire book's worth.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The reader can almost hear Rooney's meandering delivery of his 60 Minutes commentaries in this essay collection. In his inimitable rambling but cogent style, Rooney delivers probing questions, sound observations, and occasional whimsy. Rooney concedes that he is no great writer, but he has a wry sense of the everyday life that puts both the large issues and the small stuff into perspective. The essays focus on philosophy, food and drink, work, politics, war, sports, money, his life, and the English language. In an essay on the enormous amount of trash Americans generate each day, he notes that when we speak of throwing things away, "there's really no such place as 'away.'" Rooney riffs on marriage statistics and adds some of his own "homemade statistics" as observations of the likelihood of lasting unions. Rooney also defends the profession of journalism, questions Tom Brokaw's assertion that Rooney's generation--who fought World War II--was the greatest, and wonders why so many Americans speak English so poorly. Rooney's observation on war: Americans learned more firsthand in a day about the progress of World War II than we will learn in a year about the current war as long as the military controls information. Responding to inquiries about when he will retire, Rooney declares: Never. "I am never happier than when I am working." Fans will adore this collection. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586485059
• ISBN-13: 978-1586485054
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #644,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andy ... never better!, November 4, 2006

By 

Bill Mack (Fort Worth, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of My Mind (Hardcover)

I have read most all of Andy Rooney's books and was looking forward to this, his latest. I must be honest, there was a bit of doubt in my mind. I am such a fan of this man via his "60-Minutes" input on CBS, his syndicated columns, and the various books --- all leading to the question, "Does Andy have the fuel for another outstanding collection to share with us on the printed pages?" No, I wasn't questioning his ability because of his age. Mr. Rooney is ageless! He simply gets better with the added years. Since most writers seem to reach a peak and begin to lose some steam after brainstorming for so long, there was some uncalled-for doubt that he could continue on the same level as in the past. Of course, it was idiotic of me to create such needless drab in my mind. After diving into OUT OF MY MIND, I quickly realized Andy Rooney has never been better. When referring to current issues pertaining to world affairs, he presents them with honesty, as if he's simply discussing some serious "happenings" while chatting with you in the living room ... or over cups of coffee in the kitchen. When projecting some of his personal thoughts, he makes you ask, "Why didn't I think of that?" Andy Rooney is needed as never before. He speaks our language! OUT OF MY MIND, like his other works, simply makes the day a lot better.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Am I Out Of My Mind For Reading It? No!, March 21, 2007

By 

D. Reinstein "marindavid" (Fairfax, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of My Mind (Hardcover)

I have been a faithful viewer of CBS' "60 Minutes" since it's inception. It is a basic part of my Sunday evening. For many years now - no, not from the beginning - the final piece has been Andy Rooney talking about - well, whatever Andy Rooney feels like talking about. Generally taking between 1 1/2 and 3 minutes (tops, I think), in a casually curmudgeonly way, comments on just about everything from politics, to economics - history to science - magic to silverware - marriage to dogs (no suggestion of direct correlation intended.) I haven't thought that every one of his pieces was wonderful or even worth listening to - but I have been consistently amazed at his ability to earn a VERY good living literally chattering about anything he likes for a couple of minutes a week. Astounding!

His success and notoriety on TV is paralleled by his many books of collections of these 'commentaries.' I believe that there are, as of now, at least ten of them. This review is of the most recent, "Out Of My Mind." The title is not about his concerns that he is crazy - it is rather a literal statement about where the material in the book came from!

The book is organized into ten parts, each of which contains a plethora of examples of Andy's verbal meanderings about matters large and small - about things of consequence and about what might generously be dubbed as trivia. Andy does both pretty well. Every once in a while, his wry humor is punctuated with comments that jolt the reader back to recalling that Rooney began his career in journalism as a reporter for the Stars and Stripes - the newspaper written for our servicemen while they were fighting their way through World War II. Even when he is being silly, we can feel the force of real life experience, pain and humanity under it all.

The Parts of this book are:
1. Daily Life
2. Feeling Philosophical
3. On Food and Drink
4. At Work and in The Newsroom
5. The Nation At War
6. On Politics
7. My Life
8. On Money
9. The English Language, and finally,
10.The Sports Fan.

A good deal of this collection of brief pieces, reflect his general concerns about the gradual 'dumbing down' of our society and institutions and about the deceptions created by our fellow human and then foisted onto the rest of us - at times all too easily. Whatever he speaks about has an earnest quality to it. If he's putting you on, you know it.

I think the essence of this book, which can be picked up and opened to just about any page randomly to read something brief and possible entertaining (it is a GREAT bathroom reader) is best characterized by Rooney himself when he says, in the Preface,

" One thing I know is, you can make an essay out of anything. There are times when I've written about subjects about which I know very little. A writer can do that. He has the advantage of being able to look things up, to ask questions of people more knowledgeable than he. He can sit back and think before writing anything down on paper. This puts the
writer one up on readers and often make him sound smarter than he is. I try to do that. It doesn't seem dishonest. I comb my hair and try to wear decent clothes so I'll look better than I would naked, so why shouldn't I write in a style that makes me sound smarter and more interesting than I really am?"

Like him or not, agree with him or disagree - his honesty is genuinely refreshing. He doesn't take himself too seriously - but there are some subjects - like war - that he definitely does. You can easily tell which is which.

For those of you who are Andy Rooney fans, this book will not surprise nor disappoint you. For those of you who have never seen his work in print before, it is a good volume to give him a try.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Class Act, December 9, 2006

By 

Mary Mcmahom - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Out of My Mind (Hardcover)

There are 176 essays in this book. I would like to teach a high school class for a year called "Andy". We would read one essay each day, discuss it and have the students write an essay. Imagine a class that taught critical thinking! It would never sell.