Sincerely, Andy Rooney Book

A professional reviewer once called Rooney's style "distinctive whining," and reading through this book of deliberately undated letters reminded me of a long-ago attempt to tackle that masterpiece of satiric pessimism, Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary (1911). Even Bierce, clever as he was, stops being funny after the first dozen pages. There's just so much "distinctive whining" one can take.

Although Rooney does provide the reader with some idiosyncratic humor, the tone of constant complaint is soon wearing. Go lend an ear to some grumpy old men at the local senior center. They won't be as articulate as Rooney, but they will have just as much logical basis for their prejudices, and their complaints will at least have the benefit of being up-to-date.