Collected from earlier books and from The New Yorker, this is Gibbs' own selection from his thirty years of writing and ""the part (of his output) that pleases me most"" should be good enough for any of his admirers. There are sections on Parodies Regained, in which manner and matter are unmercifully and elegantly pilloried, (Time and Luce, Hemingway, Huxley and others); scathing profiles of Woollcott, Dewey, Lucius Beebe and more; there are stories and articles, essays and book and theater reviews -- all providing an excellent opportunity to watch a masterly scalpel at work. Criticism, precision and taste, a wit and humor with a fine edge, this makes Gibbs a special delight.