tinued because of Calvin Trillin,nauthor of American Fried andnAlice, Let’s Eat, two clever booksnabout modern nutriments. Trillinnis also a columnist for ThenNation; his column is entitledn”Uncivil Liberties,” as is the collectionnof select pieces from thatnslot. Typically, Trillin deals withnpolitical subjects in his periodicalnjournalism: he is supposed tonbe funny. However, as much witnis manifest in most of his columnsnas is evidenced by thenselection of the title for thenbook. As food for thought—nwhich presumably the essays fornthat erudite journal are supposednto be—Trillin’s fare isnfit only for a Fifth AvenuenRamapithecus. DnPerceptiblesnMichael Ullman: Jazz Lives;nPerigee Books/Putnam; New York.nMr. Ullman’s title is hardly anrevelation, but he has composedna collection of profiles of and interviewsnwith an impressivengroup of performers or kibitzersnwho are either still on the jazznscene, or have recently left it duento the inevitability of fate. Henknows his subject and loves it,nwhich—of course—gives himnthe ability to generate interestnamong all those who share withnhim the proud label of jazznaficionado.nArthur Plotnik: The Elementsnof Editing: A Modem Guide fornEditors and Journalists; MacmiUan;nNew York.nThis slender volume is boundnto elicit chuckles and nods ofnagreement from seasoned editorsnas they recognize Mr. Plotnik’sndelineations of the personalityntypes (compulsive, neurotic,nfanatic) and situationsn(frantic, frenetic) with whichnthey, themselves, have copednover the years. For beginningneditors—indeed, for anyone innthe myriad phases of journalismn—Elements provides a generalnmanual or guide—a sort of “Intronto Editing 101.” Mr. Plotnikncovers every major phase of editingnboth books and periodicalsnas well as such adjunct functionsnas photography and the selectionnof artwork. Among hisnworthwhile tips is a listing of referencenbooks of value to any seasonednor aspiring editor—certainlynMr. Plotnik’s volumenshould be on that shelf, too.n(RW)nBest Editorial Cartoons of thenYear: 1982 Edition; Edited bynCharles Brooks; Pelican PublishingnCo.; Gretna, Louisiana.nAn ad that often serves as anfiller in the pages of daily newspapersnstates: “Read an editorialntoday.” While that declarationnis simply motivated by page layoutnrequirements, it is one thatncan loose a sting of remorse.nAfter all, responsible, intelligentnreaders turn immediatelynfrom the front page to the editorialnpage, with no detour at thencomics. Still, many of those conscientiousnreaders are quite likenthe resporiding student in thenold joke: “What do you likenmost about school?” “Lunch.”nThus the cartoon on the editorialnpage, “political” in most cases,nbut not always (e.g.. The WallnStreet Journal). This collectionncontains more than 360 editorialncartoons that range in subjectnmatter from Reaganomics tonCharles and Diana, from MXnmissiles to medflies. The wordnbest in any title, whether it be onna book or restaurant sign, is a keynthat things aren’t always up tonsnuff. This case is no different.nThe lack of selections from PatnOliphant and Jeff MacNelly—orneven Jules Feiffer (to be fair)—isna fly in an otherwise tasty soup.nHarold Litidsell: Free Enterprise:nA Judeo-ChristiannDefense; Tyndale House; Whcaton,nIL.nAs Dr. Lindsell explains in hisnpreface. Free Enterprise is an attemptn”to simplify the intricaciesnof economics, Marxism,nthe idea of freedom, and thenreasons why Western civilizationnhas come to its present state” sonthat they may be accessible ton”as many lay people as possible.n” Accordingly, in his discussionsnof the firmly scripturalnJudeo-Christian tradition ofnprivate ownership, of the hypocriticalnduplicity of “socialistnChristians” and “liberationntheologians,” of the inevitablenabridgment of liberty under socialism,nand of the persistentnfailure of socialism to fulfill itsnpromises or even to abide fornlong by its own principles, Lindsellnprimarily summarizes argumentsnmade more trenchantlynand with more scholarly rigornelsewhere. Nevertheless, sincenacademics and economists arennot the only Americans whonwould feel “the yoke of socialism”nif leftists were to prevail,nthe effort to popularize thenmoral, religious, and intellectualnrationale for free enterprisenis laudable. (BC)nnnPhyllis Meras: Carry-OutnCuisine; Houghton Mifflin; Boston.nFrom A (Abbondanza) to Zn(Zabar’s), the gourmet-food industrynis thriving. In what thenmedia tell us are severe economicnstraits—and those in the unemploymentnlines will confirm thatn—still there are many who bothncan and will pay premium pricesnfor well-prepared, often exotic,nfare for their tables. In her verynbrief introductions to eachnrecipe obtained from these specialtynshops, Ms. Meras relates ansnippet of information aboutnthe establishment from which itncame. Often included are thenbackgrounds of the proprietorsnand a little name-dropping ofnpatrons (Ethel Kennedy, LenanHome, Henry Kissinger). Takenntogether, it tells a tale of life (fornsome, anyway) in America of then1980’s. For instance, it bespeaksna society in which the food andntransportation industries havencombined to make availablenyear-round virtually any foodstuffnimaginable. (Who can affordnto pay for the fruits of thisntechnology, of course, is anothernmatter entirely.) The selection ofndishes in Carry-Out Cuisine alsonseems to indicate that, at leastnamong the elite, the meat-andpotatoesnmeal is a thing of thenpast—no meatloaf recipes orntips for perfect mashed potatoesnhere. Instead, there is an abundancenof instruction for preparingnpates, salads, quiches. Nonsurprise—after all, RalphnLauren and Perry Ellis don’tndesign their fashions in “added-nMH^MS7nJanuary 1983n