Mark Twain knew it: Truth is stranger than fiction -- but lies are far more interesting than truth.

And Howard Frank Mosher, as splendid a liar as Twain himself, might have delivered the most interesting book you'll read during the upcoming, three-year bicentennial of Lewis and Clark's 1804-06 expedition in search of the Northwest Passage.

But be forewarned: If you're among those humorless academics who believe history should not be trifled with by liars, you must certainly skip "The True Account: A Novel of the Lewis & Clark & Kinneson Expeditions," perhaps the funniest historical novel about the West since "Little Big Man."

Thanks to a recently discovered manuscript hidden for 200 years, we now know that Lewis and Clark were the first runners-up in the race to the Pacific Ocean. The adventurer who beat them (just barely)? Private True Teague Kinneson, a Vermont schoolmaster, veteran of the Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys, playwright, inventor, narco-agronomist and explorer.

Wearing a belled nightcap to cover the copper plate screwed into his skull (a prosthetic made necessary by a life-altering blow sustained while drinking rum with Ethan Allen), a suit of chain-mail, galoshes and an Elizabethan codpiece, Private Kinneson begins his journey with his artistic nephew, Ticonderoga, into terra incognita.

Why? He wishes to teach Indian tribes of the West how to cultivate hemp, which he describes as "That panacea for all the spiritual ills of mankind." Oh, and to beat Lewis and Clark.

Along their path to the Pacific, True and Ti encounter highwaymen, hostile and not-so-hostile Indians, horny women, cannibals, a circus of freaks, and some of the great real-life people of the day, such as Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone (and his frisky daughter Flame), and Sacagawea.

And in the midst of his frolic, our American Quixote invents rodeo, baseball and a marvelous hot-air balloon; discovers Yellowstone; and outwits the Devil Himself.

Private True Teague Kinneson is every mythic traveler who ever believed the shortest distance between two points was a dream, from Odysseus to Gulliver to his beloved Quixote. And like the Cervantes masterpiece, this boisterously funny novel is more picaresque than poignant, although like any good farce, it occasionally plucks the readers heart-strings as well as his funny-bone.

Great parodies resonate at the precise moment we are taking ourselves to seriously (do we really need three exhaustive years to celebrate Lewis and Clark?) Mosher's voice is pitch-perfect, satirical without being too sardonic. And Private True Teague Kinneson just might find his rightful place in American letters somewhere between Gus McCrae and Forrest Gump.

OK, it's worth noting that the national epic of Lewis and Clark's expedition surveyed the continent's resources, made contact with many Indian tribes living there, found a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, explained the flora and fauna of the region, created one of the first true Native American heroines, helped build a transcontinental nation, and ... blah blah blah. It was serious business for Captains Lewis and Clark. You can look it up, in all its breathless, geo-political, bio-diverse, Ambrose-flakking, socio-aggrandizing, -- and mind-numbing -- detail.

Who cares?

Private True Teague Kinneson reminds us that sometimes adventures, like books, are just for fun.

Human Resources staff should make this well written and compelling book mandatory reading for their management teams.

This book is based on the old DOS before there was Windows. Using Turbo-Pascal, the author leads you through writing routines that do many of the things that are now present in Windows. There are many separate utilities, each complete and self contained and a separate project. The book goes beneath DOS to peeking and poking into portions of the operating system - but makes it easy to comprehend. It won the Society for Technical Communication's second highest award internationally in 1989 - a clear indication of it's easy to understand style.

This is an easy to read and concise guide that weeds through all the media hype related to beauty and the fountain of youth creams and procedures out there. Dr. Frank and Dr Narins give a detailed review of all of the options for every problem area in order to look your best. Everything from prices, to risks, to real expected outcomes are included with dozens of beauty tips that keep you looking great simply and without the greater risks of invasive surgery. Anyone who ever considered having something done but was confused about where to start should start here.

I originally bought this book for my children when they were toddlers. They loved it and we practically wore it out. "That's what a wise turtle would do" became a slogan around our house meaning that you need not go to extreme positions, but should compromise ("But then again, maybe it's best if I keep my head out sometimes and sometimes pull it in."

I am a university administrator and started using the expression around my faculty to explain stubborn people who had a hard time adapting to changes in their environment. We even share it with our MBA students in a Management class.

Too bad it is out of print. If you can find it, you'll love it.

A unique visual history that traces the College's roots from its earliest beginnings throught the late 20th century. Over 190 black and white photos capture the Tusculum experience. From highlighting its famous presidents and faculty members, to showcasing the dramatic changes of the campus over the years, this book is overflowing with history. For Tusculum alumunis, former faculty and staff or any history buff, Tusculum College, Tennessee will be a trip down memory lane.

When I happened across a copy of this book recently, I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful illustrations which, for me, blended spiritually with the time-honored tradition of the original twelve steps. This is also true of the additional quotes from famous people that are included in this very simple, yet precious volume.

Twilight: 2000 was first developed in 1984 by the late and lamented Game Designer's Workshop (GDW), better known for the Traveller Role-Playing Game. In the game, the characters are soldiers in the US 5th Infantry Division, stranded when a Soviet counter-attack over-runs their unit in the last fitful offensive of WWIII. Suddenly alone -- way behind enemy lines -- the soldiers are forced to survive and attempt passage back to the receeding friendly lines. .....T2000 quickly became one of their core products, with many modules and supplements published ... The basic premise of the game was badly out of date by 1990, the time of this 2nd edition listing. The rewrite also incorporated numerous rule changes, streamlining play. (1st edition modules and supplements can be used with this edition with little trouble.) Watch out for "Version 2.2," with a 1993 copyright date. It is the last version of the game, and minor rule changes bring it in line with the other "House Rules" games, such as Traveller: The New Era and Dark Conspiracy (also fine games as well).

You will not find wit like this in many books. Besides the great humor it keeps you going. Rich writes a great detective story via the "1940s" attitude in a cynical future. Rich's characters portray a hedonistic society well.

George Bird Grinnell is in one point different from other historians of the Old West. He personnally knew many of the cele-brities of that age, and what is written in his books are found-ed upon their stories. Major Frank North and his brother,Captain Luther North /Grinnell's close friend/ commanded this unique force of Indian auxiliaries. Unique,because they never lost a fight or even a single life during the long line of their battles and skirmishes. They patrolled the building of the railway and fought in major battles like the one of the Summit Springs.Also an important part of the book is the short history of the Pawnee Nation and it serves as well as a biography of the North brothers.And all this is in the highly readable style of George Bird Grinnell with full of westernisms.