To a certain degree I can enjoy zany antics just as much as the next guy. And I am glad that Wambaugh at least tries to put some humor into his novels. But sometimes one has to wonder if he is trying to model his humor on (or is it after?) the Three Stooges. I enjoyed reading this novel, but I am not about to take it seriously. I wonder what would happen if Wambaugh ever co-authored a mystery novel with Patricia Cornwell in which one of his versions of a cop worked closely with Kate Scarpetta (in her current paranoid, very near nervious, and very mental, breakdown condition) in trying to solve an intriguing and highly invoved case.

Wambaugh has a flair for scriptwriting equal to Quinton Tarantino at his best. He's brutal, sly, topical, sharp, intense and outrageous all at the same time. This novel can be a bit silly at times, but never does it become stale. "Finnegan's Week" should appeal to readers of a wide variety of tastes, and I'm surprised that Wambaugh doesn't have a larger following than he has. His plots weave in and out, and he always finds a unique way to bring it all together at the end. His razor-sharp wit sets him apart from the rest of the thriller writers out there. A great, fun read with a superior style.

Wambaugh delivers as usual in this funny, exciting tale of an cop who's an aspiring actor (and who's facing midlife crises as only an actor wannabe can) while in the middle of investigating a truck theft that turns out to also involve a theft from a Naval warehouse as well as a load of missing toxic waste. His case brings him into contact with two tough and sexy Policewomen, each with her own private and professional agenda. Will Fin Finnegan (the cop-actor-hopeful) get the part he's trying out for? Will he survive a week filled with too much booze, a murderous sociopath business owner, a druggy biker turned trucker, and two beautiful women who both seem as interested in him as they are in the case at hand? This is typical Wambaugh in that the horrors and sadness of the crimes and victims are not treated lightly, yet (like the good cops who frequent his novels) our only salvation from evil is to laugh at his sometimes mordant humor and wit. One of Wambaugh's strengths is his ability to gradually make his characters sympathetic and likeable, sometimes even when they're not the good guys. I rate this as one of Wambaugh's best novels, and that's saying something, since in my opinion he's never written a bad one. I wish he would recover his muse and write some more fiction in the vein of this novel and FUGITIVE NIGHTS. It's been a while since he's come out with any novels. A shame, because no one else writes about police life in quite the same way.

A five star rating for the humor, characters, and the suspense.

Any book that describes Day Crockett as "the strangest man I ever saw. He had the face of a woman, and his manner was that of a girl" is going to capture my attention. That description appears in "Eccentrics" followed by the qualification that, as the Alamo fell, Crockett "looked grand and terrible, shouting at the front door and fighting a whole column of Mexican infantry."

The authors, who may be a bit eccentric themselves, first define eccentricity, then supply multiple examples arranged in such categories as: The Scientists, Eccentric Childhood, and Sexual Eccentricity (the latter being not quite as titillating as it sounds). They also examine the borderline between eccentricity and mental illness (a fine one) as well as some peculiarities, such as arrested speech development, relating it to eccentricity.

An interesting read, the only latent problem in the book is that, after reading it, you may find yourself looking at some of your acquaintances with different eyes (not to mention yourself.) On the other hand, you might use it as a springboard to finding and developing the eccentric parts of your own character.

I found this book to be fun and rather inspiring. It is grand to read about people who have actually managed to throw off the expectations and limitations of society. I recommend it to anyone who is curious about variations from the standard solutions. Also, I'd like to say that eccentricity offers another take on creativity... one that is structurally different than that provided by the art world. So if you are looking for an alternative foundation for art/writing/invention, you'll find insights between the lines of this book.

At last I can begin to understand my weirdness. Now I know that there is a word to describe my pyschological condition: eccentric. But the authors go at lengths to point out that this is much different from a mental illness. In fact, eccentrics are healthier than normal and show less schizophrenic signs. I would go as far as saying that we are extra sane. (Though my personal theory of pyschology is that *everyone is 'insane') It's not negative at all, in fact (pp.19) "Human evolution needs human eccentricity." Eccentrics, besides being nonconforming, are also commonly scientists or artists--and either or neither are very creative. The researchers let us know that true eccentrics are never acting. They are strong individuals with strange inclinations of their own, which they are not afraid to express. With the study of eccentricity we may finally gain a better understanding of all the revolutionary figures in all walks of history from Jesus Christ to Albert Einstein. However, "for all practical purposes, as far as modern medicine is concerned eccentricity does not exist." Dr. David Weeks and Jamie James have take the first scientific approach to the mutations of social evolution. {i.e., eccentrics} Accordingly I give them a full rating of five stars and recommend this book to every human being.

David Weeks does a great job of searching out the superyoung and finding similarities among them. He also updates you on all the myths of aging that have been blown sky high by research in the last 10 years. The most powerful statement in the book came from an interview, "WHo says that our birthdate has to have anything to do with how old we are?" The profiles are the most engaging part of the book. His suggestions for what YOU can do are not quite as helpful or earthshaking, but you get the point. I enjoyed reading it as a self starter , but didn't come up with much to help an aging parent, who does not naturally come by that kind of energy.