siveness,” and besides that, when thentot went to school, the other kids mightngive her a hard time about the namenStranger. But Mountain Spring? Nonproblem.nSlavin was a hero to Ffrenchy’s peers.nHe was antiestablishment and againstnthe war—a real guru. But what he triednto tell them about political consciousnessnwas generally lost in transmission,nand their feedback and lifestyle werenequally confusing to Slavin. Yet thesenare the children of the Utopia which henhad a hand in building. They deserveneach other.nJohanna Kaplan has done a commendablenjob in 0 My America! Althoughnshe does seem to hesitate andnpull back at both the beginaing and endnof the novel (offering almost an apologianfor Ez Slavin), the center holds together.nAnother fine work comes from thensecond city of America. Childhood andnOther Neighborhoods, by Stuart Dybek,nis a collection of stories primarily aboutngrowing up in a Polish neighborhood innChicago. Dybek is a perceptive observernof the little things that, in the aggregate,ncomprise one’s life. These are not storiesnof epiphany or of passage rites, but studiesnof life. Those who grew up in the type ofnarea he describes—or who spent anyntime in one—will smile with a recognitionnof events and attitudes. Thosenwho never had the experiences will benintroduced to them, and they are somethingnthat should not be missed.nDybek does not deal with social ornpolitical “issues” as such. One storyndoes concern a social worker, but itndeals with an individual’s approach tonthe problem of charity: how can thenworker justify not handing out all ofnhis wages in the form of “spare change”nto the people in the neighborhood innwhich he works? Generally, this bookngives one the feeling of George Orwellnmeeting Donald Barthelme.nMany of the stories deal with thendown and out, outsiders or those whon10nChronicles of Culturenare overlooked by the urban-renewalnenthusiasts who rip up neighborhoodsnwith monies from federal grants. Onenstory, “The Palatski Man,” follows thenragmen, hobos and peddlers to wherenthey go after a long day on the streetsnof the city. It’s the type of thing Orwellnwrote about in 1931. “The Apprentice”nfollows a young boy and his uncle asnthey scavenge the city’s highways atndawn, collecting for a restaurant animalsnthat have been run over, as wellnas anything else they can find—a subjectnwhich one might expect to be handlednby Barthelme.nOther stories detail the changingnworld, how the old and new don’t flowninto each other, but have a chasm betweennthem. “Blood Soup” concernsnthe adventures of two young boys asnthey try to find some duck’s blood tonmake czarnina, a mixture that also includesncarrots, apples, prunes, flour,nsour cream, parsley and thyme. Theirngrandmother is dying, and she feels thatnthe soup will infuse new life into hernwasting body. Once a common staple,nit has become impossible to find, evennthough the boys go to incredible lengthsnin their search. This is the world ofnthe FDA and Campbell’s.nDybek is a talented writer of shortnstories. For the most part, his vignettesnhave so much integrity that trying tonparaphrase or discuss them is like tryingnto explain a joke: it just doesn’t work.nBut they serve to explain in their ownnway what urban America was—and isn—all about. They tell of things thatnshould not be forgotten. DnThe Weltanschauung MishmashnG. Gordon Liddy: Will: The Autobiographynof G. Gordon Liddy; St.nMartin’s Press; New York.nby James J. Thompson, Jr.nIhe G. Gordon Liddy Fan Clubncould probably meet in a telephonenbooth. A large hall would be requirednto accommodate those who rue the daynin 1930 that Mr. Liddy’s mothernbrought him into the world. Barring anreversal of that biological fact, Liddy’sndetractors would at least like to seenhim knocked down a notch or two.nThese people will be sorely disappointednwith Will: The Autobiography of G.nGordon Liddy, for the Gordon Liddy ofn1980 remains unbowed and unchastened,ndespite the ruin of a promisingncareer and over four years of incarcerationnin various federal penitentiaries.n”I became what I wanted to be.” Nonquarter asked, none given: G. GordonnLiddy, villain of Watergate and thenProfessor Thompson teaches history atnThe College of William and Mary.nnnman liberals love to hate.nDo we really need another book onnWatergate? Just about everyone savenRichard Nixon’s pastry chef has had hisnsay, and I fully expect that gentlemannto weigh in any day now with his account.n1, for one, am thoroughly wearynof the whole business, especially of thosenlugubrious tracts by self-righteous liberalsnwho believe that before Watergatensullied the record, the American politicalnarena was the playground of twelveyear-oldnvirgins in spotless white dressesn(Lyndon Johnson—wherever his soulnmay reside these days—must enjoy thisnimmensely). Were Liddy’s Will simplynanother rehash of Watergate, I wouldngladly pass it up in favor of an afternoonnof watching haircuts at the localnbarbershop. But Gordon Liddy—silentnso long while the John Deans and JebnMagruders whimpered and whined—nhas written a book that not only recountsnhis part in the swirling events that topplednRichard Nixon, but also paints anself-portrait that by turns elicits admirationnand provokes outrage.nUnder the aegis of the Committee ton