MOVING VIOLATIONS: WAR ZONES, WHEELCHAIRS, AND DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE

MOVING VIOLATIONS: WAR ZONES, WHEELCHAIRS, AND DECLARATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE John Hockenberry (Hyperion, $24.95) Hockenberry was a carefree college kid when he lost the use of his legs in a car accident. Overnight, his status changed from privileged, white suburban male to member of a vulnerable minority: paraplegic. This lively, provocative memoir charts his rise from Oregon cub reporter to National Public Radio correspondent. It's the classic American success story, minus the self-congratulation. Life's losers -- Vietnam vets in cheap, government-issue wheelchairs, Gaza Strip refugees, his own severely retarded uncle -- inspire Hockenberry's gritty, original reporting. He makes our obsession with getting ahead, self-reliance, and the illusion of normalcy look foolish and out of date. A