Big Babies Michael Kinsley (Morrow, $23) For those who just can't get enough of other people's opinions, liberal pundit extraordinaire Michael Kinsley — who was recently named editor of Microsoft's new online magazine and who has not one but three print pulpits (TIME, The New Republic, and The New Yorker) — has gathered up some of his best columns to provide a neat encapsulation of one man's thoughts from early 1986 to March 1995. The subjects span administrations, countries, and issues social, political, and economic; the essays range in tone from wry irony to somewhat serious concern to outright sarcasm. There is, for example, the Kinsley take on afternoon talk shows. There are also pieces on political spin-meisters, the abortion debate, and whether George Bush is a nice person. Entertaining and trenchant though he may be, Kinsley has a tendency to whine. And whining can grate on the reader. Still, Kinsley deserves our attention. B+ -- Vanessa V. Friedman
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