Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex, and Hair

A self-proclaimed ''multiculti''-daughter of Jewish writer Hettie Jones and black poet Amiri Baraka-Lisa Jones ponders the current lifestyles of what she calls ''hyphen Americans'' and brings to vigorous life her two 'hoods-New York's Lower East Side and Brooklyn. In the essays Bulletproof Diva: Tales of Race, Sex and Hair, collected mainly from her monthly Village Voice column, she tackles a myriad of topics, offering teasing views on Mariah Carey, J. Crew catalogs, Barbie dolls, Waiting to Exhale, and skin-fading cream, and quite possibly the first expose of a newly burgeoning hair trade (no kidding!). Brought up to revel in ''difference as pleasure,'' Jones confronts race issues with refreshing exuberance and wit. A-