Never Shake Hands with a War Criminal is a personal and political history told with acid humor and a loving heart. Barry Crimmins, a writer and commentator on Air America Radio, travels from a skeptical childhood in frozen upstate New York, through the founding of the Boston comedy scene, to a career as a satirist and activist. No villain is spared, no hero is forgotten. Crimmins also cuts a hilarious swath through our political tormentors,in the spirit of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Lenny Bruce.

Like me, Barry Crimmins grew up in Skaneateles, New York (he defines Skaneateles as "an Indian name meaning 'small lake surrounded by fascists', "which is about right). His annual political roundup used to be a fixture on the Boston comedy scene. —geoff