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Richard Pryor, Cactus Pryor. University of Texas Press, $19.95 (176pp) ISBN 978-0-292-76567-2

A radio essayist in Austin, Tex., since the end of WWII, Pryor here collects some 40 of his pieces, most of them sentimental, some mildly humorous, a few hard-hitting. There are interviews with Jane Fonda, John Wayne and James Michener, the last a standout; reminiscences of Lyndon Johnson, Bob Hope and John Connally, whom Pryor recalls in a maudlin tribute that will bring no lumps to the throats of those who did not view the late U.S. Treasury secretary through a veil of Texophilia. There are interesting travel essays, especially the author's visit to a leper colony in Hawaii. Pyror lacks the prickliness of his Texan colleagues Molly Ivins and John Henry Faulk, and one wonders how he garnered his nickname. (Oct.)