Ambition: How We Manage Success and Failure Throughout Our Lives

Brim, director of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Mid-Life Development, here delivers an antidote to the rat race and a meditation on ambition, rather than a how-to-succeed primer to placate those who haven't yet realized their dreams. In so doing, he strips away sundry myths: ``The Second Chance'' (there may not be one); ``Late Blooming'' (seldom); ``Hard Work Rewarded'' (don't count on it). And he cautions us that success is often empty--and that it's harder to attain in a shrinking economy. Tip O'Neill, William Faulkner and Russell Baker are among those who present their wit and wisdom on achievement or the lack of it. Oddly, we hear no word from those whose hard work has been rewarded with MacArthur prizes. (Mar.)