A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure More Humane Existence

In this scattershot jeremiad, Mate takes on virtually all of modernity, concluding with a romantic paean to country life. A one-time city dweller who now lives in Tuscany, the author criticizes houses (``huge, unused barns''), ``the myth of the steady job,'' corporate ownership, agricultural practices, cities and individualism--all in a shrill and hyperbolic prose style. He does have some worthy recommendations: why we should convert our lawns to gardens; how children should be taught defenses against advertising. But other ideas, like junking the television set (``Open an upstairs window . . . and throw the heinous sonovabitch as far as your arms let you!''), make him sound like a cranky Luddite. ``Most of you might dismiss this as the raving of some idealist,'' acknowledges the author; indeed, he courts that assessment. (Feb.)