Whether they're actors or singers, politicians or statesmen, famous folks have no choice but to stand squinting in the limelight as their odd and offbeat exploits become fodder for scrutiny. Author Bob Fenster has captured all their hilarious, behind-the-scenes antics in They Did What!? Consider, for example: The Beach Boys originally wanted to call their group the Pendletons, so they could get free shirts from the Oregon clothing manufacturer;

"Cleaning is the most boring, pointless way to spend your time that ever existed," writes author Mary McHugh. Just think of all the wonderful things you could be doing instead:

• You could be learning to play the clarinet.
• You could plant a lilac bush.
• You could be riding a motorcycle down Main Street.

And although the house, your clothes, the children, and dog have to be cleaned sometime, Clean This! shows you how to get

An illustrated and humorous look into the innermost thoughts of animals, who turn out to be a lot like humans.

As its cover suggests, The A to Z of Being British is an acerbic take on the state of modern Britain.

Funny, insightful and ever-so-slightly non-PC, the book is split into 70 alphabetic sections. It covers a range of topics from the generic (e.g. democracy) to the specific (e.g. Jeremy Clarkson) and from the perennial (e.g. Wimbledon) to the very topical (e.g. banks). I'm very fair in my criticism, being equally disgusted with everyone and everything

We all need a good laugh now and then, especially at the expense of a big-shot politician who opens his or her mouth and removes all doubt about their inherent idiocy, their lovable lunacy, or their daffy demeanor that again and again makes them a late-night-TV punchline. And when it comes to goofy gaffes and dimwitted declarations, nobody does it better than America's most beloved uncle figure, smilin' Joe Biden.

Biden at his verbally vapid