pp. xxiii, 163. Illustrated with photos from Field's movies, state acts, and vaudeville routines. Fist issued in 1940, a presidential year, and Fields at the height of his popularity. The incumbent, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had very little to worry about from Fields the candidate. But Fields certainly offered a few nuggets of political wisdom in his book for the public to chew on. For example, he poked fun at one of FDR's major policies with this statement: "I shall, my fellow citizens, offer no such empty panaceas as a New Deal, or an Old Deal, or even a Re-Deal. No, my friends, the reliable old False Shuffle was good enough for my father and it's good enough for me." The book's chapters closely followed the typical issues that the on-screen Fields delighted in: 'My Views on Marriage'; 'How to Beat the Federal Income Tax - and What to See and Do at Alcatraz'; 'My Rules of Etiquette'; 'The Care of Babies'; 'How I have Built Myself into a Physical Marvel'; 'How to Suceed in Business'; Etc. An example from 'The Care of Babies': "I always carried a number of sterilized blindfolds, which I would casually place over a baby's eyes before I kissed it. This prevented its growth from being stunted through terror." The photos in this edition are quite remarkable. First photo illustrated edition. HUMOR 8
