THE HONEY BADGER by Robert Ruark. 569 pages. McGraw-Hill. $6.95.
Author Robert Ruark (Something of Value, Uhuru) died last July at the age of 49, and in this big, brawling blatantly autobiographical novel, completed a few months before his death, he has composed his own obituary.
The hero of the book is named Alec Barr. Like the author, he was born poor in North Carolina, went to college at Chapel Hill, hired on as a general reporter for the Washington Daily News, soon started a syndicated column, and in recent years made big money and a big name with a brace of bestsellers...