Books: Hands Across the Sea

BURKE'S PRESIDENTIAL FAMILIES OF THE UNITED STATES Edited by HUGH MONTGOMERY- MASSINGBERD 676 pages. Arco. $39.95.

Jeeves, another gin stengah. A treasure, Jeeves is. Been with the club since the flood. Where was I? Ah, yes. Books. Haven't read but one since Oxbridge. Burke's Peerage. Breeders' guide to British nobility. Smashing heraldry: gules argent, lions rampant, bars sinister, all that drill. Snob's bible, they call it—the envious ones. For those of us who can trace our lineage back to Ethelred the Unready, it's—well, it's sort of a—er —bible. Meaning no disrespect, padre. Since the Empire's gone to the demnition bowwows, there's...

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