BOOKS
KING EDWARD VIII by Philip Ziegler (Knopf; $24.95). The great crown-for-love scandal gets a decidedly unromantic treatment in this diplomatic but by no means flattering portrait of the moonstruck Duke of Windsor, the man who gave up his throne for a career as the husband of American-born Wallis Simpson.
A DANGEROUS WOMAN by Mary McGarry Morris (Viking; $19.95). This searching novel about a woman who is one of life's losers creates a character who is crazy enough to be interesting and sane enough to describe her own incompetence.
I AM A TEACHER: A TRIBUTE TO AMERICA'S TEACHERS by David Marshall Marquis and Robin Sachs (Simon & Schuster; $29.95). In this chronicle of the nation's best teachers, 78 classroom veterans speak thoughtfully, sometimes passionately, of their profession's rewards and sorrows; accompanied by Sachs' evocative photographs.
TELEVISION
LUCY & DESI: BEFORE THE LAUGHTER (CBS, Feb. 10, 9 p.m. EST). Frances Fisher and Maurice Benard, winners of CBS's anyone-can-star contest, play the former First Couple of Comedy in a TV movie about their "loving but stormy" marriage.
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KISSES (TNT, Feb. 11, 8 p.m. EST). Ted Turner keeps finding new ways to mine his extensive movie collection: Lauren Bacall is the host of this lighthearted documentary on the history of the movie kiss.
MUSIC
PAUL MCCARTNEY: TRIPPING THE LIVE FANTASTIC (Capitol). Could McCartney's 1990 world tour have been as good as this larky, occasionally inspired live set makes it sound? Missed it? Check out these two CDs, and let some older memories kick in.
THE TRASH CAN SINATRAS: CAKE (Go! Discs Ltd./London). Nice name, guys. But you already knew that. Actually, these five English lads lay down an excellent brand of pub pop: simple, insinuating melodies, lyrics with propulsive good humor. Has the guy from Hoboken heard you yet?
SCHONBERG: CHORUS
MUSIC (Sony Classical). Arnold Schonberg's reputation for atonality, serialism and 12-tone composition has created widespread resistance to his work, some of which is indeed forbidding. But if converts to his remarkably disparate choral music are to be won, these authoritative Pierre Boulez-led performances ought to do the job.
THEATER
LOST IN YONKERS. Neil Simon elevated himself from jokester to artist in an autobiographical trilogy during the mid-1980s. He returns to themes from his youth in his 26th Broadway-bound play, now at Washington's National Theater.
TRU. Robert Morse brings back to life the author, wit, bon vivant, self-pitier and true enchanter that was Truman Capote in this Tony-winning one-man performance, now on national tour, in Los Angeles through March 10.
GRAND HOTEL. The main reason to see this show on Broadway was Tommy Tune's sinuous staging, superbly fitted to its space. On tour, this week in Cleveland, it looks at once distant and squashed. The only compelling performance is by Brent Barrett as a doomed, down-on-his-luck aristocrat.