For many years -- through two marriages and God knows how many moves -- I have kept a moldering issue of PLAYBOY for the simple reason that I didn't want to turn loose of one of my all-time favorite examples of the New Journalism, Ed McClanahan's "Grateful Dead I Have Known." It's THAT good. That landmark piece and other tasty goodies have been collected into McClanahan's MY VITA, with Ed providing some new bridging material describing his growth as a writer. It's a pity he's not a more widely recognized writer. If you dig Terry Southern, Charles Portis, or Hunter S. Thompson, you'll like Ed McClanahan. If you're of that bent, I'd snatch up this book before it falls out of print.