Diaghilev, By Richard Buckle (Atheneum. $22.95): For the same price you can take Amtrak--one way--to New York and see the Diaghilev exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But what then will you put on your coffee table? Though it makes a great living room conversation-piece, Buckle's work is also a splendid introduction to the Diaghilevian/magnificence on which much of Russia's cultural accomplishments in the first third of this century were based.
The Duke of Deception. Memories of My Father. By Geoffrey Wolff. (Random House, $12.95): His Pa is no Father Christmas. Wolff's father, Duke, is a con artist, a chronic debtor, a wanderer with illusions of grandeur, and an irresponsible parent to boot. A man only a son could love. Wolff's compassion is inspiring, though you may find his object of affection is less than deserving.
The White Album. By Joan Didion. (Simon and Schuster, $9.95): Written in Didion's usual cogent, vivid prose, this scrapbook of 1960s Americana is punctuated with insightful social commentary. But her series of epiphanies don't quite add up to the hoped-for unified masterpiece.
The Grab Bag
For the Reverent
Billy Graham: A Parable of American Righteousness. By Marshall Frady. (Little, Brown, $12.95): Frady knows a winner when he sees one. Just take a look at the subject for his latest book, Wallace. His choice of good guys might not be yours, but the book is well crafted at any rate. Frady supports the