It's been five years since Molly Ivins's last book, which is probably too long a time in the opinion of her many fans. But the intervening years have given the bestselling author and syndicated columnist some of the best raw material a political writer could ask for. The Republicans staged a revolution, Clinton was reelected, welfare "deform" swept the country, and the militia movement came out of the bunker: in short, it's been a banner time for Molly's brand of shoot-from-the-hip commentary and uproarious anecdotes.

You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You brings together a first-class collection of smart, spirited, and fiercely funny writings. From the wild and woolly politics of her native Texas to the waffling in the Oval Office, Molly exposes the fatuous and hypocritical at all levels of public life. Whether she's writing about the 1996 presidential candidates ("Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late that week"), conspiracy theorists ("Twenty-five years in the newspaper bidness have given me a fairly strong faith in the proposition that if you haven't read about it in The Daily Disappointment or seen it on the network news, it's probably not true"), or cultural trends ("I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately"), Molly takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.

"I can think of few causes more important than keeping free voices alive in a world of corporate media," Molly writes. She is one of those voices and a national treasure; as the Los Angeles Times put it, she is "H. L. Mencken without the cruelty, Will Rogers with an agenda." Whatever your political persuasion, you're bound to agree that Molly Ivins is one of the sharpest and most original commentators on the American scene today.

"Acerbic, down-home...Ivins is surely one of the nation's most adroit political commentators." People

"Punctures everything from the liberal conscience to Texas culture to media ethics." Chicago Tribune

"Fearless and funny." Atlanta Journal & Constitution

In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas — and hits a bull's-eye every time.

In her long-awaited new collection, the Colt Peacekeeper of American political

humor draws a bead on targets that range from the Libido-in-Chief to Newt

Gingrich, campaign funny-money to the legislative lunacy of her native Texas--and

hits a bull's-eye every time.

Whether she's writing about Bill Clinton ( The Rodney Dangerfield of

presidents ), Bob Dole ( Dole contributed perhaps the funniest line of the year

with his immortal observation that tobacco is not addictive but that too much

milk might be bad for us. The check from the dairy lobby must have been late

that week ), or cultural trends ( I saw a restaurant in Seattle that specialized

in latte and barbecue. Barbecue and latte. I came home immediately ), Molly

takes on the issues of the day with her trademark good sense and inimitable wit.

Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she writes about Texas politics and other bizarre happenings. Her column is nationally syndicated in nearly two hundred newspapers. Some of her other books are Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, which spent more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list, and Nothing but Good Times Ahead. Her freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, The Atlantic, GQ, Harper's, and numerous other publications, and she also does occasional commentary for National Public Radio and The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. She has received a number of journalism awards and has been a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Austin, Texas.