NONFICTION - July 13, 1986

HOLY MACKEREL! THE AMOS ‘N’ ANDY STORY by Bart Andrews and Ahrgus Juilliard (Dutton: $15.95). This good-natured little book, only about half of which is devoted to the legendary figures in its title, will please the fans who have been waiting for a book to do justice to their comic heroes of the golden age of broadcasting. Everyone connected with the radio and television shows--the originators, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll; the black performers who replaced them on television; their bosses at network headquarters--all seem as lovable as the characters they put on the air.

More serious readers might hope for a closer analysis of the massive social changes that followed World War II and helped render “Amos ‘n’ Andy” an anachronism. Without this historical context, the nation’s response to the shows seems little more than a string of self-canceling charges and rebutals: First Gosden and Correll are “accused . . . stereotyping an entire race,” then someone denies the show was “built on . . . making fun of blacks,” and so on through the book. In view of CBS’s unyielding silence on this subject, a rigorous investigation might seem daunting, but other informative sources such as the records of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People provide a window onto the struggle between the network and black activists.

In any case, if you want a loving treatment of all of your favorites on the “Amos ‘n’ Andy” show and care little for the political side of popular culture, “Holy Mackerel!” is worth your attention.