NONFICTION : HOW TO BE A HOSTAGE AND LIVE by Capt. Frank A. Bolz Jr. (Lyle Stuart: $5.95, 128 pp.).

This is serious stuff here. Capt. Frank A. Bolz Jr., chief hostage negotiator for 10 years in the New York City Police Department, writes what has to be the ultimate book for the ‘80s: dealing with a hostage/terrorist action and living to tell the tale. In this succinct little volume (easily carried in luggage or briefcase) on the first page, even before the title page, are 15 points on how to deal with a hostage situation. The rest of the book discusses the types of people who are terrorists, their likely motivations as well as the situations and kinds of persons who are prone to being exploited by terrorists. Bolz has good, sensible information about what to do during the situation (he asserts that the first 15 to 45 minutes are the touchiest), how to handle a long-term incarceration (don’t indulge in games to pass time with captors and then ‘beat the pants off of them,’ as they might need to show you just who IS the boss) and the aftermath: coping with being a victim, the public and even a chapter on the news media. This book may easily fuel any fears of terrorism you already have, but it may also give you some options.