NONFICTION - Nov. 4, 1990

GOING NOWHERE FAST By Dr. Melvin Kinder (Prentice Hall Press: $19.95; 278 pp.). This is an amiable enough book, with just the right outlook for Recession-era reading. Dr. Melvin Kinder redefines the notion of settling for less--whether the commodity be money, looks, power or a handful of other things people strive for--and talks about giving up the destructive quest for the Perfect Self. That fellow or gal simply doesn’t exist. If you step off what Kinder calls the “treadmill,” you’ll find that what you thought wasn’t enough is, in fact, plenty. And such acceptance, he promises, comes with a side order of peace of mind. Such glib assurances come backed up with the requisite case studies from Kinder’s psychology practice--and if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, just listen to last year’s Grammy-winning “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” It’s pretty much the same message boiled down.