DON’T SHOOT, IT’S ONLY ME by...

DON’T SHOOT, IT’S ONLY ME by Bob Hope with Melville Shavelson (Jove: $5.95, illustrated). In this latest volume of wisecracking memoirs, the celebrated comedian recalls his early days in radio and his many USO tours, beginning in World War II and continuing through Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Not surprisingly, the text is riddled with war-related gags: “I heard they were going to open up a second front. So here I am. The first back.” The most compelling sections of the book focus on the problems of wartime touring, which range from stray bombs and half-destroyed accommodations to the heart-rending gratitude of the wounded servicemen and the sometimes hostile reactions to the shows in Vietnam. No one doubts that Bob Hope can be very funny, but an account of his career that included a more open discussion of the fears, doubts and effort that went into it would be more interesting to read.