NONFICTION - Nov. 3, 1991

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS, by Suzette, Stephanie and Sheri Scholz (St. Martin’s Press: $18.95; 237 pp.). This collective memoir, of three sisters who performed as Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, is written in a breathless, exclamation-point-studded style--which is probably all they could manage, sewn into those tight, skimpy little costumes. Take a deep reflective breath and there would be sequins all over the place, quick as you could say cleavage. This is truly an odd little book. If you take it seriously (and the titillating disclaimers about how it was written without the cooperation of the team certainly imply that we’re going to get critical disclosures), it’s absolutely terrifying. The lengths these young women will go to to make the squad (the raisin-and-cocaine diet! the powerful Hollywood agent with his casting-couch ideas!)! But this isn’t a sadder-but-wiser tale. This is a have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too expose, the kind that simultaneously complains about, and exploits, the way of the cheerleading world. The authors pose for the cover photo wearing dresses whose necklines are closer to their waists than their necks--and this is one case where you can judge a book by its cover.