CONGRESSIONAL ANECDOTES by Paul F. Boller Jr....

CONGRESSIONAL ANECDOTES by Paul F. Boller Jr. (Oxford University Press: $9.95; 357 pp.). Although the news media stressed the nation’s anti-congressional mood during the 1992 election, Boller’s anthology of humorous stories suggests that Americans have enjoyed complaining about Congress since the body first met in 1789. Ironically, some of Congress’ most scathing detractors have been senators and representatives: After being mugged by two Washington youths who were unaware of his identity, Massachusetts Democrat Gerry Studds commented, “I think if they had known I was a member of Congress, I could have understood it.”