Gump & Co. - Softcover

Winston Groom, bestselling author of nine books, wrote the acclaimed Vietnam War novel Better Times Than These, the prize-winning As Summers Die, Gone the Sun, and Only. He coauthored Conversations With the Enemy, which was nominated for a 1984 Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Forrest Gump and Gumpisms: The Wit and Wisdom of Forrest Gump. The phenomenal hit film Forrest Gump garnered six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Mr. Groom is also the author of Shrouds of Glory, an account of Confederate General John Bell Hood's decisive actions in the lost great campaign of the Civil War. He lives in Point Clear, Alabama.

You can't really blame Winston Groom. After making the Hollywood novice's mistake of agreeing to a share of the net, not the gross, it's only natural that he would feel a little shortchanged where the movie version of his novel Forrest Grump is concerned. So what better way to improve his own personal bottom line than to put good ole Forrest back to work: a sequel, that's the ticket, with all the royalties going to Groom; do not pass Hollywood on the way to the bank, and later, when the studios come calling, think GROSS. And what about the book itself? Don't expect to find anything but candy in this box of chocolates. Isn't that good ole Forrest explaining to Ronald Reagan how he and Ollie North are going to sell guns for hostages? And isn't that Forrest causing a riot that brings down the Berlin Wall? And how about Forrest on the Upper East Side doing a little insider training with his pals "Ivan Bozosky" and "Mike Mulligan" ? And isn't that our boy in Baghdad, taking Saddam Hussein hostage during the Gulf War? Enough already. Too many chocolates may be good for Winston Groom's bank account, but the effect on my stomach is a bit . . . well, gross. Bill Ott