A L S O+.T O D A Y The big baby By Joan Walsh Forget "The Death of Outrage." If the right really wants to win the Culture War, it should pass out copies of "Monica's Story." Starring Monica Lewinsky, as herself By Liesl Schillinger She was universally reviled -- until the public got a chance to hear her speak and, now, to read her version of events - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "The Handyman" Reviewed by Ruth Henrich In this L.A. novel, an unassuming handyman muddles his way to artistic genius while repairing the lives of lonely wives and other lost souls   T A B L E+T A L K It's almost spring, and books about baseball are a hot topic in the Books section of Table Talk   B O O K C A S E A new service for book lovers   R E C E N T L Y Journey to the center of a race By Fetzer Mills, Jr. Randall Kenan talks about the seven-year odyssey that led him from Martha's Vineyard to Alaska in search of the truth about black life in America (02/24/99) Writing on Air By Geoff Edgers David Halberstam talks about his new book, "Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made." (02/18/99) I know why the untuned Thunderbird pings By Todd Lappin Maya Angelou delivered the inspirational speech to the National Automobile Dealers Association. And guess what? It worked (02/09/99) Black but not like me By Jill Nelson A journalist slouches into a party celebrating the black elite -- whatever that is (02/04/99) "It's the Stupidity, Stupid" By Harry Shearer In this excerpt, Shearer wonders if we should hate the people who hate President Clinton (01/29/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Books feature archive - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -		+ - - Monica's nightmare There's nothing balanced or objective about Andrew Morton's book. That's why it rings so true.   MONICA'S STORY BY ANDREW MORTON ST. MARTIN'S PRESS NONFICTION 288 PAGES BY CHARLES TAYLOR | "What did I do that was wrong? I went to work every day. I did my job. I met someone. I fell in love. What did I do to deserve any of this? I'll have to testify -- in public. I'm going to be in all the newspapers, on all the TV shows. For the next year, I'll be the joke on Jay Leno." That isn't Monica Lewinsky talking. It's a character on a recent "Law and Order"/"Homicide" crossover. Those episodes carried a jolt, not just because two prime-time network series had a story line taking for granted that American justice was in the hands of a specially appointed prosecutor who has deliberately set out to destroy people's lives, but also because we were hearing -- albeit in a fictional setting -- Kenneth Starr's victims allowed to speak as people for the first time. Given the trampling of civil rights, the threats of prosecution, the threats of investigation to people who have dared criticize him, the immunity deals hinging on gag orders and all the other thugs' tactics that Starr and his assistants have at their disposal, it's no wonder that what we've heard from the people he has targeted has been so sparse. "I'm afraid to answer that question," Monica Lewinsky replied last week when Barbara Walters asked her what she thought of Starr. He had forbidden Lewinsky to talk to Walters about his treatment of her, and only a fool could think the fear in her voice was faked. "I'm afraid of doing something to lose my immunity and being prosecuted," she continued, "or having my family prosecuted." Given that level of fear, we can be thankful that Lewinsky's lawyers have interpreted her immunity deal with Starr as allowing her to talk to British journalist Andrew Morton. The result, "Monica's Story," is one of the more credible pieces of journalism this ludicrous episode has produced. I realize that statement may be amusing to the people who've already decided that the book is Lewinsky's crass way of cashing in on the 15 minutes that are already ticking down. You didn't need to go any further than the first clause of Francis X. Clines and Frank Bruni's piece on the book in the March 4 New York Times -- a piece labeled neither a review nor "News Analysis" -- to encounter that attitude: "Finally free to seek self-justification and personal profit ..." But the trump card in all the moralistic hand-wringing that has attended this burst of publicity was laid down on Sunday's "Meet the Press" by the odious Tim Russert. Assuming Anchor Correspondence School Vocal Tone 132: Grave Sobriety, Russert asked Andrew Morton, "What does it say about our culture that [Lewinsky] is about to become a millionaire?" Morton, without missing a beat, asked Russert what it says about our culture that a 25-year-old woman finds herself saddled with millions of dollars in legal fees -- including $15,000 spent when the Republican House managers convinced Congress to make her give a videotaped deposition on questions she had already answered 22 times -- because the government decides her sexual life is fair game? Russert ignored the question. N E X T+P A G E+| The insider smirk of the media