Flirtations with Fame covers a lifetime hunt for celebrity status by one who tries (and comically fails) to join the ranks of the famous with whom he contrives to rub shoulders. Like a name-dropper on steroids, he gets you to enjoy his pursuits and laugh at his gall, guile, gäes, and gaucherie. It is the journey through worlds of sports, movies, journalism, literature, politics, and academe that matters, after all, not the unattainable goal.