If the characters in this collection of short stories seem familiar, they should because they're either you now, you at a later date or someone you know. "An Act Of God and Other Stories' is Hart's attempt to show that growing old has its advantages, although it is often quite difficult to discover what they are. While waiting for senility, this slim volume might help keep you smiling.

As Lila Shane wrote in her diary, "Nineteen thirty nine was the year after which nothing was inevitable and the future became a series of unpredictable events rather than an extension of the past." During that year, Lila's world and the world around her altered, sometimes bringing joy, sometimes bringing sorrow. "The Year Everything Changes" chronicles Lila's maturation from a sheltered high school graduate into a capable woman wise in the capricious ways of the world.

Here's another collection of short stories by Stanley Hart that shares something in common with his first volume - no one asked for these either. But having a supply of comas and semi colons left over from his previous works, Hart decided to continue writing and to travel the bumpy road to immortality. These stories are .... Aw, read them yourself.

This is collection of stories that illustrates that there is no age limit to living life to its fullest. In it, seniors disdain passivity to lead active lives. The effects are often surprising and always entertaining.

A ten day cruise to Scandinavia, gives the passengers aboard The Poseidon Princess the time to reveal themselves to each other and to themselves. We meet seniors from the Bronx on their long awaited second honeymoon, a married couple from Texas that discovers more than just foreign cities, an heiress and her equally clever, mendacious brother and the brash 'King of Sensible Shoes' from Topeka with his disaffected young wife. We also follow the adventures of two 'Ambassador Hosts, employed by the ship, and whose job it is to keep unescorted lady passengers happy on the trip. As the ship visits Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Stockholm, the comical side of cruising is exposed and the patina of civilized behavior wears thin with unsuspecting results.

If you re having an identity crisis, here s help in solving it. In this collection of sketches, the Harts hold a mirror up to human nature and the chances are that you re in here someplace. Take a look and you ll swear that the Harts are guilty of identity theft.

Table 14 is a collection of tales about people old enough to be wise yet young enough to be fallible. If you recognize yourself in these tales, then they are for you. If you don't recognize yourself in them, just wait. With luck, you may last long enough to enjoy reading about the foibles of people your age. The retirement home in which these tales are set is its own universe of aches, pains and wisdom. Read one tale, put the book down for a day or so, then pick it up and read another one. There should be something here for everyone.

Oh, Brother Arnold Gordon thought when he retired from the NYPD, he was through with detective work. But when his older brother Mortimer's life is in danger, Arnold rallies to his side. Along the way, the arcane Fermat's Theorem, the Israeli Mossad and the Satmar community are involved in an international intrigue. Although the free spirited Arnold and the stiff necked Mortimer had never been close as brothers, danger brings them together to solve the greatest challenge either of them has ever faced. The Fund Raiser Harry Wolfe is middle aged wheeler dealer whose penchant for the quick buck lands him in hilarious trouble. While other fund raisers raise money for good causes, Harry will promote any charity, no matter how obscure or lame brained, that promises a good pay off. A twist of fate gives Harry the opportunity to make big money although it also gives him the opportunity to become a cadaver. The path Harry treads towards his goal of staying alive is a delightfully crooked one. His film maker daughter Isobel's involvement with a conventional veterinarian is a unique romance she is sure that her father will approve of, provided Harry stays alive long enough to give it his blessings.

Artie Sherman has lived by his wits for seventy plus years. Among his achievements is his role in making his friend a successful playwright while making that friend, unbeknownst to everyone except Artie, the drama critic of New York's most influential newspaper-at the same time. This allows his friend to critique his own play and cover it with encomiums. As a result of the Times' review, his friend becomes the toast of Broadway. Artie's shrewdness can also boomerang and can put him at serious risk of ending up in a cement cutaway on the floor of The East River. When he discovers a play that his friend wrote years before he senses a 'sure thing' since his friend is both the playwright and the Times drama critic. Artie decides to produce the play and as a theater producer he wheels and deals with the wrong people who, not being seasoned theater angels, expect a return on their investments. Artie learns the hard way that there's no such thing as a sure thing. Artie's meeting and his subsequent falling in love with Rita Adler, a truly unusual woman gives him another reason for avoiding a painful, untimely ending. He is captivated by her great Asian-American looks and by her elegant style. Whoever said that opposites attract must have had Artie Sherman and Rita Adler in mind. Fate, acting in concert with Artie's survival instinct, saves him for a life with his beloved Rita.

ABOUT 'HAVE A HEART', THE BOOK Lovely Liz Krantz is an art therapist who conducts workshops at a maximum security prison. One of her 'artists' is Medwick a convicted killer who has a task for Liz that she can't refuse. He wants her to find a worthy recipient who needs a heart transplant and who could use Medwick's heart after he has been executed. This assignment leads Liz on a cross country quest, interviewing various bizarre candidates for Medwick's heart. It also brings her into contact with Cliff Melton, a young documentarian who interests a TV network in Liz's mission. The rating crazed executives and their sycophants at the network decide to put on the ultimate Reality Show called, "Live or Die." On the show, contestants vie for Medwick's heart and in a spasm of truly bad taste, the viewing audience votes as to who will live and who will die. Never to be underestimated, the American public's fascination with death is to be exploited. The show will be a modern equivalent of Roman Coliseum dust ups. At first, Liz is intimidated by the network's mad scramble for rating numbers until she asserts herself in a wholly unexpected way.