Saroyan was famous for his book "The Human Comedy" which was made into a Hollywood movie during the war years of the '40s with Mickey Rooney, Van Johnson, and Frank Morgan. He was also a master of the short story. This story collection contains pieces previously published in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's in the 1960s and '70s. The "madness" in the title refers to the stages of life when we human beings might verge on a bit of insanity, e.g. growing up, falling in love, raising children, looking back on life in old age. Well, that just about covers the entire human condition, does it not? as long as one is willing to laugh at oneself. Saroyan gives his readers laughter and a few tears in these tight, well-drawn vignettes.

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