This work, my 12th, looks at the historical episodes of the 20th century in the US—mostly the 1950s and 1960s—that defined the baby-boomer generation and the early years of my youth. There is destruction—bombs drop, dams burst, volcanos erupt, zeppelins crash, hurricanes ravage. Bad things happen. There are riots and there are killings (many of them). People make mistakes — Anyone up for a quick lobotomy? —Let’s electrocute this old couple, just because. There is injustice. That’s what the story is mostly about.

Getting tired of time-travel stories? Well, how about this one last time? The 33 frivolous pricks (of time) our 8 travelers visit were supposed to be safe—until one of them kills Ronald Reagan back in 1964. Then it’s a whole new ballgame (speaking of baseball, the Dodgers do make an appearance, as these are LA stories), the dimensions of space-time are torn a big one, and our travelers are sucked into the lethal realm of the non-frivolous.

Neat subplot: Kyoto, Japan is burning! A troubled young woman with the flame-throwing force of pyrokinesis intends to destroy everything she sees as beautiful in her messed up world—and the temples of Kyoto are ripe for her vengeance. Enter my usual Japanese heroine, Pinky Bell, who must confront the girl—who happens to be, wait for it … the daughter of one of the time travelers. (See how I did that?)

Anyway, it’s all a good yarn, funny (I hope), with many of my (slightly corrupt) 30-year-old perspectives on Japanese culture and behavior, as well as a look-back on many of the more startling episodes of American life.