Collecting Simpsons! An Unofficial Guide to Merchandise from The Simpsons

COLLECTING SIMPSONS! is a well-designed, humor-filled book that's a definitive guide to the mind-boggling amount of licensed merchandise inspired by "The Simpsons" TV series.

It features:

-- A generous page size of 8 by 11 inches.

-- A detailed price guide listing typical values for more than 1,000 items.

-- More than 375 black-and-white photos, as well as a dozen color ones on the heavy-duty front and back cover. A four-page Photo Index makes it easy to find them all.

-- A brief history of "The Simpsons" and how it became a merchandising marvel.

-- Reviews of Simpsons action figures, collector plates, books, software and other goods.

-- Advice on how to get the best deals when buying Simpsons animation art.

-- A step-by-step autopsy of a talking Bart Simpson doll that reveals exactly how this popular toy works.

-- Photo-filled chapters exploring Simpsons bootlegs and hard-to-find promotional merchandise you won't find in retail stores.

William D. LaRue, who owns more than 3,000 items relating to "The Simpsons," is the author of the Collecting Simpsons! Web site at http://members.aol.com/bartfan. He is also the television critic for The Syracuse (N.Y.) Newspapers, and a graduate of the State University of New York at Potsdam and Syracuse University.