The book is The True Stella Awards, by Randy Cassingham, which has just been published by Dutton. In it, you'll find some of the most ridiculous, frivolous and opportunistic lawsuits ever filed.

Among the cases you'll read about are cases such as the one in which a school teacher sued a young boy after he accidentally ran into her in a hallway and one involving a man who had had his name legally changed to Jack Ass. All of them are so outlandish, you'll be shaking your head in disbelief at the lengths people and their attorneys will go to when they smell money.

The cases, by themselves, are interesting to read. But what really makes the book is Cassingham's entertaining writing style and his comments about the cases and our legal system.

My recommendation: Put The Stella Awards on your Christmas list - and buy a couple of copies to give away as holiday gifts.