Bette Davis has never been accused of holding her tongue. In ” `I`d Love To Kiss You . . . ` ” (Pocket Books), by Whitney Stine, she gives her no-holds-barred opinions. On Katharine Hepburn: ”I don`t like ruffles and scarves and all that sort of crap.” Helen Hayes: ”I`ve never cared for her very much.” Humphrey Bogart: ”What the women liked about him was that when he did love scenes, he held back, and they understood that.” Joan Crawford:
”(She`s) peculiar. She always carried disinfectants with her, and she`d scrub the john on her hands and knees. Her apartment had plastic sprayed on the walls, and the furniture is covered with the stuff. She was always so damn proper. She sent thank-you notes for thank-you notes.” On current stars:
”There is no mystery anymore. We need heroes too. Franklin Roosevelt was a hero in my day, Babe Ruth, Clark Gable. Name one today! Michael Jackson?”
Beyond dates like 1492 and 1776 and the names of a couple of battles, how much American history do any of us really know? Not much, according to Kenneth C. Davis, author of ”Don`t Know Much About History” (Avon Books). ”For all too many Americans who dozed through American History 101, the Mayflower Compact might as well be a small car. Reconstructon has something to do with silicone implants. And the Louisiana Purchase means eating out at a Cajun restaurant.” The book comes just in time. In a survey of 17-year-olds, only 32 percent could place the American Civil War in the correct half-century.
