Lansky

Georgy Porgy might have kissed the girls and made them cry in the old days, but these days, old Georgy is a mere shadow of his former self.And he's not the only one. In "The New Adventures of Mother Goose" (Meadowbrook Press, $15), the three blind mice of nursery rhyme are now the three kind mice. And Little Miss Muffett used to be scared of spiders, but no more. Now she's bossing them around.Welcome to the Mother Goose of the '90s -- complete with revisionist verses of traditional nursery rhymes.

PRAGUE -- Egon Lansky considers himself to be a true patriot, so he's prepared to risk two years in prison by saying something terrible about his country."

LITTLE MAN: MEYER LANSKY AND THE GANGSTER LIFE.Robert Lacey.Little, Brown.547 pages. $24.95. During the Hill-Thomas hearings, Sen. Joseph Biden, anxious to prove to a panel of Judge Thomas' supporting witnesses that anything is possible -- including, of course, the conduct alleged of the nominee -- asked each of four apparently reasonable women whether it is possible that there is life on other planets. He posed the question carefully, thoughtfully, to each of the four, as if he were perplexed by the concept of extraterrestrial existence: Is it possible?

Although the holiday season is upon us, savvy parents know the festivities begin when they must pack three temperamental children into the family auto for the long drive to visit seldom-seen family members.Aahhh! The joys of parenthood.But holiday travel doesn't have to be foreboding and stressful; it can be downright pleasant. At least that's what Vicki Lansky says.Ms. Lansky, author of 26 books for parents with young children, has written a new one titled "Trouble-Free Travel with Children," which contains hints for parents on the go.How does she know so much about children?

''Mobsters'' is a bloody little fairy tale that makes good guys out of Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky.According to the film, a largely plodding affair, they were just four kids who liked to kill people once in a while.The real villain of the piece is Mad Dog Coll, who may or may not have known these buys, but what's it matter? This is, after all, a fantasy.''Mobsters,'' shot in California, takes place in New York (1917 to 1931) where the four leading characters begin their association as boys.