Andy Rooney: 'Out Of My Mind'

Andy Rooney has always considered himself a writer who appears on television. In addition to his signature end pieces on 60 Minutes, he pens a column that appears in newspapers around the country and has authored numerous books.

Now, Rooney is publishing a collection of essays with PublicAffairs, titled "Out Of My Mind."

The book, divided into 10 sections covering everything from "Daily Life" to "The English Language" will be released Oct. 2, 2006.

to read the preface and an excerpt from the book.

Rooney has been a fixture on 60 Minutes for nearly three decades. He has won three Emmy Awards for his essays, which now number more than 800, and for which he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 2003.

Rooney was a 60 Minutes producer for Harry Reasoner during the broadcast's first few seasons. He also wrote, produced and narrated a series of broadcasts for CBS News on various aspects of America and American life, including "Mr. Rooney Goes to Washington," for which he won a Peabody Award, "Andy Rooney Takes Off," "Mr. Rooney Goes to Work" and "Mr. Rooney Goes to Dinner."

Rooney joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts," a Top 10 hit that was Number One in 1952. He also wrote for "The Garry Moore Show" (1959-65), helping it to achieve hit status as a Top 20 program. At the same time, he wrote for CBS News public-affairs broadcasts such as "The Twentieth Century," "News of America," "Adventure," "Calendar" and "The Morning Show with Will Rogers, Jr."

Rooney was born Jan. 14, 1919, in Albany, N.Y. He attended Colgate University until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. In February 1943, he was one of six correspondents who flew with the Eighth Air Force on the first American bombing raid over Germany.