"Phoebe Is Not a Bird" is a love letter disguised as a biography.  In it, the author reconstructs the life of his wife Phoebe and his part in her life from their first meeting as teenagers in Queens in 1938 to their reuniting after World War II and marriage in old age.  With marriage came the opportunity for Jack to explore Phoebe's world.  He plunged right in and has come to know it almost as well as he knows his own life.  In the book, O'Rourke writes with charm, wit, and most importantly affection about everything from her career in fashion to her abiding devotion to her sons.