"Artistic Differences" is sometimes savage and always funny (funnier than I can tell you, since most of its stories are unprintable in a family newspaper), yet even as you howl over the author's sendup of the Machiavellis and the nut cases in his chosen field, you recognize the ring of truth. Things wind down and thin out a bit toward the end, but that's all right too; you're so tired from laughing, you're grateful for a rest.