UNQUESTIONABLY, Willie Nelson’s as cool as Texas gets—but is he worthy of being dubbed an honorary Asian? Before you answer that question, you may need to read his “little guide to the happiness in your own heart,” “The Tao of Willie.” The 73-year-old music legend scrapes off all the remaining dust from that “Dukes of Hazzard” movie fiasco and talks about Texas, gettin’ along and, yes, marijuana, while applying lessons from the Tao Te Ching to life in general and his life in particular. Chapters include such tellingly titled pieces as: “The Way of Willie: Let It Go,” “Don’t Think No Negative Thoughts,” “Live in the Present” and “How High Is Up? Yesterday’s Nine.” In case you think Willie’s gone too hippy-dippy this time, note that “The Tao of Willie” (Penguin, 160 pp., $20) gets high praise from the giants of Western music, including Kris Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris. Wrap your noggin around this nugget of wisdom from the book—”You don’t have to know the Tao for the Tao to know you”—and soon enough you’ll be asking yourself, “What would Willie do?”

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