FICTION

KOKO by Peter Straub (Signet: $5.95). Four vets return to Vietnam on a mission to track down one of their own--KoKo--a fifth friend who has gone berserk.

PACO’S STORY by Larry Heinemann (Penguin: $7.95). Ghosts from Paco Sullivan’s Vietnam past haunt him in a Podunk Texas town. (Winner of the National Book Award.)

HIGH CRIMES by John Westerman (Pocket: $4.50). Crack and its menacing byproducts encircle a suburban Seaport, shaking it and two resident detectives, from their somnolent state.

NEW GROWTH: Contemporary Short Stories by Texas Writers edited by Lyman Grant (Corona: $10.95). Twenty-three stories by new and known writers, not about cowboys, oil magnates, banditos or heroes of the Alamo.

LOVE SONG by Andrew M. Greeley (Warner: $5.95). The D.A.’s office wants the scion of a racketeer in the worst way, and so does one of their one of their ablest attorneys--Diana Lyons.

NONFICTION

BORN TO COACH: A Season with the New York Knicks by Rick Pitino and Bill Reynolds (Signet: $4.95). Fast-breaking account (one season, actually) of Pitino’s transition from coaching in college to coaching the pros.

AMERICA by Jean Baudrillard, translated by Chris Turner (Verso: $13.95). French philosopher takes up where his countryman left off, commenting on everything from L.A. freeways to New York marathons.

LIVING OUT LOUD by Anna Quindlen (Ivy: $4.50). Quindlen voices the collective experiences of those who are thirtysomething in these writings from her New York Times column.

GUMSHOE: Reflections in a Private Eye by Josiah Thompson (Fawcett Crest: $4.95). Former Yale professor’s notes on his career switch and daily exploits.

MOYERS: REPORT FROM PHILADELPHIA: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 by Bill Moyers (Ballantine: $3.95). Daily records of the secret sessions of the 56 men who met for four months to construct a document that has endured for more than 200 years.

SELF-HELP / REFERENCETHE ROCKPORT WALKING PROGRAM by James M. Rippe, MD, Ann Ward, Ph.D. with Karla Dougherty (Prentice Hall: $9.95). An exercise-and-diet program designed to improve your health and reduce weight.

THE BOOK OF LITERARY LISTS by Nicholas Parsons (Facts On File: $14.95). The lists include six literary masterpieces written from prison; authors who wrote secret erotica; 16 authors tortured or killed because of their books.