They won't let him put his name on a cookie, but Wally Amos is still famous. A high schooldropout and former Hollywood agent, Mr. Amos started his Famous Amos Cookie company in 1975 and turned it into an $11 million-a-year empire by 1982.

        Business began to turn stale, though, and Mr. Amos was pushed out of the company in 1989. The new owners later won a court battle that prevents him from using the Famous Amos name on any food product.

        True to his “turn a lemon into lemonade” philosophy, though, the upbeat entrepreneur made a comeback. In 1995, he became the spokesman for a company in New York making Uncle Lou's Muffins. He lives in Hawaii and travels around the country conducting seminars and delivering motivational speeches. His company sells self-help audio and video tapes and clothing. He has written five books.

        Mr. Amos comes to Cincinnati to sign his latest book, The Cookie Never Crumbles: Inspirational Recipes for Everyday Living (St. Martin's; $19.95) at 7 p.m. Monday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood.

        The Cookie Never Crumbles is built around a series of short anecdotal essays drawn from Mr. Amos' successes and failures, with accompanying life “recipes” (Recipe for Commitment Miracles: “Start with a relationship you believe in. Add a large cup of commitment”) and cook's notes (“Happiness is contagious. Pass it on!”). The book does feature five food recipes, including directions for making his famous chocolate chip-pecan cookies.

        The book's title is a metaphor for Mr. Amos' life code: “When something bad happens, something good will come from it. So the cookie never really crumbles.”

        Sitting in his new muffin bakery in Long Island, Mr. Amos took time to answer a few questions about cookies and life.

        Question: What can we learn from cookies?

        Answer: “Cookies are so basic. Cookies are not complicated. Maybe we are rushing too much. Maybe we make life too complicated.

        Q: How do you respond to those who might say only successful bakers like Wally Amos can believe the cookie never crumbles?

        A: Some people think I'm positive because I'm successful. No, I'm successful because I'm positive, because I will never let anything get the best of me. How did I prevent that experience (losing the Famous Amos company) from destroying me? I had to experience that to get here. It's all good. There's no need to be bitter about these things. Why would you place yourself where you know it will lead to a dead-end street? That's what self-pity is.

        Q: What good can come from the tragic events of Sept. 11?

        A: We grieve, we mourn, we help those people who were left behind. After all that, it is necessary to get on with life. . . . My body can crumble. The World Trade Center can crumble, but the idea of freedom can never crumble. Things like this are a reminder that we need to love one another.

        Q: From where did your beliefs and philosophy come?

        A: It came from observation, through trial and error, from reading and hearing different messages, and just seeing what works for me. The greatest discovery I've made was when I connected my beliefs and attitude to results.

        Q: Do you still eat cookies?

        A: You better believe it. I eat more muffins now, though.

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