BARBRA DEAREST: HER NAME IS BARBRA, HIS NAME IS . . .

Considine, speaking by phone from Manhattan, said he was “amazed” when he heard of Solters’ letters. He said that such an information-gathering process usually indicated a lawsuit ahead. But: “Everything in the book can be substantiated. I have all the statements on tape”--though he later added that he didn’t have “two of the statements on tape.”

He said he interviewed more than 200 persons but was denied access to Streisand, despite repeated attempts to reach her through Solters.

Considine first got wind of the letters from persons who had received them. “It’s incredible . . . she’s back on top of the charts (with “The Broadway Album”) and I don’t know why she’s doing this.”