P. J. O'Rourke was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and attended Miami University and Johns Hopkins. He began writing funny things in 1960s "underground" newspapers, became editor-in-chief of "National Lampoon," then spent 20 years reporting for "Rolling Stone" and "The Atlantic Monthly" as the world's only trouble-spot humorist, going to wars, riots, rebellions, and other "Holidays in Hell" in more than 40 countries. He's written 16 books on subjects as diverse as politics and cars and etiquette and economics. His book about Washington, "Parliament of Whores," and his book about international conflict and crisis, "Give War a Chance," both reached #1 on the "New York Times" best-seller list. He is a contributing editor at "The Weekly Standard," H. L. Mencken fellow at the Cato Institute, a member of the editorial board of "World Affairs" and a regular panelist on NPR's "Wait... Wait... Don't Tell Me." He lives with his family in rural New England, as far away from the things he writes about as he can get.
Praise for The Baby Boom: Prolific political and social commentator
O'Rourke, author of 17 books, including the bestselling Parliament
of Whores, has created here a thoughtful portrait of the baby
boomer generation and what its members have done for the American
way of life, and "the way we talked everybody into letting us get
away with it." While O'Rourke acknowledges that sweeping
generalizations about millions of Americans do not always apply, he
seems to feel comfortable enough standardizing boomers at large as
creatures of self-interest, hypocrisy, and hysteria. But even while
discussing annual income and per capita GDP, O'Rourke maintains the
dry wit that makes every chapter a delight, even if the picture
they form is incomplete. The hilarity is helped along by plenty of
anecdotes from his own life as a boomer, including the tale of when
O'Rourke's underground newspaper was occupied overnight by
Balto-Cong radicals. As a cultural analyst, O'Rourke's ability and
willingness to simultaneously lampoon and celebrate himself and his
generation are unequaled. - Publishers Weekly "P.J. O'Rourke's Baby
Boom may just be his best book ever. Teems with heart and humor --
much of it laugh out loud, or as the post-boomers would say, LOL --
as well as with his trademark brilliant social commentary. A
terrific American memoir, in tone a beguiling mix of Jean Shepherd
and Animal House. In fact, I'm going to revise my prior statement
and say flat-out that this is O'Rourke's best book ever, which is a
saying a lot."- Christopher Buckley His simultaneously hilarious
and brainy new book, The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way And It
Wasn't My Fault And I'll Never Do It Again, holds a cracked
magnifying glass up to the generation of Americans born between the
end of World War II and the early 1960s. Sifting through
demographic and economic data and combining the results with
generous portions of personal memories, O'Rourke finds much to
deplore in the boomer character, but even more to cherish and
celebrate. -- Chicago Tribune Better than an Ed Sullivan marathon,
more enjoyable than Beach Boys Radio Weekend, and more fun than
cleaning out your parents' attic, this book is a boomer's delight.
If your bags are packed for a trip down memory lane, 'The Baby
Boom' is a book you'll want to remember to take with you. -- The
Spectrum Delightfully and devilishly hilarious...O'Rourke shows no
sign of slowing down when it comes to his witty chronicling of
American life. -- Toronto Sun A comedic and caustic cautionary tale
for future generations -- and, for those of us who are Boomers, a
nostalgic and hilarious diversion. -- NPR Praise for P.J. O'Rourke:
"A prolific humorist continues his outpouring of solid writing. . .
some very fine travel writing, the best of which is wickedly droll
-- O'Rourke at his very best. . . . Here's hoping there's another
15 books still to come."--Los Angeles Times on Holidays in Heck "If
all of America's registered Republicans were struck by an
ideology-specific bird flu, and 50 among them had to be placed in a
secure bunker to repopulate the species entirely, P.J. O'Rourke
would hold a place on many people's list, mine included. He's
funny. He tends to be against boredom and in favor of the pursuit
of nonsobriety. He has a sharp nose for cant and bogusness. His
conservatism is rooted in a fondness for ordinary things and a
philosophy of individual common sense." --Dwight Garner, The New
York Times on Holidays in Heck "O'Rourke is an actual conservative,
with ideas and a conscience, as opposed to the stealth flacks
staying on party message that often pass for conservatives in these
Hannitized and Limbaughtomized days."--Chicago Sun-Times on Peace
Kills "Mocking on the surface but serious beneath, sharply attuned
to quotidian hypocrisy and contradiction...this book contains some
of O'Rourke's best work to date. When it comes to scouting the
world for world-class absurdities, he is the right man for the
job."--Los Angeles Times Book Review on Give War a Chance "His
explanations . . . with a-joke-each-phrase aplomb (forget waiting
until the end of the sentence) make you wish he had been your
economics professor in college instead of the bow-tie wearing nerd
who droned on about widgets. In fact, if you fell asleep hiding
your eyelids under the rim of your baseball cap during Econ 101,
this book is for you."--The Philadelphia Inquirer on Eat the Rich
"Highly pungent and wickedly accurate observations . . . [from a]
boisterous, pedal-to-the-floor humorist . . . The results would
curl the ponytails of most poli-sci professors."--The New York
Times Book Review on Parliament of Whores "An acerbic master of
gonzo journalism and one of America's most hilarious and
provocative writers . . . a volatile brew of one-liners and
vitriol."--TIME on Give War a Chance
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
