Product Description

From the author of "Give War a Chance" and "Parliament of Whores", this book offers P.J. O'Rourke's view of all the trouble in the world - but with the goal of answering some tough questions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139726 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Customer Reviews

provocative, intelligent and very funny
O'Rourke is now a weathered participant of the battle against received ideas, and this book finds him in cynical but good-humoured middle age. He pulls off a rare combination of entrenched conservatism and high comedy. One reason he fails to offend (at least this liberal reader) is his self-denigration. He never sets himself up as an authority, always referring to other sources when he needs to back up his arguments with facts. He's also happy to show himself as the biggest joke of all in a world of folly and absurdidty. Although the book claims to survey the four great troubles of the acopalypse, it is really a roaming, foreign correspondent's view of poverty and disaster round the globe. O'Rourke claims that his conclusions are modest, but in fact his views are clear though the book; international aid is rarely a solution to national poverty; deep poverty comes from bad local government not distant individual selfishness; mistrust evangelists of global apocalypse. Throughout he pokes fun at received political wisdom at the same time as providing a wealth of fascinating detail. Hilarious and thought provoking.

PJ at his best
This is PJ O'Rourke's best book. It's as amusing as his earlier ones but bursting with enjoyable facts.

Since this book, it's been downhill for PJ - but this one makes me laugh and discover new things every time I pick it up.

Buy it.