- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (Sep 20 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0802119603
- ISBN-13: 978-0802119605
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#158,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #81 in Books > Entertainment > Humour > Political
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Funny, cutting, and insightful." --"Booklist"
"The timing is perfect for the witty sanity of P.J. O'Rourke, to remind us how intellectually bracing unfashionable views can be. . . . He is fearless and funny. Whether you agree with him or not, particularly if not, you should read him. He restores much-needed disorder to the political debate." --"The Evening Standard"
"P.J. O'Rourke is what happens when America does Grumpy Old Men. Instead of sour-faced curmudgeons bleating that 'politics is just a load of crap, ' you get a succession of amusing an incisive observations about "why" politics is a load of crap." --"The Spectator"
"You may find yourself staying up way past your bedtime because you just can't
put it down. In "Don't Vote," O'Rourke has elevated his game to a Buckley-like level. Read it and you'll elevate your game too." --"The Daily Caller"
"The man is intelligent, articulate, and very funny." --"The Austinist"
"P. J. O'Rourke is not onl
"The timing is perfect for the witty sanity of P.J. O'Rourke, to remind us how intellectually bracing unfashionable views can be. . . . He is fearless and funny. Whether you agree with him or not, particularly if not, you should read him. He restores much-needed disorder to the political debate." --"The Evening Standard"
"P.J. O'Rourke is what happens when America does Grumpy Old Men. Instead of sour-faced curmudgeons bleating that 'politics is just a load of crap, ' you get a succession of amusing an incisive observations about "why" politics is a load of crap." --"The Spectator"
"You may find yourself staying up way past your bedtime because you just can't
put it down. In "Don't Vote," O'Rourke has elevated his game to a Buckley-like level. Read it and you'll elevate your game too." --"The Daily Caller"
"The man is intelligent, articulate, and very funny." --"The Austinist"
"P. J. O'Rourke is not onl
Product Description
America's most subversive conservative, O'Rourke describes government as a devil's bargain between power, freedom, and responsibility, and goes on to hilariously skewer the politicians who have bargained with us to consolidate power, and the many mini-bargains and evasions that citizens have made with the consequences of their choice.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)
73 of 79 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
O'Rourke at his best!, Sep 27 2010
By Erica - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Don't Vote It Only Encourages the Bastards (Hardcover)
I just happened to buy this book at the airport yesterday before a 4 hour flight. I recognized O'Rourke's name, picked it up, read a couple of paragraphs and decided to plop down the $25 cover price. I had every intention of reading it later in the week, as I was too tired and needed to nap on the plane. Well, I couldn't put it down! I read the entire book! He is witty, incredibly intelligent and even charming in his criticism of our political system and the state of disarray it's in. I may start referring to this as "the new Libertarian manifesto!" Read the chapter on Global Climate Change (where O'Rourke challenges you to go tell 1.2 billion Chinese people that they can't have a car, old stove or fireplace because we think it might be causing the Earth to get warmer) and, if you're anything like me, you'll be hooked!
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Vote, Get This Book, Oct 2 2010
By Jay Reding - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
P.J. O'Rourke's Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government was one of the books that most influenced my political upbringing. It was a book that explained why American politics was so incredibly messed up, and was relentless in making fun of that fact. Even though it's almost 20 years old, it's still a classic, and well worth reading.Well, P.J. O'Rourke's at it again. He's written a virtual sequel to Parliament of Whores that shows that in the intervening 18 years American politics has managed to become even more screwed up. And there's no one better suited to lampooning the state of American politics than P.J. O'Rourke.
But what separates this book from the many other books of political satire is that O'Rourke isn't just a bomb-throwing satirist. When, just a few pages in, O'Rourke is name-checking Michael Oakeshott, you know you're reading the work of an author who's done his homework. This book is a satire, to be sure, but it's an intelligent and thoughtful satire. This book manages to mix Oakeshott, Adam Smith, and a schoolgirl's game of "Kill, F@#$, Marry" into a devastating and intelligent critique of American politics. O'Rourke's takes on everything from health care reform to the national debt, and manages to skewer these hot-button political issues without coming across as preachy or pedantic.
O'Rourke is America's best political satirist - because he's America's most well-read and intelligent political satirist. This book, like Parliament of Whores, is destined to be a classic that will still be readable and worthwhile in 20 years -- while other political satires have long since been sent to the remainder bin.
And the Kindle edition is reasonably priced too, which makes this a must-download for this election cycle and long after.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven, Feb 23 2011
By the_global_village_idiot - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Don't Vote It Only Encourages the Bastards (Hardcover)
Having been a PJ O'Rourke fan since his National Lampoon days, I remain amazed by his ability to make one laugh while making one think. We'd be hard pressed to identify another living American writer whose best one-liners are so widely quoted.Don't Vote is maddening because it flops back and forth between great and... well, not so great. It contains both some of O'Rourke's most scholarly work - there's a lot of real research here - without sacrificing the wit. In these chapters, his work is sharp, illuminating and still an entertaining read. But Don't Vote also contains a bunch of one-offs that are really nothing more than reprints of some of his magazine articles, and not his best ones at that. These contribute no understanding, don't move the central thesis about government ahead and are really just filler (or worse).
Not bad, but not great. Parliament of Whores is still my favorite O'Rourke rant.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Entertainment > Humour > Political
- Books > Entertainment > Humour > Satire
- Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > Humour
- Books > Nonfiction > Politics
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
