Rating: 4/5
Review:
Funny and insightful
This is a collection, with minor subsequent editing, of some
of P.J. O'Rourke's journalism and speeches on the 2016 US
Presidential election…which pretty much tells you all you need to know. My politics are most certainly not the same
as his, but I always find him both amusing and thought-provoking (and
occasionally just provoking). This is,
as usual, full of wit, bile and genuine erudition, and if you like O'Rourke's
work, you'll like this.
There are, of course, plenty of laughs. He hasn't lost his ability to come up with a
scathing one-liner or a crushing put-down.
A couple of examples I liked are:
"…a progressive Republican. This is a creature something like the
pshumi-pullyu in the Dr. Dolittle stories but with two butt ends." Or the (in context) slightly self-mocking
"To me, most popular music sounds like angry potty mouths falling down a
flight of stairs while carrying a drum set." He excoriates pretty well all the candidates,
because he thinks that they are a bunch hopelessly unfitted for the office of
President, but deluded enough to think they have what it takes. He is merciless on both Trump and Clinton
– but does manage to be very graceful about both Ben Carson (Republican
candidate) and Joe Biden (Democrat who didn't stand), which I found very
refreshing.
It's not all brilliant; it gets a bit repetitive at times,
and there are some longish passges which didn't do much for me (like an
extended riff on the wives of past Presidents), but this is an amusing and
insightful read which I can recommend.
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