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Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind's Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice, and Alcohol-Free Beer
In the spirit of his savagely funny and national best-seller Parliament of Whores, Give War a Chance is P. J. O'Rourke's number one New York Times best-selling follow-up. O'Rourke runs hilariously amok by tackling the death of Communism, sanctimonious liberals, and America's perennial bad guy Saddam Hussein in a series of classic dispatches from his coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. Here is our most mordant and unnervingly funny political satirist on: Kuwait City after the Gulf War: "It looked like all the worst rock bands in the world had stayed there at the same time." On Saddam Hussein, O'Rourke muses: "He's got chemical weapons filled with ... chemicals. Maybe he's got The Bomb. And missiles that can reach Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Spokane. Stock up on nonperishable foodstuffs. Grab those Diet Coke cans you were supposed to take to the recycling center and fill them up with home heating oil. Bury the Hummel figurines in the yard. We're all going to die. Details at eleven."
256 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2003
About the author
P.J. O'Rourke
114 books488 followersPatrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke is an American political satirist, journalist, writer, and author. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on National Public Radio's game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!. Since 2011 O'Rourke has been a columnist at The Daily Beast. In the United Kingdom, he is known as the face of a long-running series of television advertisements for British Airways in the 1990s.
He is the author of 20 books, of which his latest, The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again), was released January 2014. This was preceded on September 21, 2010, by Don't Vote! – It Just Encourages the Bastards, and on September 1, 2009, Driving Like Crazy with a reprint edition published on May 11, 2010. According to a 60 Minutes profile, he is also the most quoted living man in The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations.
He is the author of 20 books, of which his latest, The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again), was released January 2014. This was preceded on September 21, 2010, by Don't Vote! – It Just Encourages the Bastards, and on September 1, 2009, Driving Like Crazy with a reprint edition published on May 11, 2010. According to a 60 Minutes profile, he is also the most quoted living man in The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
February 22, 2022
P.J. O'Rourke passed away this month, and I thought I should revisit some of my favorites of his essays. Though I re-read this entire book, which was published in 1992 when I was just starting to become politically aware (as much as I am politically aware), my favorite essay here is the first one. "The Death of Communism" is an account of his visit to Berlin in November of 1989, just as the Wall was coming down. His observations of that time are mingled in this essay with those of an earlier, Communist-era visit to East Berlin, back and forth between times in stunning comparison. It's funny and poignant all at once, as is typical of O'Rourke's writing.
But the reason it is my favorite is that for once, I have been to one of the places O'Rourke writes about. I was in Berlin in October of 2001, twelve years after P.J. was there watching the Wall come down. And in 2001 you couldn't tell anything had ever been different. I remember walking along one of the big streets and suddenly there was this line set into the pavement that was Der Mauer. The Wall. Totally gone.
So, reading this essay took me through three moments in time: O'Rourke's 1986 visit to East Berlin, the November 1989 visit, and my time there in 2001. It felt like seeing the city again, overlaid by history. And I was unexpectedly moved by this whim of mine to salute this writer whose work took me all over the world. I'm fond of historical travel writing because it captures not only a place but a moment in time, often one that is gone forever. The Berlin Wall was a psychic weight on the landscape of my childhood--one I didn't think would ever go away--and this essay shows marvelously both why it had that weight and why it mattered so much to so many people that it came down. I thank P.J. O'Rourke for sharing that experience.
But the reason it is my favorite is that for once, I have been to one of the places O'Rourke writes about. I was in Berlin in October of 2001, twelve years after P.J. was there watching the Wall come down. And in 2001 you couldn't tell anything had ever been different. I remember walking along one of the big streets and suddenly there was this line set into the pavement that was Der Mauer. The Wall. Totally gone.
So, reading this essay took me through three moments in time: O'Rourke's 1986 visit to East Berlin, the November 1989 visit, and my time there in 2001. It felt like seeing the city again, overlaid by history. And I was unexpectedly moved by this whim of mine to salute this writer whose work took me all over the world. I'm fond of historical travel writing because it captures not only a place but a moment in time, often one that is gone forever. The Berlin Wall was a psychic weight on the landscape of my childhood--one I didn't think would ever go away--and this essay shows marvelously both why it had that weight and why it mattered so much to so many people that it came down. I thank P.J. O'Rourke for sharing that experience.
April 18, 2008
This guy is one of the funniest writers ever. I enjoy it when he pops off with lines such as describing the blandness of Dr Ruth as "...like fighting evil with room freshener."
I don't always agree with him on a lot of things but his writing style is such that I always learn something (!) and I always end up laughing out loud.Great stuff!
I don't always agree with him on a lot of things but his writing style is such that I always learn something (!) and I always end up laughing out loud.Great stuff!
June 19, 2013
PJ slays me. I wish I had read this when it was first published, since its all a bit dated. Still funny as hell.
April 1, 2015
Interesting book but pretty outdated.
P. J. O'Rourke is always good for a laugh, though, regardless of the material.
P. J. O'Rourke is always good for a laugh, though, regardless of the material.
March 27, 2020
"No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal."
No indeed. Not even Casanova, the Maquis de Sade or Jane Fonda. But I feel sorry for anyone who has ever had the same fantasy about a neo-conservative. Does P.J. O'Rourke dream of being tightly restrained and horse-whipped by Paul Wolfowitz?
Like any decent thinking person, I don't agree with much of what P.J. O'Rourke writes. But like any person who likes a decent laugh, I love reading him. The above quotation ends a typically hilarious introduction in which he sticks it to his favorite fall-guys.
Sure, liberals can be boring and you wouldn't want to be ravished by one. Certainly, as O'Rourke claims, liberals can be sanctimonious and like to lecture you. I'd still rather be horsewhipped naked through Arlington Road by the sanctimonious Clintons than the corrupt likes of Oliver North, Dick Cheney or any of the boys at Lehman Brothers, heroes one and all in Republican circles.
As any right thinking person also knows, humor is so much more important than politics. As such I forgive P. J. for his deficiencies in that area. Jimmy Carter never made me laugh, but neither did George Bush Snr. At least not intentionally.
P.J. O'Rourke, however, could make Meher Baba laugh. Foe example, here is his twin description of the East and West Berliners after a visit there immediately after the wall came down:
'The Easterners looked like Pleistocene proto-Germans, as yet untouched by the edifying effects of Darwinian selection. West Germans are tall, pink, pert, and orthodontically correct ... Except for the fact that they all speak English pretty well, they're indistinguishable from Americans.'
In Nicaragua he gloats at the sight of a disappointed Bianca Jagger after the US-backed Violetta Chammoro defeated Daniel Ortega in their first democratic election. Ortega was a communist and therefore no good for the country.
For the record, Chammoro's campaign funds were illegally obtained and her economic policies were a disaster for the country. Or should I say for the poor of the country. But who gives a damn about them, right P.J.?
Of course he was in seventh heaven when Communism copped it, and around this time he got to see a lot of that. 'It's impossible to get decent Chinese takeout in China, Cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba, and that's all you need to know about Communism.' Quite.
The only thing he seems to detest more than Communism is Charity. His lambasting of the Live Aid musicians is admittedly extremely funny, a deconstruction of the chorus from the execrable 'We Are the World' single being particularly rib-tickling.
The book ends with a series of dispatches from the Gulf states during the first war with Iraq (you know, the one that made sense), 'the first war ever covered by sober journalists'. It was also the first war where the American citizens at home watching CNN knew more about what was going on than the reporters at the front.
Incredulously, by way of praise for the American soldiers he quotes an experienced medical officer who notes how better they are than those in Vietnam. Really? Could that be because all the American soldiers in Kuwait were, like, er, soldiers, whereas those in Vietnam were - like P.J. - merely civilians, who - unlike P.J. - didn't turn chickenshit when they were drafted?
Yet at his best (worst?) I can't think of another journalist as chauvinistic, patronizing, wrong-headed and thoroughly entertaining as P.J. O'Rourke.
I like to convince myself that because he is always cracking jokes, he must be joking.
No indeed. Not even Casanova, the Maquis de Sade or Jane Fonda. But I feel sorry for anyone who has ever had the same fantasy about a neo-conservative. Does P.J. O'Rourke dream of being tightly restrained and horse-whipped by Paul Wolfowitz?
Like any decent thinking person, I don't agree with much of what P.J. O'Rourke writes. But like any person who likes a decent laugh, I love reading him. The above quotation ends a typically hilarious introduction in which he sticks it to his favorite fall-guys.
Sure, liberals can be boring and you wouldn't want to be ravished by one. Certainly, as O'Rourke claims, liberals can be sanctimonious and like to lecture you. I'd still rather be horsewhipped naked through Arlington Road by the sanctimonious Clintons than the corrupt likes of Oliver North, Dick Cheney or any of the boys at Lehman Brothers, heroes one and all in Republican circles.
As any right thinking person also knows, humor is so much more important than politics. As such I forgive P. J. for his deficiencies in that area. Jimmy Carter never made me laugh, but neither did George Bush Snr. At least not intentionally.
P.J. O'Rourke, however, could make Meher Baba laugh. Foe example, here is his twin description of the East and West Berliners after a visit there immediately after the wall came down:
'The Easterners looked like Pleistocene proto-Germans, as yet untouched by the edifying effects of Darwinian selection. West Germans are tall, pink, pert, and orthodontically correct ... Except for the fact that they all speak English pretty well, they're indistinguishable from Americans.'
In Nicaragua he gloats at the sight of a disappointed Bianca Jagger after the US-backed Violetta Chammoro defeated Daniel Ortega in their first democratic election. Ortega was a communist and therefore no good for the country.
For the record, Chammoro's campaign funds were illegally obtained and her economic policies were a disaster for the country. Or should I say for the poor of the country. But who gives a damn about them, right P.J.?
Of course he was in seventh heaven when Communism copped it, and around this time he got to see a lot of that. 'It's impossible to get decent Chinese takeout in China, Cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba, and that's all you need to know about Communism.' Quite.
The only thing he seems to detest more than Communism is Charity. His lambasting of the Live Aid musicians is admittedly extremely funny, a deconstruction of the chorus from the execrable 'We Are the World' single being particularly rib-tickling.
The book ends with a series of dispatches from the Gulf states during the first war with Iraq (you know, the one that made sense), 'the first war ever covered by sober journalists'. It was also the first war where the American citizens at home watching CNN knew more about what was going on than the reporters at the front.
Incredulously, by way of praise for the American soldiers he quotes an experienced medical officer who notes how better they are than those in Vietnam. Really? Could that be because all the American soldiers in Kuwait were, like, er, soldiers, whereas those in Vietnam were - like P.J. - merely civilians, who - unlike P.J. - didn't turn chickenshit when they were drafted?
Yet at his best (worst?) I can't think of another journalist as chauvinistic, patronizing, wrong-headed and thoroughly entertaining as P.J. O'Rourke.
I like to convince myself that because he is always cracking jokes, he must be joking.
May 9, 2015
"Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind's Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice, and Alcohol-Free Beer" is a collection of P.J. O'Rourke's various writings from the late 1980's and early 1990's. If you grew up during the Reagan Years, you'll probably remember many of the stories in this collection from when they were current events--especially various foreign affairs stories (Iran-Contra, e.g.).
O'Rourke also takes jabs at famous books from the era (Lee Iacocca's autobiography, and a book penned by former President and First Lady, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter). To me, one of the funniest parts of the book is the party games he's invented to play using the Carters' book. It's...well, you'd just have to read it.
The book's biggest section concerns the events leading up to The Persian Gulf War, as well as the war itself. The war--if you recall--was the first one really televised live. O'Rourke gives behind the scenes details of how the press coverage really worked, as well as some horrifying situations he encountered during his time there.
To us--more than a quarter-century after most of these stories were originally published--"Give War a Chance" is most-valuable as an eyewitness historical perspective. O'Rourke's adventures have led him through more than enough dangerous situations.
The real value to fans of the author is his rich, funny prose. It takes a special skill to inject humor into war coverage, for example, but P.J. O'Rourke manages to do just that. He balances his oft-irreverent style with in-depth reporting, without being overly frivolous.
The age and length of these stories would normally earn three stars from me. But I'm giving it four, just because P.J. O'Rourke is so damn funny.
Recommended (Mainly for P.J. O'Rourke fans, and those with interest in that time period's big stories.)
O'Rourke also takes jabs at famous books from the era (Lee Iacocca's autobiography, and a book penned by former President and First Lady, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter). To me, one of the funniest parts of the book is the party games he's invented to play using the Carters' book. It's...well, you'd just have to read it.
The book's biggest section concerns the events leading up to The Persian Gulf War, as well as the war itself. The war--if you recall--was the first one really televised live. O'Rourke gives behind the scenes details of how the press coverage really worked, as well as some horrifying situations he encountered during his time there.
To us--more than a quarter-century after most of these stories were originally published--"Give War a Chance" is most-valuable as an eyewitness historical perspective. O'Rourke's adventures have led him through more than enough dangerous situations.
The real value to fans of the author is his rich, funny prose. It takes a special skill to inject humor into war coverage, for example, but P.J. O'Rourke manages to do just that. He balances his oft-irreverent style with in-depth reporting, without being overly frivolous.
The age and length of these stories would normally earn three stars from me. But I'm giving it four, just because P.J. O'Rourke is so damn funny.
Recommended (Mainly for P.J. O'Rourke fans, and those with interest in that time period's big stories.)
September 2, 2008
More very funny stuff from PJ. The first parts of the book deal with his experiences in Eastern Europe and Russia, incl. prophetically his time in Georgia, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Very good stuff.
Then it drags when he goes over to Kuwait during Desert Shield (1990 - early 1991). Mostly because there was nothing going on, and the military prevented them from reporting on the nothing going on.
Then he finishes strong with the aftermath of the crushing Iraqi defeat and their flight from Kuwait due to Desert Storm in 1991.
Kudos to PJ for being there and risking his life to report via his razor-sharp wit.
Then it drags when he goes over to Kuwait during Desert Shield (1990 - early 1991). Mostly because there was nothing going on, and the military prevented them from reporting on the nothing going on.
Then he finishes strong with the aftermath of the crushing Iraqi defeat and their flight from Kuwait due to Desert Storm in 1991.
Kudos to PJ for being there and risking his life to report via his razor-sharp wit.
Read
October 15, 2008this book is worth a look "i believe i speak for everyone in the room today when i say that we all wish to see the day that dictators and tyrants are no more"
president ronald regan
this is inh honor of the entire garrigan clan but especially theresa and john garrigan there parents mr and mrs garrigan who used to work at "sunrise house" and also john lawerence garrigans wife sarah garrigan and john's 2 sons micheal and jimmy garrigan. smile world america loves you we just want you to shower more often and pay your fuckin bills and do not bomb us again fuckheads!
peter rock "deer skinner" Campbell
president ronald regan
this is inh honor of the entire garrigan clan but especially theresa and john garrigan there parents mr and mrs garrigan who used to work at "sunrise house" and also john lawerence garrigans wife sarah garrigan and john's 2 sons micheal and jimmy garrigan. smile world america loves you we just want you to shower more often and pay your fuckin bills and do not bomb us again fuckheads!
peter rock "deer skinner" Campbell
October 21, 2017
Yeah, I lean centre left like a lot of people who read PJ and like a lot of people I love his books. His humour is difficult to resist and it probably says something that we centre lefty people laugh when we read about his travels and adventures. I suspect he speaks to the dark moments we all have, frustration with venal politicians, political correctness, etc. Still, he's funny, I read. This book finds him returning to campus, hunting in Canada and investigating environmental screw ups in the former Czechoslovakia, among many other things. Best read with a dry martini at your elbow and a Cuban cigar in the house until your wife catches you.
March 9, 2012
This was a fun book to read, which is odd for a book on war. O'Rourke describes, in his unique way, the first Gulf War (and various other subjects).
The review of the Jimmy and Roz Carter book, and the associated drinking game, are worth the price of the book. Thankfully he takes the time to expose Carter for the numbskull he really is. That is refreshing in a time when the mainstream media treat the second worst President of my lifetime like he is some foreign policy guru.
BONUS: he takes on the sham of alcohol-free beer.
The review of the Jimmy and Roz Carter book, and the associated drinking game, are worth the price of the book. Thankfully he takes the time to expose Carter for the numbskull he really is. That is refreshing in a time when the mainstream media treat the second worst President of my lifetime like he is some foreign policy guru.
BONUS: he takes on the sham of alcohol-free beer.
June 4, 2023
Hold onto your hats, we're in for a bumpy ride.
Some might find O'Rourke a war mongering apologist for the military industrial machine of mega-wealthy corporate USA. This is one of the reasons I like him. He wrote lot's of stuff for the Harvard Lampoon, until they became so politically correct they lost their sense of humour.
The facts never get in the way of a good story. The facts here have never been successfully refuted by lefty inclined mung bean sandal wearing peace lovers.
This is also funny.
Some might find O'Rourke a war mongering apologist for the military industrial machine of mega-wealthy corporate USA. This is one of the reasons I like him. He wrote lot's of stuff for the Harvard Lampoon, until they became so politically correct they lost their sense of humour.
The facts never get in the way of a good story. The facts here have never been successfully refuted by lefty inclined mung bean sandal wearing peace lovers.
This is also funny.
June 13, 2009
If you are a bleeding heart, Al Gore, Oprah and Obama loving liberal, I don't recommend reading this book (though I really wish you would). And, just because I loved it, doesn't mean I'm a Republican either. I'm not. If you are sick of the left and right, I'd highly recommend digging into the psyche of P.J. O'Rourke. He may just change the way you vote in the next election. Non-party people unite! We may still have a chance.
Want to read
August 8, 2012Notwithstanding its, shall we say, insensitive title, it hard not to want to read a book written by "one of the most quoted living men in the Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations."
So far I am finding this early nineties account to be a howlingly funny lesson in relatively recent history. Although his is clearly a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, no one in his sights, on the left, right, or middle road, is safe from his acerbic tongue lashings.
So far I am finding this early nineties account to be a howlingly funny lesson in relatively recent history. Although his is clearly a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, no one in his sights, on the left, right, or middle road, is safe from his acerbic tongue lashings.
June 19, 2017
2.5 As seems to usually be the case, hit-and-miss, and seemingly more on the miss end in this collection due to dialing up the bitter nastiness. Ah, the proud neo-Libertarian "humor". Man I hope he gets over the hard on he has for the Carters – I mean, I grew up inside the Beltway during the Carter administration, and I've never so much as heard of anybody with 10% the passion about them, much less solely of the ugly, mocking hatred variety.
February 18, 2009
Funny. If you have to choose read Parliament of Whores. Funnier and more thoughtful.
Quotes:
Liberals have invented whole college majors - psychology, sociology, women's studies - to prove that nothing is anybody's fault."
"Government isn't a philosophical concept, it's a utility, a service industry - a way to get roads built and have Iraqis killed."
Quotes:
Liberals have invented whole college majors - psychology, sociology, women's studies - to prove that nothing is anybody's fault."
"Government isn't a philosophical concept, it's a utility, a service industry - a way to get roads built and have Iraqis killed."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2017
A series of articles written by the worlds only funny republican written from strife torn parts of the world. He says lots of things I don't agree with but the way he says them is brilliant. Loved his coverage of the first gulf war and his article on Paraguay made me want to learn more about the history of the country.Excellent.
July 12, 2012
O'Rourke is hilarious, but while he's a great demolitions expert on generalized stupidity, he's as effective at coming up with workable solutions as a U.N. task force on poverty. He seems to have an, "everyone and everything is stupid, except me and America, and I'm not so sure about us" outlook. Honest sure, but this man needs Jesus.
December 24, 2014
Whether you agree or disagree with P.J.'s views, you'll find his writing funny.
These are opinions, rather than facts. This is what the right wing in America has become - not factual arguments, but pleading rants. The worst of them rabble-rouse and spread misinformation. At least P.J. does it with a wry smile and a flash of wit.
These are opinions, rather than facts. This is what the right wing in America has become - not factual arguments, but pleading rants. The worst of them rabble-rouse and spread misinformation. At least P.J. does it with a wry smile and a flash of wit.
October 26, 2015
This is a collection of articles, many written for Rolling Stone magazine, mostly from 1989-1991. Many cover the first Gulf War. It's like stepping back in time 25 years - Saddam Hussein, the Soviet Union, Kuwait. It's kind of eerie, reading about what happened before the mess we're in now. At least O'Rourke is amusing.
May 20, 2007
i just picked it up as any other book to turn pages on. bu tto my astonishment, i found it genuinely funny and the o'rourke guy gets going against any one and everyone anywhere. very humorous and conveys a meaning attached along. suggested for all!
August 2, 2007
II couldn't even finish it. I like O'Rourke. He's an a**, but a smart and funny a**. But this book just annoyed me no end. I wanted to like it since I really liked "Holidays in Hell." Eventually I gave up on it.
June 12, 2008
This book had a lot of political humor and gave the unheard side of the story. O'rourke is foul and curses a lot, but his points are proven and he is a very smart guy. This got me intrested in a lot of issues in the early-mid 90's
February 10, 2009
I was reading this book at a U.S. Marine base in Iraq when a senior officer rushed over to me and began reciting passages from memory, cracking up as he did so. Very few writers are that good. One of the greatest collections of first-person reportage of all time.
September 16, 2011
I probably would have given this book 4 stars had I read it right after it was written in the early 90's. Having said that, it is still pretty damn funny.Books like these always remind me that history repeats itself.
October 31, 2011
I know this book was written many years ago but I recently picked it up at a garage sale and I am glad I did. It's part humorous romp and part history lesson. I really enjoyed it and I plan to explore more of PJ's books in future.
December 2, 2011
I would have given this four stars had I read it closer to when it was published. The bits on the recently collapsed USSR were interesting, but the bulk of the Gulf War coverage was not as intriguing.
February 22, 2012
Only ok, some parts were funny.
Most of it I think I would have appreciated more if I had lived through the events he is thrashing.
Then again some parts were hilarious. At least the last bits about the war were transferable. I guess war doesn't change.
Most of it I think I would have appreciated more if I had lived through the events he is thrashing.
Then again some parts were hilarious. At least the last bits about the war were transferable. I guess war doesn't change.
August 20, 2015
The funniest old school Reagan Republican. His writings and observations are interesting as much and they are humorous. Some of this book is quite dated. But the inside look at the embattled parts of the world at that time and how they really functioned is interesting.
January 22, 2017
Any idea what a "foot impelled bi-directional transport asset" is? Read page 187 to discover what normal people (as opposed to the U.S. Army) would call it. An interesting look at the changing face of warfare and many of its inanities. Don't know why we bother?
Read
June 29, 2007P. J. O'Rourke shows you can be funny despite being conservative.
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