World Famous Comics: Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government
By: P. J. O'Rourke Publisher: Grove Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Grove Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 240 Publication Date: January 07, 2003
Called "an everyman's guide to Washington" (The New York Times), P. J. O'Rourke's savagely funny and national best-seller Parliament of Whores has become a classic in understanding the workings of the American political system. Originally written at the end of the Reagan era, this new edition includes an extensive foreword by the renowned political writer Andrew Ferguson -- showing us that although the names and the players have changed, the game is still the same. Parliament of Whores is an exuberant, broken-field run through the ethical foibles, pork-barrel flimflam, and bureaucratic bullrorfle inside the Beltway that leaves no sacred cow unskewered and no politically correct sensitivities unscorched. "Highly pungent and wickedly accurate observations ... [from a] boisterous, pedal-to-the-floor humorist." -- The New York Times Book Review "Outrageous ... It is insulting, inflammatory, profane, and absolutely great reading." -- The Washington Post Book World "A gonzo civics book ... O'Rourke is like a trophy hunter let loose in an unguarded zoo." -- Chicago Tribune
Amazon.com Review: If satirists are at their best when tussling with something they hate, then this is P.J. O'Rourke's masterpiece. He clearly hates government--and has hated it since before it was cool to do so--and for all the right reasons, too: it's clumsy, inefficient, hypocritical, greedy, and arrogant. In other words, it magnifies the faults of the poor saps who staff it. Parliament of Whores is the humorist's howl of bitter laughter at the entire bloated, numskulled mess. As befits an ex-editor of National Lampoon, nothing is out of bounds for O'Rourke. Speaking of the fabled "football"--that satchel that follows the president around 24/7--the author doubts there are really launch codes in there at all--nothing but "a copy of Penthouse and a pint bottle of Hiram Walker--a Penthouse from back in the seventies, when Penthouse was really dirty, I'll bet."
Parliament of Whores is perfect for anyone who longs to cultivate an entertaining brand of cynicism, to be "a lone voice--not crying in the wilderness, thank you, but chortling in the rec room." O'Rourke is a master at making you laugh in spite of the better angels of your nature, and the only negative thing to be said about this tour de force is that his flamethrower brand of satire leaves nothing in its wake--certainly not the suggestion of an improvement. --Michael Gerber
Small world I have read this book and I am amazed by two things.
It seems that although quite a lot of time has passed since it was first published -- not much changed.
Additionally, being a Pole living in Poland I can compare the "rules" that apply to both the US and Polish authorities and it seems that they do not differ much. So although the author describes specific situation, I am afraid it the problem is universal.
Great reading!
Imagining an Updated Edition P.J. O'Rourke is a wildly entertaining writer. In fact, I may as well admit to being a fan of his entire canon right now. P.J.'s got such a razor-sharp wit, I don't feel the need to agree with him when I laugh at his material.
I read PARLIAMENT upon its initial publication, and suffering through the interminable 2008 presidential campaign prompted me to return to this book.
It's still really good stuff, despite the fact that the material is now 20 years old. That said, some of it has become undeniably dated. For example, P.J. lashes out at environmentalists warning of global warming as misguided "special interest groups spreading pop hysteria and merchandising fashionable panic."
Not too prescient there, I'm afraid. Worse, not funny. I think most reasonable people would now agree that the environment has graduated from a "special" interest to a vital and global one.
But elsewhere, O'Rourke's indictments of bureaucracy, judges, and Congress still have big, sharp teeth. In a way, it's too bad that he wrote most of this material back during the Bush, Sr. presidency. The former president left O'Rourke without much material to work with... I'd love to see him write this book using more contemporary (and explosive) examples.
Whaddaya say, P.J.?
Also recommended: O'Rourke's On The Wealth of Nations
Entertaining Political Read This was a fun, entertaining novel. O'Roarke is pretty fair in his coverage--he points out the flaws on both sides of the political fence ;) This is a quick, easy way to skim the surface of the political system without getting too muddled in intricacies and details.
How to stop government P.J. O' Rourke has just one aim, how to stop government from governing. In his Parliament of Whores he exposes in a hilarious way all the wrongdoings of government. Why is government always able to save money in the long term and has government not a single idea how to save money now? It is just one of the striking questions of O'Rourke. Of course, O'Rourke is a conservative, so he favors restraint of government. Although his analysis is deeply biased it is fun reading this lone humorist. His attempt to explain the entire government is doomed to fail, but especially his preface about God and Santa Claus is wonderful. God is difficult, unsentimental, Santa Claus is cheerful and loves animals.In all respects you should prefer Santa Claus. There is just one thing, Santa Claus doesn't exist (and God neither.........................?). I rate this book with three stars. His writing has a hard edge, capable of offending many well meaning officials and politicians. But maintaining this hard edge during the whole book is a bridge too far.
Luuk Oost www.luukoost.nl
Funny and good polemic, but take it with a grain of salt First of all, this book is extrememly funny. Its humor also contains some reasonably cogent conservative/libertarian critiques of government in general and the US in particular. I don't happen to share most of PJ's political philosophy, but I enjoyed the book and even found some of it persuasive. Why only three stars then? Well, basically because the author isn't merely a libertarian polemicist, he also often crosses the line into being a republican partisan. He totally reduces his political opponents to caricatures and doesn't present or confront their strongest arguments. As a humerous polemic this is probably fine, but there are times when his kidding-on-the-square dissolves into sneering contempt for people who see things differently. At his worst he can be just like the attrocious Anne Coulter. I've seen PJ on "Real Time with Bill Maher", and I know he's not really like that in person. He actually will listen with respect to an opposing viewpoint and will even concede a point when appropriate, but I do think that the way he ridicules liberals does feed into the same destructive critique of Coulter & company. Overall I'd reccomend this book because its a funny and insightful look into the world through libertarian conservative eyes. But I hope before deciding you agree with the author on any of his points you do your own investigation - he doesn't even try to be fair or tell the whole story.
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