Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism

by P.J. O'Rourke

Book Overview

With his latest national best seller, Peace Kills, P.J. O'Rourke casts his ever-shrewd and mordant eye on America's latest adventures in warfare. Imperialism has never been more fun.To unravel the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871139197
• ISBN13: 9780871139191
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Riot

O'Rourke delivers some of his best stuff in Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism. In this book, long time traveler and heavy drinker turned fake family man P.J. O'Rourke writes about his visits to Terrorist hot spot Egypt, he discusses nation building in Kosovo, he walks in recently conquered Baghdad, and he takes on hippie protestors marching in Washington D.C. P.J. O'Rourke has authored numerous works of this kind; they're basically the observations of a storied traveler pretending to be a serious journalist in some of the most dangerous places on the planet. Some of his other work in the arena includes "Holidays in Hell" and "All the Trouble in the World." It almost makes the reader wonder what P.J. did to make his assignment editors so angry. That's what also makes most of his works so much fun, O'Rourke approaches deadly situations with humor and pith. In the funny department, this is O'Rourke's best work. His opening essay discusses why American's hate foreign policy. This essay has got to be the best work ever for P.J. It is so dense, nearly every sentence brings either a thought or a laugh, and despite how funny the essay is, O'Rourke finds truth. American's do hate foreign policy, and we should. O'Rourke also dissects that the stances of other nations, and makes a humorous case for unilateralism. However, O'Rourke doesn't live up to expectation. The final essay of the book, the climax, his description of conquered Iraq, is a huge letdown. I doubt it's for any fault of O'Rourke's. he just wasn't exposed to anything more exciting than aid truck queues. This is still a must read, and it beats any of O'Rourke's other travel tails of mayhem.

PJ at the top of his form. Don't miss!

Previous reviewers have given you real reviews (well, except for the whackos) Here are some fun, free samples -- On 9-11: "Winners don't need to hijack airplanes. Winners have an air force." On terrorist losers: "When someone detonates a suicide bomb, that person does not have career prospects." PJ's suggested chant, for pointless protest marches: "Five, four, three, two. We don't have a doggone clue!" Very entertaining stuff, some with quite a bite to it. Don't miss, if you like PJ. Not a bad place to start, either. Happy reading-- Pete Tillman

Will you like it? Take this quick half-paragraph test.

It's easy to find out if you'll like this book. Read the following half paragraph from the end of chapter one: "But as frightening as terrorism is, it's the weapon of losers. When someone detonates a suicide bomb, that person does not have career prospects. And no matter how horrific the terrorist attack, it's conducted by losers. Winners don't need to hijack airplanes. Winners have an air force." If you think that's funny and on target, you'll like the book. If you fail to see the humor, or think he's off in the weeds on his opinions, try something else. I've been reading P.J. since his early National Lampoon days, and I think this is as funny as anything he's done in a long time. It's certainly better than his last two efforts ("Eat the Rich" and "CEO of the Sofa"). It's more comparable to "Give War a Chance". I'm glad to see him regaining his edge.

I Like the Places I Write About

"I like the places I write about. I enjoy the people. I have had a good time where ever I'vegone, Iraq included. My subject in a way is pleasure. This is a book about pleasantness which is why I have dedicated it to Mike Kelly", so says PJ O'Rourke in his new book "Peace Kills: America's New Imperialism. Mike Kelly was the editor of "The Atlantic" until he was killed in an accident in Iraq. Mike Kelly is the kind of person you want as a friend, funny, irreverent, kind, a family man who adored his wife and children- sounds like P.J.O'Rourke as a matter of fact.I have adored P. J. O'Rourke for several years. P.J. O'Rourke is an admitted Libertarian, as am I. P. J. lives in New England, he moved here after 9-11. He found the kind of simple life he wanted for his family and himself. but, he also has a home in the city, Washington, D.C. so he meet and greet old friends and do his job as a writer/reporter. P.J. also appears on NPR's "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on a semi-regular basis. All in all a man to be admired.In this new book, he has put together some of his articles from "The Atlantic" and "The Wall Street Journal". He talks about the start of the Iraq War. He was in Kuwait and was awakened by his wife in the US who called to tell him the war had started. He finally arrives in Baghdad and as he visits one of Saddam's palaces he says "If a reason for invading Iraq was needed, felony interior decorating would have sufficed." Now, do you understand why I love this guy's wit? He goes on to discuss his visit to Kosovo and Israel after 9-11. But the largest portion of the book is devoted to Iraq and Kuwait. He bargains with a local for a case of beer starting at $20 and ended up paying $24.50. What a country! He concludes that we will never have Peace but we will have a war where we talk about our soldiers we can say "They are our Heroes".P.J. O'Rourke is never dull. I search for his articles in "The Atlantic" first- they are always informative, entertaining and irreverent. This is my kind of book. He doesn't clear up my confusion but then, it's mine, anyway. prisrob.

Wickedly Funny

War is hell - but sometimes peace is worse. P.J. O'Rourke's latest book is one of his best. You could shave with this wit. Humor is always funnier when it comes from a particular point of view. When he travels the world and reports on its trouble spots, O'Rourke strikes the pose of the kid in the back of the class making funny noises, but secretly he's the kid in the front row who has done all his homework. He knows his stuff which makes his it funnier and more insightful. Take this passage on how to tell the difference between piles of rubble in the war in Kosovo: "When the destruction was general, it was Serbian. Serbs surrounded Albanian villages and shelled them. When the destruction was specific, it was Albanian. Albaninas set fire to Serbian homes and businesses. And when the destruction was pointless - involving a bridge to nowhere, an empty oil storage tank, an evacuated Serb police headquarters and the like - it was NATO trying to fight a war without hurting anybody." O'Rourke is a former hippie turned Republican frat boy and his work has appeal across the political spectrum - regardless of how much he can't stand Hillary Clinton. Stuffed shirts, people who refuse to laugh because there's so much suffering in the world, people who don't like a good politically incorrect joke over drinks should stay a hundred miles from this book. Anyone who refuses to take the world seriously should ring up several.