by P. J. O'Rourke
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Product Description
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.
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
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Among the worst I ever read!, 2009-01-03
This book has nothing to do with 'Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government'. It's all about a humbug journalist ranting and trying to prove that he's seen it all and knows it all while making very little sense.
While some small sections of the book does make sense, most of it's idiotic, misleading, and filled with conservative rant. PJ is either dumb or lunatic or both! Well, he's a conservative journalist trying to cover subjects much bigger than his background and intellect will ever allow him to understand. It's hard to figure how this guy is much different from Rush the redneck entertainer.
This book is among the worst I ever read. This could be a bit harse given that I read quite selectively. I could go on and on with examples of how bad this book is, but what's the point! Buy it if you're in for a ranting ride with this idiot humbug.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Small world, 2008-09-19
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!
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Imagining an Updated Edition, 2008-04-23
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
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Entertaining Political Read, 2008-03-10
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.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 How to stop government, 2008-01-11
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
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