Republican Party Reptile

Book excerpt: In the twenty-one pieces collected in this book, P.J. O’Rourke visits the Lebanese civil war and the Marcos election campaign, sees Russia through the bottom of a vodka bottle and examines sundry aspects of Western civilization, such as the great bicycle menace, the history of the last fifteen minutes and ‘How to drive fast on drugs while getting your wing-wang squeezed and not spill your drink’ ‘This boozy hymn to home – to America – is funny because it is resonantly true . . . For conservatives and liberals, or for anyone bent double under the weight of political earnestness, Republican Party Reptile is a wonderful bonus indeed’ Wall Street Journal ‘He is funny. As with Evelyn Waugh, I can see why he makes me laugh, but I can’t see why he makes me laugh so much’ Chris Peachment, The Times ‘The funniest wind-up artist to emerge from America since Hunter S. Thompson’ Time Out ‘P.J. O’Rourke has to be the funniest writer going, and boy does he go. This is high-octane wit, S. J. Perelman on acid’ Christopher Buckley ‘Extremely literate, funny, irreverent and refreshingly unpatriotic . . . these essays are a delight’ Daily Telegraph ‘The funniest American writer I have read since Thurber’ Tom Sharpe