Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29793 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.com
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

From Publishers Weekly
As a conservative, political humorist O'Rourke ( Holidays in Hell ) can get on liberals' nerves with his mindless characterization of environmentalists as "tree huggers" or his mockery of Jesse Jackson's "daft notions." Then again, any satirist who compares George Bush to Captain Kangaroo and would lop millions from the military budget can't be accused of partisan target practice. O'Rourke's basic theme--there's too much government, and what government we have is tremendously inefficient and wasteful--reverberates through his vitriol, as he takes readers through a congressman's typical day, unmasks the hollow charade of presidential conventions and offers squibs on the savings-and-loan bailout, the war on drugs, housing policy, the Supreme Court, etc. Loosely organized as a civics textbook, these essays at their best are deadly accurate, very funny and on-target, a purgation of the Augean stables of American politicswhew! .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Investigative humorist O'Rourke puts this vividly cynical examination of how our government works into perspective when he asks: "What the fuck do they do all day, and why does it cost so goddamned much money?" In a manner that is more likely to grab a reader by the lapels and throttle him into hysterics than your average high school civics textbook, O'Rourke deftly skewers our three branches of government. That the enigma of government can be reduced to a parliament of whores is matched only by the enigmatic author himself. Described as an intelligent conservative, he is a National Lampoon alumnus and a Rolling Stone reporter who also garners critical acclaim from the National Review . Intelligent indeed! Sure to be a hit among liberals and conservatives alike. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/91 . --Joe Accardi, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

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