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Rating: 
Summary: A big boring read!
Review: An friend recommended I read anything by P.J. O'Rourke, so I purchased CEO of the Sofa, since it sounded like a fun title. Boy was I wrong! This guy O'Rourke is just plain boring, whiny, and unfunny! Save your money and rent Caddy Shack instead.
Rating: 
Summary: PJ O'Rourke's latest
Review: As any conservative or Libertarian can tell you, we needed a sense of humor to survive the last few years of the Clinton Administration and luckily, a few brave humorists like PJ O'Rourke were there to provide it. O'Rourke's latest book, the CEO of the Sofa, is a collection essays covering the end of 2000 and the first few months of 2001. O'Rourke presents them in a slightly new format that will probably catch his fans off guard. In an hommage to Oliver Wendell Holmes' The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, O'Rourke's essays are worked into a fictional narrative that details the opinions and reactions of O'Rourke's skeptical wife, his children, his generation Xish (or is that Yish) assistant, the Democrats next door, the Political Nut who Lives Around Here, and others. Through these asides, O'Rourke paints himself as a somewhat befuddled, middle-aged ex-Hippie trying to make his way through a world that's started to move past him. Personally, I enjoyed these experiments though I know that several other O'Rourke regulars did not. It's a matter of taste, really. It does somewhat lessen the sting of some of O'Rourke's barbs to then read about his inability to use the internet and I don't think it would be wise for him to continue this format as I really don't see what else he can do with it. Still, as a one-time experiment, it makes for an interesting read and it doesn't change the fact that his critique of modern American politics and politicians remains as hilarious and sharp as ever. Highlights include his analysis of the United Nations, his recap of the impeachment trial, fairy tales rewritten for Democrats, and his examination of whether or not Hillary Clinton is actually secretly very stupid. Other highlights include a wine tasting excursion with Christopher Buckley and an essay on celebrities O'Rourke has never heard of. As always, O'Rourke's barbs will warm the heart of anyone who could bring themselves to believe that Bill Clinton was actually the leader of the Free World. As others have stated, the book's experimental nature probably makes it prohibitive to people who are new to O'Rourke's style of writing and humor but if you're a fan of PJ O'Rourke's, you'll find much to enjoy in this book.
Rating:
Summary: O'Rourke mocks at - just about everything
Review: In this book O'Rourke is his usual savagely funny self as he gives his views on politics, welfare, medicare, republicans, democrats, the Clintons, Monica Lewinsky and life in general. He is particulalry funny when demolishing Hillary Clinton's book 'It Takes a Village' and another bizarre book, apparently a handbook of politically correct language (this book sounded so totally weird, I wasn't sure that he didn't invent it as a joke). His piece about India is particlarly good, nobody else writes about foreign parts as well as O'Rourke. Occasionaly I found myself getting irritated, as when he gets all Michael Moore-ish about women, going on about how intelligent, efficient, competent, and generally more adult and better than men they are. I hate this. Not being at all efficient, competent and adult myself, I find myself deeply loathing Mrs O'Rourke and all thoise other smartallick women who are so different from me. He's at it again later in the book when he's on about women being wonderful with children etc. Crikey, all these female paragons he seems to know make me tired. And it startles me a bit to find that he doesn't believe that Elian's father had any right to have his son returned to him, as a father himself I would have expected him to be more sympathetic to father's rights. However, in general this is a very funny book (his comparisons between Venice, Italy, and Venice, Las Vegas, had me in stitches, likewise his experiments with wine-tasting).His most profound comment in the book is "the difference between having one child and having two, is like the difference between keeping a dog and running a zoo" That is SO true. And his wife is probably not as tiresome in real life as she seems to be in this book. Very funny.
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