Rating: 
Summary: Excellent political satire
Review: Liberal, conservative, or none of the above, P.J. O'Rourke plays all sides of the fence...and picks on them too! Clever, thoughtful, multi-dimensional, and gut-wrenchingly hilarious political satire that examines all possible aspects of an issue, neither sidestepping views not convenient to his own nor leaning too far in any political dogmatic direction. P.J. O'Rourke is not only a great satirist, but a keen political observer who is unusually both journalistically objective and harshly opinionated. Whatever his readers' political preference, P.J. O'Rourke is sure to make someone angry...and doubled over with laughter!
Rating: 
Summary: Draws blood on both conservative and liberal sides
Review: O'Rourke explains the idea of big government in a brash, but humorous way. This book is more analysis than satire, and is not as funny as his other works. His criticism of "big government conservatism" shows it is just a renamed label for worn-out Kennedy/Carter-era liberalism. Recommended for those tired of our limited two-party system.
Rating:
Summary: A poli-sci primer, a travel column, and 1000 laughs
Review: OK, I'll admit it. I'm a Libertarian, so maybe I'm biased. But PJ has a way of showing through humor and observation the fallibilty of both government and the people who wish to change it. PJ's way with words is incredible. His analogies bring to mind Douglas Adams, and his satire is unparalleled. Think of Robert Heinlein meets The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. A must-read!
Rating:
Summary: humous
Review: P.J. O'Rourke does it again by using his life as a journalist to uncover the american political system looking at things like special interests, foreign policy, presidential campaigns and congress. The book is insightful and fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: No finer civics lesson available
Review: P.J. O'Rourke is hands down the single funniest polticial observer in recent memory and (even though he's a Republican) very good at what he does...which is tell you why the government is so f-ed up. I first read this book a little less than a year ago, and it's been probably my favorite of P.J.'s more cohesive works (of the obvious grab-bag of essays, it's either Rep Party Reptile or Age and Guile). Sure, you won't agree with everything he says (if you are of the Sean Hannity, "I Must Agree With Everything The Repubs Do Because They Are Never Wrong" mindset, this isn't a book for you), but you have a great time reading it. One of the other reviewers called reading this book a "guilty pleasure", and I think that applies well for those of us left-of-center who still like a good laugh every now and then. But there's some serious stuff here too, couched between the wit: I won't repeat the words here, but his analogy concerning the drug war hyperbole is astute and saddingly accurate. The budget chapter strikes out any cash for the National Guard, as O'Rourke had friends at Kent State (in a rather weak-kneed footnote, Peej decides his budget needs revision due to the Gulf War breaking out after he wrote it, it feels tacked-on and possibly a retreat from his earlier stance). Overall, this is P.J.'s best work, one that satirizes everyone in Washington who is wasting space. Written during the first Bush's administration, it's gleefully disrespectful to that era's mindset and makes you savor what bad things P.J. might have to say about the current Dumbass-in-Chief. On some levels, this is a product of its time, but it still holds up well enough to be read long after anyone remembers who the hell any of the leaders were. I have to credit PJ with giving me the desire to write, and while I heartily disagree with him politically the man has common sense, and there's still a streak of libretarianism in me left over from my youth in the Republican-dominated South. This is O'Rourke's best, and it could've been written today and still say the same things. A fantastic read from a fantastic (and funny) voice in American society.
Rating:
Summary: Particularly funny to those who work on "the Hill"
Review: P.J. O'Rourke perfectly captures the essence of the political game where our congressional leaders act as traffic cops deciding who gets what portion of our tax money when, where, how and why. Why else would they spend so much for a job that pays comparatively so little? And, P.J. is one funny, as in ha-ha, guy. P.J. correctly comments that this situation, one of time immemoriam, would not exist if most of us didn't benefit in some way from the process. Therefore, it exists because of we the people. In one sense the politicians are just responding to our needs and demands. In another they're passing out financial favors resulting in patronage which in turn creates for them a base of recipients/voters who will continually re-elect them. DeToqueville pointed out in 1835 upon touring America that the event which would upend democracy would be the realization of over 50% of the people that they could effectively vote themselves largess at the expense of the wealth producing minority (see Gibbon, "the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"). The silver lining to this cloud is that as the information revolution proliferates, more and more people will experience an upgrade in their fund of knowledge which will propel the potential for democritization of dictatorships everywhere (see "the Twilight of Sovereignty" by Wriston). As Jefferson pointed out, for a democracy to function correctly you first must have an educated citizenry. Only then will the behavior of the "whores in our parliament" be more responsible.
Rating:
Summary: Best in its genre
Review: PJ is very good at hating, since that allows him to display his wonderful, odious, arrogant and accurate sense of humor. His satires go right to the heart of the matter: government. Government IS inefficient, greedy, frivolous, ridiculous (though it's better than anarchy). Being a good journalist, PJ not only insults, but documents. He explains and the research shows. He is a serious journalist with a non-serious attitude. I understood much about the American government and enjoyed even more PJ's sarcasms. I wonder what he would write if he lived down here in Mexico, where things are that bad and worse.
Rating:
Summary: Forget what you learned in High School Civics.
Review: Politically correct? Most decidedly not. Politically accurate?Without a doubt. If P.J. O'Rourke's critique of the Americanpolitical system wasn't so devastatingly accurate this book would rank alongside the classics of American humor. Sadly, O'Rourke's apt conclusion about the United States Government is all too true: "Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy, the whores are us." PARLIAMENT OF WHORES should be required reading in our nation's high schools. If O'Rourke's political treatise was offered as a supplement to the usual dry textbooks which are normally found in our nation's political science classrooms, the United States would have a citizenry whose political activism is unmatched across the globe. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book. Worth reading
Review: Send a humorist to Washington, and this is what you get. The book gives a brief look at the corruption, hypocrisy, and incredibly wastefulness of Congress. I'd recommend it to everyone, especially my liberal friends... It's a serious book in that it talks about serious issues, but it's entertaining and funny!
Rating:
Summary: Funny but much more.
Review: Superb. This book really cuts to the core of political philosophy and the humor is a bonus. The rest of PJ's stuff is hit or miss but this one is a dead center bullseye.
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