Rating: 
Summary: OH, BOY! HERE'S O'ROURKE!
Review: The comedic curmudgeon is back and, oh, how we've missed him. Has marriage, fatherhood, and liberal neighbors tamed P. J. O'Rourke? Evidently not for although he now stays closer to home he's still Argus-eyed and his satire is as sassy as ever. Provoking laughter all the way this best selling author of ten books now gives us his jaundiced and juicy views on a myriad of diverse topics, such as Hillary Clinton's book, Venice vs. the Las Vegas Venetian, women in the workplace, social security, the missile defense system, and much more. He's unbaised. Each party and persuasion receives a verbal knuckle rapping from O'Rourke, who has said, "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." Re the United Nations O'Rourke writes, "They have bagels (at the U.N. Cafeteria) with butter. No cream cheese. No lox. Just butter. At the U.N. they put butter on their bagels. No wonder these people can't achieve peace in the Middle East." His take on the drug problem is "The problem with illicit drugs is that nobody knows anything about them - except for those of us who found out too much, and we have memory problems." O'Rourke's combination of humor and intelligence is rare. As I said, we're glad he's back. Some may welcome him; others may be offended - no one will be bored. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: If only politicians had the same viewpoint!
Review: The world would be a much better place if politicians understood what P.J. (and his readers) know! P.J. again gives a "no holds barred" assessment of how politics works in a "laugh to keep from crying" manner. His description of the U.N. was hilarious, yet bitter truth. He also gives his view on all aspects of life using a clever array of characters to spout off to. This volume fits in well with "Eat the Rich", "All the Trouble in the World", and "Give War a Chance". So, pour another Gin and Tonic, light that cigar, relax and have some fun!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Among P.J.'s Best, but Has its Moments
Review: With "The CEO of the Sofa," P.J. O'Rourke continues his recent trend of attempting to tie his various magazine articles together thematically. It worked brilliantly in his previous effort, the economics made funny tome "Eat the Rich." It works less well here. "CEO," for the most part, focuses on domestic American life, rather than O'Rourke's usual travel writing. Parts of the book are VERY funny (particularly the first chapter, in which he gives the UN a well deserved bludgeoning). Other good rants involve modern celebrities and the inane 2000 Presidential campaign. Unfortunately, the unifying theme of this work, the author sitting around the house with his family, is patently annoying. He also throws in some material, like the drunk wine tasting, that very much reads like filler material. Additionally, some of his pre-September 11th cracks (like the ones about Rudolf Guiliani and Osama Bin Laden) seem short sighted and inappropriate now. Overall, this book would have been stronger had O'Rourke just bound up a collection of the original articles instead of trying to unify them.
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