Rating: 
Summary: A different and perhaps even better O'Rourke.
Review: P. J. O' Rourke as a "serious" essayist, confronting the crucial problems of our day? Yes. And he's good at it.
Earlier O' Rourke work has caused some dissension in my household because I woke my darling from her sleep with my laughter. Not this time. There aren't many laughs in this work and the few that exist are not side-splitters. His essay on Iwo Jima is a must-read.
This is simply not what we have come to expect from O' Rourke. I don't know if this is the exception or a "new" O' Rourke, but regardless, O' Rourke's perspective is interesting and his commentary insightful.
Jerry
Rating:
Summary: I Like the Places I Write About
Review: "I like the places I write about. I enjoy the people. I have had a good time where ever I've
gone, Iraq included. My subject in a way is pleasure. This is a book about pleasantness which is why I have dedicated it to Mike Kelly", so says PJ O'Rourke in his new book "Peace Kills: America's New Imperialism. Mike Kelly was the editor of "The Atlantic" until he was killed in an accident in Iraq. Mike Kelly is the kind of person you want as a friend, funny, irreverent, kind, a family man who adored his wife and children- sounds like P.J.O'Rourke as a matter of fact.
I have adored P. J. O'Rourke for several years. P.J. O'Rourke is an admitted Libertarian, as am I. P. J. lives in New England, he moved here after 9-11. He found the kind of simple life he wanted for his family and himself. but, he also has a home in the city, Washington, D.C. so he meet and greet old friends and do his job as a writer/reporter. P.J. also appears on NPR's "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on a semi-regular basis. All in all a man to be admired.In this new book, he has put together some of his articles from "The Atlantic" and "The Wall Street Journal". He talks about the start of the Iraq War. He was in Kuwait and was awakened by his wife in the US who called to tell him the war had started. He finally arrives in Baghdad and as he visits one of Saddam's palaces he says "If a reason for invading Iraq was needed, felony interior decorating would have sufficed." Now, do you understand why I love this guy's wit? He goes on to discuss his visit to Kosovo and Israel after 9-11. But the largest portion of the book is devoted to Iraq and Kuwait. He bargains with a local for a case of beer starting at $20 and ended up paying $24.50. What a country! He concludes that we will never have Peace but we will have a war where we talk about our soldiers we can say "They are our Heroes". P.J. O'Rourke is never dull. I search for his articles in "The Atlantic" first- they are always informative, entertaining and irreverent. This is my kind of book. He doesn't clear up my confusion but then, it's mine, anyway. prisrob.
Rating: 
Summary: O'Rourke strikes again
Review: A witty and incisive collection of articles on the state of the world, it stars with 'Why Americans Hate Foreign Policy', and goes on to describe the baffling and tangled stae of affairs in Kosovo in 1999. I found the chapter describing his visit to Israel in 2001 particularly interesting, his comments on Zionism are fascinating. The chapter on Egypt is excellent too, though I did have rservations about his comment that we had no civilisation in Europe when the Pyramids were built. We didn't have civilisation on the scale and grandeur of Egypt, but we had some, after all, Newgrange was built before the Pyramids, and it's still standing. He also drags out those old chestnuts about the Arab world being more civilised than Europe during the Middle Ages, and about classical learning being unknown here until the Renaissance, both quite untrue. Mr O'Rourke knows a lot about a lot of things, but I don't think he knows much about the Middle Ages. The chapter about the anti-war demonstrations in Washington is very funny, and the chapter on Kuwait and Iraq during the early part of the war utterly fascinating. O'Rourke's genius for describing countries at war is unequeled. The chapter on Iwo Jima is interesting, but I found myself somewhat bemused by his statement that the Japanese officers were arguably more sensitive - nad more intelligent-than their American counterparts. Praising the culutral attaintments of the Japanese officers, he tells us that one of them knew Spencer Tracy, and that all three officers fought to the death. Having had an uncle who was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and was put to work building their vile Burma railway, I am not disposed to shed any tears over Japanese deaths during the war, and I don't care if every officer in the Japanese army knew Spencer Tracy AND Katherine Hepburn, there was nothing intelligent or sensitive about the way they treated their prisoners. This is a very good book, but not quite as dazzlingly brilliant and witty as some of his earlier books like 'Holidays in Hell' 'Give War a Chance' "All the Trouble in the World" and 'Eat the Rich'. And I definitely feel that when it came to writing about Iwo jima, he must have had too much saki
Rating:
Summary: This is Classic O'Rourke!
Review: For the past twenty years or so, P.J. O'Rourke's beat has been the bizarre, the inexplicable, and the stupid. It is no surprise that this particular mix has taken him, more than once, to Washington, D.C. and to the Middle East. It is to these familiar O'Rourkian climes that he returns in PEACE KILLS, asking the major questions of our time. Why do nominally peaceful religions cause so much bloodshed? Can Serbians and Albanians --- or Israelis and Palestinians, or radical com-symp college students and neo-troglodyte book reviewers, for that matter --- live together peacefully? Can you get a Heineken in Kuwait City? How about Budweiser? Whiskey?
O'Rourke is a self-described "trouble tourist," and in a world where trouble means something more serious now than, say, Presidential grand-jury testimony, the arrival of a new book on "America's Fun New Imperialism" is more than welcome. Even more welcome than that, because O'Rourke's previous book dealt with manners domestic --- really, really domestic; a work in which the author's three-year old daughter predominated. One got the opinion that P.J. really needed to get out of the house a bit, which he does here.
Like most books in the O'Rourke canon, PEACE KILLS is largely a collection of magazine articles tied together with some common theme. The most logical common theme would, of course, seem to be the war on terror, but O'Rourke's journey starts well before that --- with prewar trips to Kosovo and Israel. In Kosovo, the author witnesses the post-invasion of the Balkans by international peace organizations, and ponders how American forces can achieve a stable, multicultural society when similar efforts have failed, and failed badly, in places like, well, Detroit. He finds that Israel is, surprisingly, a lot like New Jersey --- that is, if there were barbed wire all across the Delaware River, with dispossessed Pennsylvanians holding a nearby intifada.
Then September 11th happens (and no one familiar with the O'Rourke public persona will be surprised that there's at least one stop to a bar in his narrative of that day). His first stop is Cairo, the cradle of modern civilization, now exhibiting only bits and pieces of it --- NASCAR-scale traffic jams, ugly sofas, pyramids, the "Pizza Hat" restaurant, and the Arab-language version of the Conan O'Brien show.
There is then a brief return to American cultural and social issues. ("How come I've never heard of anyone --- Linkin Park, Ludacris, OutKast --- on the Billboard Top 50?" O'Rourke asks. "Why can't they spell?") He deconstructs a document opposed to the American war effort signed by a variety of Nobel Prize laureates (and that, for some reason, does not include Yasser Arafat), thereby demonstrating that very, very smart people can write some very, very stupid claptrap now and then.
But the home of claptrap has always been Washington, and the best part of PEACE KILLS is that O'Rourke rarity --- straight reporting. O'Rourke attends a peace rally on The Mall and does absolutely nothing but relate what he sees there --- because some things, like middle-aged women dressed up as fairies and wearing Rollerblades, are simply beyond the capacity that ridicule has to address such things.
PEACE KILLS ends with a behind-the-scenes --- well, behind the curtains of a fancy Kuwait hotel, at least --- look at the kick-off of the Iraq war. Readers aren't necessarily supposed to support the O'Rourke view here --- sow the ground with salt, sell the population into slavery, roast the Baath party over a slow fire --- but, having gotten this far, will be treated to the cutting rhetoric, quick wit, and outrageous conduct of America's greatest gonzo journalist currently in captivity.
--- Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds
Rating: 
Summary: If peace kills, what does war do?
Review: George Orwell continues to be exactly right when he wrote that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. P.J. (and what kind of grown man would use those initials anyway?) is one many right-wingers who truly embody a steadfast refusal to let go of their ignorance and see reality for what it is.
This nation is suffering from a widespread ignorance in which a president has brought us lies, deception, incompetence, atrocities, and one economic disaster after another, yet he still gets to keep his job and have supporters like O'Rourke!
One of the main problems with O'Rourke's beliefs is that it is a self-defeating prophecy. The hypocrisy and ignorance of the Bush administration will only bring more terrorist threats against the U.S., which will lead to more time and money spent on military solutions instead of trying to find other ways that would require ingredients that many conservatives don't really have: intelligence, communication skills, and a respect for justice, equality, and understanding.
If O'Rourke thinks peace kills, how about he have to deal with his family being killed in a bombing strike and he lose his arms and legs like some U.S. soldiers have had to face? What would he have to say then? How much "fun" would that be? Usually, it seems that only a trauma like that could get a republican supporter to wake up from his political slumber since extremes seem to be the only thing conservatives understand.
Rating: 
Summary: When does Classic =cliche
Review: Have loved PJO since "RPR" was published in the 1989 but he is starting to become predictable . This will be the last PJ book I purchase without having a review of the contents first . A sad day , as the arrival of a new PJ O'rourke was something to relish .
Rating:
Summary: This is the PJ we remember
Review: I own, or have at least read, nearly every book PJ O'Rourke has published, up to and including the original American Spectator "Enemies List." So it was disappointing to read "The CEO of the Sofa," which I considered a failed, if admirable, experiment. "Peace Kills," however, is much closer to the classic PJ his fans know and love, and a worthy successor to "Holidays in Hell" and "All the Trouble in the World."
Over the years, PJ's writing has come to rely less on the wisecrack and one-liner, and more on shrewd observation and memorable reporting. His chapters here on Israel and Egypt, especially, are both entertaining and insightful. But I've always thought PJ's greatest strength was his ability to see through and deflate the hypocrisy and BS of the Left. His brief chapter "Nobel Pretensions" and his reporting on Leftist demonstrations in Washington, D.C., are fine examples of this. (I have to note, though, that reporting on Leftist demonstrations in D.C. seems to be a staple of PJ's repertoire, and so this article may bear some similarities to ones you've seen before. But then, that's true of Leftist demonstrations, too.)
But PJ has more than one club in his golf bag, as his recounting of a trip to Iwo Jima shows. He can be funny, but he can also be moving, and sometimes almost poetic. And nearly always, of course, memorable and worth re-reading. This may not be PJ's Best Book Ever, but it's still a fine addition to the shelf. Fans will enjoy it, and people interesting in well-written and original viewpoints on the world's trouble spots will find it worth picking up.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'd found 'Give War a Chance', 'Holiday's in Hell' and 'Eat the Rich' works of genius. Compared to his older work, this one is just sad. If you have any awareness of current events, then don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous Look at the World We Live In
Review: If you're looking for a knee-slapping, good time description of the world today, you should look somewhere else. Actually, I don't know where you could look, in light of the times. In any event, this is a funny, light and easy to read book that examines hot zones aroung the world with a lighter perspective. Oddly enough, the author makes quite a few valid points about the foundational aspects of conflict around the world. As Americans, it would be good for us to learn that we can't solve the world's problems with the fast-food approach that we find so satisfying to apply to other aspects of life. I especially enjoyed Mr. O'Rourke's descriptions of his interaction with common people in the Middle East, since it drives home the fact that most people just want to be left alone to make a decent living; without much regard for the politics of hatred that our leaders tend to focus upon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not His Best
Review: In this collection of essays, O'Rourke recounts his travels to such places as Iraq, Israel, and Egypt. As usual, he writes with a smirk and makes more than a few political jabs, but overall, this book is not as funny as most of O'Rourke's works. Probably the most entertaining essay is on the eclectic and often unintentionally ironic Washington, D.C. demonstrations. Overall, however, the book did not deliver the kind of high quality satire I have come to expect from O'Rourke. It was a quick and amusing read, to be sure, but it was one of his lesser books.
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