The Backside of War [P. J. O'Rourke]

The Atlantic Monthly ^ | December 2003 | P. J. O'Rourke

[Orangedog]

I would recommend "The Bachelor Home Companion." The closest I've come to passing out from laughter.

[meowmeow]

Bump to finish later. I just love P.J.

[Carolinamom]

Bump for later to finish.......very good read as far as I managed.

[jslade]

bttt

[BattleFlag]

Now that you mention it, The Bachelor Home Companion was recommended to me a long time ago and I remember looking for it, and, as I remember it was long out of print and next to impossible to find.

But, after a trip to Amazon.com, I see its available and as we speak an order for it and "Modern Manners: An Etiquette Book for Rude People" is being processed.

Thanks for reminding me about this book!

[Tax-chick]

P.J. O'Rourke, great stuff. This bit had me thinking "Net-knight and TaxRelief rebuild Iraq." (Did you hear the one about the two engineers and the microwave oven :-)

That evening at the airport a major and a lieutenant colonel from the Civil Affairs battalion drove the truck around scrounging material to build a latrine. The major was a mechanical engineer. The colonel was an electrical engineer. They argued as if they were married.

"We can build a lighter frame if we stress the plywood in monocoque construction."

"F*ck lightness—compression equals strength."

[Orangedog]

Modern Manners was my introduction to O'Rourke. I would advise you to not be eating or drinking anything while reading it. Things could get messy if you do.

[Fifth Business]

bump

[knews_hound]

BIG PJ Bump

[Mr. K]

ANY FREEPER WHO WANTS TO CONVERT A DUMBOCRAT SHOULD BUY "A PARLIAMENT OF WHORES" BY P.J.

It is the funniest book I ever read and the best conservative argument against big government.

P.J. is ASTOUNDING

[rudypoot]

bump

[Spruce]

Excellent read!

[Billthedrill]

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!

Hurt myself laughing on this one. P.J.'s sense of humor is ideally suited to the soldiers he met - two parts sardonic, one part antic, and a dash of tragedy. I hope he builds a book around this.

Perhaps technology is squeezing human beings out of warfare. But will they want to go?

This one deserves an evening's contemplation. The answer's easy - no. The reason, well, that's a lot tougher.

[NutCrackerBoy]

PJ bump.

[bootless]

I love P.J.'s writing.

The small, ordinary freedoms of life are priceless, especially if you remember to have someone else pay the price. Billboards on the backs of Kuwait's city buses show a photograph of a Kuwaiti hugging an American soldier during the 1991 liberation with the caption, in English and Arabic, "We Never Forget."

And I love this.

[Publius]

My favorite line:

Then, after the war in 1991, my students suddenly were starting to understand Waiting for Godot.

[SW6906]

Long, but well worth the read!

[blackbart.223]

"Now that you mention it, The Bachelor Home Companion was recommended to me a long time ago and I remember looking for it, and, as I remember it was long out of print and next to impossible to find."

May I suggest "Parliment Of Whores" and "Give War A Chance". Both are exellent and will leave you in stitches.

[xp38]

I've had the pleasure of chatting with PJ after a speaking engagement. As good in real life as he is here.

[Tax-chick]

I used to have all his books, but I lent them out and they never came back :-). Maybe I'll pick one up at the library later. His travel writing makes me happy to stay home!