Former war correspondent P.J. O’Rourke, tired and too old for danger, takes on a series of supposedly safer, more comfortable journeys. This time he has his family, including his children with him. His journeys include our nation’s capital, skiing in Ohio, and a horseback trek in Kyrgystan. O’Rourke is funny. I found the book entertaining, for the most part, especially his interactions with the “communist business capitalists.” (This is my term). If there is a fault to this work, it is the over-coverage of his children. They were funny at the beginning, but became repetitious as the book went along. I have not even finished this book yet (and I'm unsure whether I will even do it), but I have to take three stars away from my dear friend P. J. O'Rourke. I loved "Holidays in Hell." It's one of the funniest books I've ever read and as a journalist (although I never even came close to the war sceneries and gang territories he describes) it feels quite familiar. So I had very high hopes for this one. Sadly, they were not fulfilled. I have read about five of the stories so far and they are dull, slow, and very political. Too political for my taste, especially because O'Rourke is republican (which I was not aware of when reading "Holidays in Hell"). He walks on mined territory by talking about things like abortion and his endorsement of wars and weapons. But even my political differences with the author taken aside, this book does not even come close to the genius of its predecessor. If you'd like to read stories about him going skiing in Ohio with his wife and kids and visiting war monuments and airplanes, you might like this one. I, however, was hoping for a continuation of the first part of the series and was bitterly disappointed.
What do You think about Holidays In Heck (2011)?
P.J. O'Rourke is back! After a string of unfunny works, this one is a tonic to my sandblasted soul.
—Kelly
Yikes. Crabby old man syndrome. Worse: crabby old republican man syndrome.
—emiliavb
Not quite up to PJ's usual standards, but worth the time
—Gurans
