The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again) (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
This is an author that can have you rolling on the floor with laughter, but this is a different kind of book. It's an autobiography of sorts. Or rather, it's the story of how the baby boomers grew up and got to be how they are. P.J. O'Rourke can't help being funny, of course, so if any other author had written this I would consider it entertaining.Thing is, for him the bar is higher and he misses it. The time would be better spent re-reading the CEO of the Sofa, for example. I like books to teach me, to entertain me and to make me think, so if he's only going to score on one of the three fronts he needs to do it at the usual P.J. O'Rourke standard.The other thing is that I don't believe he could have been as big a goof in his youth as he claims in this book. The proof is how amazing a command of the Greek (yes, Greek!) language he displays when he goes through the etymology of all the words he chooses to describe his generation. When exactly did he learn his Greek if not during his allegedly wasted youth?On the other hand, this is not a bad book. I may not have discovered much about the author here, but I feel like I might have come to understand Bill Clinton better. From halfway through the book I kind of felt he was always there in the background, the archetypal baby boomer, picking the low-hanging fruit and feeling real good about himself. Funny thing is, he barely gets mentioned, if at all.So perhaps it's one of those cases where you reference ten books but not the one you used as a source. Maybe P.J. O'Rourke has done it again. But probably not. It's probably just me thinking that. I had expected to really like this book because over the years I have enjoyed P.J. O'Rourke's writing. I clearly remember some of his satire in Rolling Stone Magazine going back 25+ years. He is pretty funny when he does a guest spot on "Wait, wait, don't tell me". I was very disappointed with his backward look at his childhood and young adult years, framed in the Baby-Boomer context. There were chuckles here and there, but most of it fell flat for me (a Baby-Boomer). A lot of his focus was on his "male" experiences, so perhaps if I was a man, I could have related and found more humor in his writing.
What do You think about The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault) (And I’ll Never Do It Again) (2014)?
As a boomer, I enjoyed the memories. Not sure younger readers would enjoy it as much.
—Anna
PJ's books are usually snarky but thought-provoking. This one is just snarky.
—TehCurryFace
