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A #1 New York Times bestseller: "An everyman's guide to Washington" by the savagely funny political humorist and author of How the Hell Did This Happen? (The New York Times).
P. J. O'Rourke's Parliament of Whores has become a classic in understanding the workings of the American political system. Originally written at the end of the Reagan era, this new edition includes an extensive foreword by renowned journalist Andrew Ferguson—showing us that although the names may change, the game stays the same . . . or, occasionally, gets worse.
Parliament of Whores is a "gonzo civics book" that takes us through the ethical foibles, pork-barrel flimflam, and Beltway bureaucracy, leaving no sacred cow unskewered and no politically correct sensitivities unscorched (Chicago Tribune).
"Insulting, inflammatory, profane, and absolutely great reading." —The Washington Post Book World
“Highly pungent and wickedly accurate observations . . . [from a] boisterous, pedal-to-the-floor humorist . . . The results would curl the ponytails of most poli-sci professors.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Pick up O’Rourke’s Parliament of Whores, a riotously funny and perceptive indictment of America’s political system. You’ll stop reading only when you stop laughing. . . . Parliament of Whores may not spark a revolution, but it one of the few books on civic affairs worth reading from cover to cover.” —Michael Riley, Time
“A gonzo civics book . . . O’Rourke is like a trophy hunter let loose in an unguarded zoo.” —Chicago Tribune
“P.J. O’Rourke’s new book is the most outrageous American civics text ever written. It is insulting, inflammatory, profane and absolutely great reading.” —Landon Parvin, The Washington Post Book World
“Being a politically conservative baby-boomer and the White House correspondent for Rolling Stone magazine would guarantee P.J. O’Rourke a pretty strange perspective to begin with. Add to that his quirky, revealing turns of phrases and a healthy non-partisan irreverence, and these collected articles are remarkably fresh, even when they’re about the 1988 political conventions.” —Caryn James, New York Times
“A bilious, muckraking, liberal-bashing, Bush-burning, entitlement-tweaking, thoroughly hilarious screed that does for the inner workings of American government what Marion Barry did for hotel-room home movies.” —Joseph P. Kahn, Boston Globe
“Parliament of Whores is exceptional. It’s funny, outrageous and right-on.” —Curt Schleier, Philadelphia Inquirer
“A cynical, politically incorrect book that sneers at Congress, the president, ecology, Social Security, you, me, them, all of us.” —George Meyers Jr., The Columbus Dispatch
“An impressive series of scathingly hilarious screeds directed against the high and mighty and the low and relentless.” —Joe Leydon, Houston Post
“Best humor book of the year. What is truly extraordinary is that it is also the most accurate, incisive, informative civics textbook around today, a wickedly wonderful rebuke to the numerous educators who make the study of government so boring and off-base.” —Forbes
“Parliament of Whores is very witty. It almost makes government make sense.” —Mike Wilson, Miami Herald
“P.J. O’Rourke is not a man to suffer fools–or foolishness. And thank goodness. Without his latest book, Parliament of Whores, we might never realize what a cesspool of silliness American government really is. . . . Civics class was never this amusing.” —Deb Mulvey, Milwaukee Sentinel
“[O’Rourke] is often so marvelously funny, it’s worth putting aside one’s biases in order to enjoy some humor so sharp it draws blood from both right and left.” —Paul Craig, Sacramento Bee
“As his entertaining, informative and fun-filled book proves on every page, O’Rourke is arguably mainstream journalism’s cleverest and most politically incorrect humorist. He is funny, flip, sarcastic, rude, irreverent, perceptive, a little nasty, bright and talented.” —Bill Steigerwald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“This is a well-written, pointed, entertaining book. It’s not journalism in the purest sense, but it works. And it may be the most forthcoming and accurate civics lesson in print.” —David Gould, Savannah Press
P. J. O'Rourke is the best-selling author of ten books, including CEO of the Sofa, Holidays in Hell, All the Trouble in the World, and Eat the Rich. He is currently a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly.