(no subject)

[threemonkeys]

Peace Kills by P.J. O'Rourke is another book with a big font, big margins and a corresponding low word count. I'm not complaining. I wish the word count had been even lower. Over the years I have enjoyed O'Rourke's humour and insight even as I rarely agreed with his politics. It is dangerous to only read the work of people you agree with. O'Rourke is how I used to gain insight into the USA right while still being entertained. But with this effort, the entertainment is almost gone. It is replaced with sad excuse making for what passes for American foreign policy. Why the change? The articles in this book date from 2001, so there is a change in mindset with the whole "war on terror" thing going on. O'Rourke also has changed publisher for his pieces. Previously he wrote for Rolling Stone, now he writes for The Atlantic. It isn't all bad - the pieces written about Israel and Egypt retain the old humour and observation of local character. The rest varied from the interesting but unfunny to the outright offensive. Another author for the "don't bother any more" category. Perhaps I should start watching Fox news instead.