false 126077 8 No doubt about it: P. J. O'Rourke has a bizarre sense of fun. "What I've ... been," he writes in his introduction to <I>Holidays in Hell</I> "is a Trouble Tourist--going to see insurrections, stupidities, political crises, civil disturbances and other human folly because ... because it's fun." Forget Hawaii or the Poconos--O'Rourke gets his jollies in places like war-torn Lebanon where he is greeted at the border by a gun barrel in his face, or Seoul, just in time for election-day violence. Wherever he goes, however, O'Rourke takes his quirky sense of humor, laser eye for detail, and artful way with words: a Philippine army officer is "powerful-looking in a short, compressed way, like an attack hamster," and the Syrian army is described as having "dozens of silly hats, mostly berets in yellow, orange and shocking pink, but also tiny pillbox chapeaux.... The paratroopers wear shiny gold jumpsuits and crack commando units have skin-tight fatigues in a camouflage pattern of violet, peach, flesh tone and vermilion on a background of vivid purple. This must give excellent protective coloration in, say, a room full of Palm Beach divorcees in Lily Pulitzer dresses." <p> O'Rourke's flip, sarcastic style isn't for everyone, of course; the concept that anyone could find sightseeing in the Beirut or El Salvador of the 1980s <I>fun</I> might prove offensive to more than a few readers right off the bat. But love him or hate him, P. J. O'Rourke knows how to tell a good story, and if you like your travel writing laced with more than a little cynicism, <I>Holidays in Hell</I> could be just the book you've been looking for. 790662 1988 Holidays in Hell total:440|5:125|4:196|3:105|2:14|1:0| 440 1752 575 39 2 0 false false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 10:37:47 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 10:50:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 07:17:03 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 10:16:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 1998 Sat Apr 12 09:41:21 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 12 09:42:32 -0700 2008 5 1 false false Fri Jan 04 12:41:45 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 04 12:42:19 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Sep 30 10:29:22 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 10:46:07 -0700 2008 endlessly gangland.net save it to favorites and call me in the morning because i am in love with you earth. People of earth what the fuck ya all upset with each other for in groups where i...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 18 09:39:41 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 09:43:54 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 09 12:14:38 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 09 12:25:27 -0700 2007
O'Rourke was a foreign correspondent for 'Rolling Stone', and was sent to every god-forsaken hellhole in the world. It is from his experiences in these...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Mar 01 13:08:14 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 21:57:11 -0800 2009
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18373...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 21 02:24:45 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 09:26:16 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 25 18:15:19 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 18:15:19 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 1990 Sun Apr 12 21:32:18 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 21:32:45 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Aug 27 16:16:30 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 16:17:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 31 13:06:22 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 13:10:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 28 20:49:51 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 28 20:59:51 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1992 Mon Jun 11 21:29:20 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 21:36:23 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 22 09:36:48 -0800 2008 Fri Jun 20 09:40:23 -0700 2008
I was just thinking on my drive home yesterday that he needs to make a newer updated version about the current state of Holiday's in Hell. That could be truly funny too. Although maybe not as funny since the United States is currently really embroiled in the whole ...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Nov 12 21:13:36 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 20 20:39:50 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Tue May 20 09:45:01 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 09:47:08 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Jan 23 18:49:37 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 18:50:47 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon May 07 05:44:36 -0700 2007 Mon May 07 05:44:36 -0700 2007