P.J. O'Rourke speaks at a January 2007 event at the Cato Institute about his latest book.

Patrick Jake O'Rourke (born November 14, 1947) is an American political satirist, journalist, and writer. Born in Toledo, Ohio, he was educated at Miami University (Ohio) and Johns Hopkins University. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... 1867 edition of the satirical magazine Punch, a British satirical magazine, ground-breaking on popular literature satire. ... Journalism is a discipline of writing. ... Scribe Writing Writing, in its most common sense, is the preservation and the preserved text on a medium, with the use of signs or symbols. ... Nickname: The Glass City Location in the state of Ohio Country United States State Ohio County Lucas Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (D) Area    - City 217. ... Miami University, founded in 1809, is the second-oldest public university west of the Allegheny Mountains and seventh-oldest public university in the United States. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... The Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ...

He confesses that during his student days he was a left-leaning hippie, but that in the 1970s his political views underwent a complete volte-face. He emerged as a political observer and humorist with definite libertarian, sometimes conservative, and decidedly anti-leftist viewpoints. Singer at contemporary Russian Rainbow gathering Hippie, often spelled hippy outside the United States, refers to a subgroup of the 1960s and early 1970s counterculture that began in the United States, becoming an established social group by 1965 before declining during the mid-1970s. ... Volte-face is a total change of position, as in policy or opinion; an about-face. ... See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... Conservatism is a political philosophy that usually favors traditional values and strong foreign defense. ... // Usage of the word Liberal In the United States, the common meaning of liberal has changed over time. ...

O'Rourke wrote articles for several publications before joining National Lampoon in 1973, where he served as managing editor among other roles and authored articles such as "Foreigners Around the World." Going freelance in 1981, O'Rourke began publishing in magazines such as Playboy, Vanity Fair, Car and Driver, and Rolling Stone. He later became the foreign-affairs desk chief at Rolling Stone, where he remained until 2001. In 1996, he served as the conservative commentator in the point-counterpoint segment of 60 Minutes. January 1973 cover of National Lampoon National Lampoon was an American humor magazine that began in 1970 as an offshoot of the Harvard Lampoon. ... A freelancer or freelance worker is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer. ... The first issue of Playboy. ... American actress Demi Moore, on a typical Vanity Fair cover (August, 1991) Vanity Fair is a glossy American glamour magazine monthly that offers a mixture of articles based on sensational exaggerations, jet-set and entertainment-business personalities, politics, and lies. ... Cover of Car and Driver from age of psychedelic lettering Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. ... This article is about the magazine. ... 60 Minutes is an investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. ...

An early proponent of gonzo journalism, O'Rourke's nascent master-work in the genre was a National Lampoon article, appearing in March of 1979 "How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink."[1] The article later appeared in his third book, Republican Party Reptile (1987), which became a bestseller. As the book's title implies, O'Rourke espoused economic and geopolitical views that were notably libertarian, including his views on sex and drugs. He is the author of 13 books, most recently On The Wealth of Nations, a commentary on Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It is the first book in The Atlantic Monthly's "Books That Changed The World" series. Hunter S. Thompsons famous Gonzo logo. ... A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... Geopolitics is the study which analyses geography, history and social science with reference to international politics. ... Adam Smith (baptized June 5, 1723 O.S. / June 16 N.S. – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneering political economist. ... An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Adam Smith, published in 1776. ... The Atlantic redirects here; for the ocean, see Atlantic Ocean. ...

O'Rourke can best be described as a libertarian (and has, in fact, sarcastically proposed two other American political parties: one to cater for those with his peculiar mixture of views, and another for those who hold the opposite mixture). According to a 60 Minutes profile, he is also the most quoted living man in the The Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations. 60 Minutes is an investigative television newsmagazine on United States television, which has run on CBS News since 1968. ...

O'Rourke is H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on National Public Radio's game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He is perhaps best known in the United Kingdom as the face of a long-running series of television advertisements for British Airways in the 1990s. He has appeared on the long-running British comedy panel game Have I Got News For You twice, in 1995 and 2004. i still feel like being nice H.L. Mencken who: journalist, satirist, social critic, cynic, and freethinker, what: most influential American writers of the early 20th century. ... The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Institutes stated mission is to broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and peace by seeking greater involvement of the... The Atlantic redirects here; for the ocean, see Atlantic Ocean. ... The American Spectator magazine. ... The Weekly Standard is an American neoconservative political magazine published 48 times per year. ... Offical NPR logo National Public Radio (NPR) is an independent, private, non-profit membership organization of public radio stations in the United States. ... Wait Wait. ... For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

A self-confessed luddite, O'Rourke still types his manuscripts on an IBM Selectric typewriter. The Luddites were a social movement of English textile workers in the early nineteenth century who protested — often by destroying textile machines — against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt threatened their livelihood. ... The IBM Selectric typewriter (occasionally known as the IBM Golfball typewriter) is the electric typewriter design that brought the typewriter into the electronic age starting in 1961. ... Mechanical desktop typewriters, such as this Underwood Five, were long time standards of government agencies, newsrooms, and sales offices. ...

O'Rourke has been married twice and has three children — two daughters and one son, the most recent born in 2003.

Bibliography

• Republican Party Reptile (1987)
• The Bachelor Home Companion (1987)
• Holidays in Hell (1988)
• Modern Manners (1983)
• Parliament of Whores (1991)
• Give War a Chance (1992)
• All the Trouble in the World (1994)
• Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, and a Bad Haircut (1995)
• The American Spectator's Enemies List (1996)
• Eat the Rich (1999)
• The CEO of the Sofa (2001)
• Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism (2004)
• On the Wealth of Nations: Books That Changed the World (2006)

See also

• War Feels Like War which P.J. O'Rourke stars in.

War Feels Like War is a 2004 British documentary film. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

P. J. O'Rourke

• P.J. O'Rourke Bio at GTN Speakers Bureau

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• The Unofficial P.J. O'Rourke Admiration Site

• P.J. O'Rourke speaks at the Commonwealth Club video