All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty [Paperback]

P. J. O'Rourke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1994

The author of Parliament of Whores offers a satirical and insightful view of the world's worries, comparing over-population in Bangladesh and in California, multiculturalism in higher education and in Yugoslavia, and other issues. 150,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Political humorist O'Rourke (Give War a Chance) takes a swipe at "fashionable worries," reminding us that "This is a moment of hope in history"-no more evil empire to threaten us. His contention that this is "the best moment of all time" and the U.S. is "the best place to be" is funny mostly in one-liners and anecdotes, but his larger arguments flag: while Miami's efforts at multiculturalism are worthy of parody, a field trip to "multiculturalism in practice"-the war in Bosnia-is no real contrast. After skewering environmentalists, whom he accuses of crying wolf too often, the author visits the polluted Czech Republic to proclaim sophistically that collectivist government can't solve ecological problems. As usual, O'Rourke has a good eye for self-righteousness, but his libertarian reach exceeds his wisecracking grasp.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

"I hear America whining," the dyspeptic O'Rourke moans; "moral buttinskis" grouch and fret about "fashionable worries" when all the world really needs is a healthy dose of "property rights, rule of law, responsible government, and universal education." The Rolling Stone columnist here explores overpopulation in Bangladesh (and Fremont, California); famine in Somalia; the environment along the Peruvian Amazon, in Eastern Europe, and at the 1992 Earth Summit; multiculturalism at his alma mater, Miami University of Ohio, and in the former Yugoslavia; plague in Haiti; and poverty in Vietnam. This self-described Republican Party reptile can still strike journalistic sparks and puncture self-serving pomposity; increasingly, however, his iconoclasm seems to be just a more entertaining version of the propaganda generated by the half-dozen market-loving Beltway think tanks listed in O'Rourke's acknowledgments. Though some passages here are as penetrating and funny as anything in O'Rourke's previous six books, the ax he has been grinding so long appears to be in danger of losing its edge. Mary Carroll

Product Details

• Paperback: 340 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr; 1st edition (October 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871135809
• ISBN-13: 978-0871135803
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,849,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parliament of Whores goes abroad, December 4, 2001

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty (Paperback)

(...) [In] this very funny book by P. J. O'Rourke, he sets out to test
big government liberalism by seeing how it is playing out in the real world, on a series of issues : overpopulation, famine, ecological
disaster, ethnic hatred, plague and poverty. For making this effort to scientifically test the ideology of the Left, in the laboratory of
reality, he has been accused of practically fabricating the issues in order to shoot down their solutions. If only....

It is all enjoyable and a ringing vindication of free markets, limited government and American culture (circa 1950), but far and away the
best chapter is the overpopulation one where he compares that perennial favorite of the Paul Ehrlich crowd, Bangladesh, with Fremont,
CA. Why Fremont? How about, because they have roughly the same population density. By the time Mr. O'Rourke is done, the very
notion that population growth, in the abstract, is something that we have to be terrified of has been rendered utterly laughable (and laugh
you will). Also worth the price of admission, before its author totally fades into obscurity, is the evisceration of Al Gore's deranged
magnum opus, Earth in the Balance. Mr. O'Rourke delivers Mr. Gore a well deserved drubbing.

The book makes a fine companion piece to Parliament of Whores, sort of a foreign affairs version of the same tale. Taken together, they
stand as one of the best and certainly the funniest defenses of liberty you are likely to find.

GRADE : A-

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Intelligent, June 17, 2002

By 

Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty (Paperback)

It's always a pleasure to read a witty conservative, if only to know that those who think conservatives are a bunch of cold scolds might learn that it is possible to address serious issues and have a sense of humor. Of course the very fact that O'Rourke finds humor in the temple of "world crises" will convince those people that conservatives can be worse than cold scolds -- they even laugh in the face of serious problems.

All The Trouble in the World focuses P.J. O'Rourke's biting satire and sarcasm on several topics that were hot in the early 1990's (and still are): overpopulation, famine, ecological apocalypse, multiculturalism, and miserable third world regimes that hide their brutality and failure behind the facade of socialism and first world envy.

Interspersed behind the barbs and wise-guy cracks are usually thoughtful analysis and intelligent criticism. For example, he compares Bangladesh with Fresno, California. Both have the same density, but find themselves in dramatically different conditions. While Bangladesh has some problems not found in Fresno, O'Rourke argues it's lack of free markets and a creaking bureaucracy overwhelm what had historically been a pretty productive population. Of course, his travels there set the stage for many humorous observations and situations (The Ministry of Jute -- Monty Python would have had a time with that one).

Some of the best chapters focus on our own living room liberals: those whose mission it is to save America from itself. Two chapters on multiculturalism and the world environmental movement show the length to which people who think of themselves as liberal have really become authoritarians who brook no dissent (nor inconvenient facts) in their quest to make the world right by their mind. The jokes just write themselves in these chapters -- there is such a gulf between some of these people and the real world (not to mention freedom and the Constitution) -- that one alternates between laughter and amazement when reading of what is being done "for" us by those who don't trust us.

Sometimes the humor wears -- I get the same feeling when reading Dave Berry. A little time between chapters keeps the material more fresh and sharp. But O'Rourke undergirds all of his criticisms (this is a critical analysis) with facts and thoughtful arguments. He doesn't necessarily have all the answers, but he does have a different and refreshing perspective.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A witty, commonsense, no nonsense book, April 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty (Paperback)

Just got this book from our local library on an off chance and can't put it down. I love O'Rourke's wit, his commonsense and ability to cut through humbug. His description of life in Mogadishu and the reason aid did not get to the people dying of famine in Somalia answered so many of my questions. I can't help but think that a lot of his opinions are "tongue-in-cheek" and provocative but they certainly make one ponder. O'Rourke the mold was broken when you were born!