A rule book for living in a world without rules, Modern Manners is an irreverent guide to anti-etiquette for the '90s and beyond. Pointed advice covers a range of topics from sex to death to reading habits. Also included are the most up-to-date forms of vulgarity and churlishness, as well as the latest fashion in discourtesy and barbarous display.
Modern Manners
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
As one of the few folks who made it out of the National Lampoon alive and writing, P. J. O'Rourke is--a comment that might please him more than most humorists--an elder statesman of American humor. While this says much about the thinness of the field, you gotta give him his props.
Modern Manners is good, early O'Rourke, a book that you can read and enjoy without being to the right of Francisco Franco. Who can resist lines such as "A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat." Or, "Don't wear a tweed jacket to work unless you expect to flush a covey of quail from behind the Xerox machine." Manners are a moving target, and some sections are in need of revision (cocaine really was a big deal, wasn't it?), but don't let that dissuade you. By and large, Modern Manners comes through admirably.
Review
“Modern Manners is O’Rourke doing what he has always done: making hilarious, insightful, often vicious fun of the world and all its inhabitants.” —Kim Hubbard, People
“It’s high time we deep-sixed the Emily Post and went with the O’Rourke.” —Frank Gannon, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Modern Manners is the sort of book that will have you calling friends at odd hours, and maybe even pestering total strangers seated near you on airplanes, just so you can read some particularly amusing passage out loud.” —Joe Leydon, Houston Post
“A reader who rushes through [Modern Manners] from cover to cover—like I did—will feel like a child who has gorged on chocolate cake: happy, but a bit disappointed that it’s all gone. The reason O’Rourke’s book is so successful, however, is not just his great sense of humor. O’Rourke’s writing has a cutting edge behind it, which makes a reader’s laughter just a bit thought-provoking, and just a bit rueful. . . . Much of [Modern Manners] is too risqué to reprint, but it’s all very funny.” —Kerry Luft, Chicago Tribune
“Extremely funny . . . [Modern Manners] must not be left where children can find it, for not only will they imbibe [O’Rourke’s] ideas on sex, drugs and booze (he’s for them), but they will also receive guidance on other forbidden things, like playing with food, which ‘must be done exactly right or it will lead to social disaster.’ . . . His book is the perfect companion for that laziest of summer pleasures, ‘thoughtless fun.’” —Susan Dooley, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“What O’Rourke has given us is not so much a book on etiquette as a collection of aphorisms in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce’s The DevilR...
--This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
“It’s high time we deep-sixed the Emily Post and went with the O’Rourke.” —Frank Gannon, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Modern Manners is the sort of book that will have you calling friends at odd hours, and maybe even pestering total strangers seated near you on airplanes, just so you can read some particularly amusing passage out loud.” —Joe Leydon, Houston Post
“A reader who rushes through [Modern Manners] from cover to cover—like I did—will feel like a child who has gorged on chocolate cake: happy, but a bit disappointed that it’s all gone. The reason O’Rourke’s book is so successful, however, is not just his great sense of humor. O’Rourke’s writing has a cutting edge behind it, which makes a reader’s laughter just a bit thought-provoking, and just a bit rueful. . . . Much of [Modern Manners] is too risqué to reprint, but it’s all very funny.” —Kerry Luft, Chicago Tribune
“Extremely funny . . . [Modern Manners] must not be left where children can find it, for not only will they imbibe [O’Rourke’s] ideas on sex, drugs and booze (he’s for them), but they will also receive guidance on other forbidden things, like playing with food, which ‘must be done exactly right or it will lead to social disaster.’ . . . His book is the perfect companion for that laziest of summer pleasures, ‘thoughtless fun.’” —Susan Dooley, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
“What O’Rourke has given us is not so much a book on etiquette as a collection of aphorisms in the tradition of Ambrose Bierce’s The DevilR...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you enjoy the intelligent and biting humor of a Dennis Miller and the vocabulary of a George Will you will love this book. If your idea of a great satirical read is "Mad Magazine" you will enjoy this book. If you think the Als - Gore and Franken - are brilliant you will hate this book.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Modern Manners: An Etiquette Book for Rude People written by P.J. O'Rourke is a humorus book. A book the will get you laughing and you will not spot till the end.
This is some of O'Rourke's early musings, but neverthless, it is a very funny, tongue-in-cheek way to spoof manners. As with most if not all of O'Rourke's writings you read it for the levity, flippancy, and jocularity, well you will NOT be disappointed.
Read this book if you want to get away from the serious side of life. As the frivolity takes hold, you'll find that you are more relazed after a really good chuckle.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By P. Miele
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is hysterical. I have given copies of it to all of my friends. If you are sarcastic, you will love this.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An all Time favorite.
I'm 46 now. When I was 19 my girlfriend bought this book for me as a gift. And to this day one of the funniest if not the funniest book I've ever read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Zolag
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't know -- I bought it as a gift.
Well, really, 20 more words. This survey is becoming cumbersome and annoying. Sorry. Sorry. Well, five more words and that's it.
Published 3 months ago by Suzanne Kincaid
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kindle version has lots of typos
This book is brilliant, witty and erudite. PJ O'Rourke has a sharp eye for the sublime and the ridiculous. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Shawn Desker
1.0 out of 5 stars
Farenheit 451
I've never thought of myself as a book-burner, but after reading the beginning of this book i'm prepared to make an exception in this case. Read more
Published 17 months ago by A. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Master Of Snarky and Snide Defines It All
P.J. O'Rourke has spent some part of his life observing manners, their uses and mis-uses. He prefers the latter as they provide territory, though he approaches it with hesitation,... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lew Troop
5.0 out of 5 stars
Darkly silly book
I read this book a couple decades ago, then ordered it via Amazon as a present for a friend. Those of you expecting O'Rourke to do political analysis in this book are looking for... Read more
Published on October 17, 2010 by T. Robinson
2.0 out of 5 stars
funny for people with an iq of 90.
i thought id enjoy a book from o rourke. i find his interviews rather cool. it turns out the humor got predictable and boring real fast. it reads like a dorky teen humor magazine
Published on September 12, 2010 by Philippe Besnier
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Funny Satire
This book is a good satire of our society and its mores. Written nearly 30 years ago, it still applies to American culture today. Read more
Published on March 5, 2010 by Jeremy Kerman
1.0 out of 5 stars
Perverted disgusting garbage
Reading Mr. O'Rourke's "All the Troubles in the World" gave me the impression that he is an excellent political/economics analyst with a tolerable bad streak. Read more
Published on March 19, 2006 by E Schuler
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not his best
I am a big PJ fan but this was disappointing with a serious lack of content. Start with his best works, Holidays in Hell and Parliament of Whores; then if you really want more work... Read more
Published on January 21, 2002 by BRETT ROBSON
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