Republican Party Reptile: The Confessions, Adventures, Essays, and (Other) Outrages of... [Paperback]

P. J. O'Rourke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 1995 | Series: O'Rourke, P. J.

"I think our agenda is clear. We are opposed to: government spending, Kennedy kids, seat-belt laws, busing our children anywhere other than Yale, trailer courts near our vacation homes, all tiny Third World countries that don't have banking secrecy laws, aerobics, the UN, taxation without tax loopholes, and jewelry on men. We are in favor of: guns, drugs, fast cars, free love (if our wives don't find out), a sound dollar, and a strong military with spiffy uniforms. There are thousands of people in America who feel this way, especially after three or four drinks. If all of us would unite and work together, we could give this country. . . well, a real bad hangover." "To say that P. J. O'Rourke is funny is like saying the Rocky Mountains are scenic-accurate but insufficient. At his best he's downright exhilarating . . . Republican Party Reptile is as rambunctiously entertaining as a greased pig catching contest. If you can find a funnier writer than P. J. O'Rourke, buy him a brandy, but don't lend him the keys to your pickup." -- Chicago Tribune; "Republican Party Reptile is hilarious. I laughed so hard reading this book that my armchair needs reupholstering. P. J. O'Rourke has got to be the funniest writer going, and boy does he go. This is high-octane wit, S. J. Perelman on acid." -- Christopher Buckley.

Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (September 29, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871136228
• ISBN-13: 978-0871136220
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,019,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed, with a few gems January 29, 2002

By Eric Gudorf

Format:Paperback

This book is somewhat of a mixed bag. Unlike some of his other works, this has no central theme, but is instead a motley collection of articles written over the years for various and sundry publications on subjects ranging from why he hates bicycles to chasing down a story in the Bahamas about the involvement of high government officials in the drug trade. A few are real clunkers, such as a fictionalized account of his family life back in Ohio, titled "The King of Sandusky" or an over the top piece called "Just one of those days" in which he portrays an executive whose daily routine includes gunfights with his neighbors, raping his secretary and setting off bombs on the subway in order to get to work on time (so his boss won't have him shot). Most are OK, like the aforementioned bicycle piece, which he wrote for "Car & Driver" magazine back in the mid 80's. It was funny at the time, lampooning bicycling just about the time it was becoming trendy, especially with the eco-weenie set. In fact, this article brought howls of protest in the form of letters in the following issue, thus basically making his point appear all the more valid, namely, that too many bike nuts at the time suffered from an acute overdose of self righteousness accompanied by a chronic lack of a sense of humor. Like I said, it was funny at the time, but now seems rather dated.

Still, this entire effort was greatly redeemed by a few pieces that were absolutely spot on. One was "Ship of Fools" in which our intrepid reporter signed up for a cruise ship tour on the Volga in the USSR, based on an ad he'd read in "The Nation" magazine. He joins up with myriad groups of American leftists whose desire to see Soviet life in the best possible light overwhelms any qualities of observation or common sense they might happen to possess. These unfortunates are the targets of PJ's satire at its absolute best as he rips into them repeatedly for their blatant toadying on behalf of the Soviet system. Rarely has the banality of evil been described with such zest.

But even this pales in comparison to the book's crown jewel, namely a short article entitled simply "Ferrari refutes the Decline of The West". It is, on one level, a great road trip story, in which he and his boss drive from New York to LA in a brand new Ferrari 308GTS at speeds as high as 140 mph. Anyone who's ever lusted after exotic sports cars, or fantasized about driving on public roads at double or even triple the speed limit will love it on a purely visceral level, but that's only part of the pleasure, since PJ uses this drive as a metaphor for what makes Western Civilization, and America specifically, great. PJ describes an encounter with a black salesman in a Cadillac on the top of Hoover Dam in which the latter, after hearing their account of blazing through Arizona and New Mexico, looks at the Ferrari and says, simply, "Goddam, that's BEAUTIFUL!" PJ states, after finally turning over the car to a Hollywood studio "It was a glow that wouldn't fade. And I still felt good when I flipped the keys to the receptionist ...... And in fact I still feel good today." So will you after reading it, it is, in fact, worth the price of the entire book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading. April 27, 2000

By James Yanni

Format:Paperback

This is not P.J.'s best work, but it's far from his worst. Better than, say, "Modern Manners" or "Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence, And A Bad Haircut", but not nearly as good as "Parliament Of Whores", "All The Trouble In The World", or "Give War A Chance"; about on a par with "Holidays In Hell".

For those of you unfamiliar with P.J. O'Rourke, be warned: P.J.'s humor is not for everybody. He is outspokenly politically incorrect, and can be downright insulting to those who disagree with him politically. What I find to be his saving grace on that score is that he doesn't seem to take himself or those who DO agree with him terribly seriously, either. So if you're politically to the left of Spiro Agnew, and easily offended, this book is not for you. But if you're thick-skinned enough to be able to recognize humor even when it's insensitive and coming from someone you disagree with, there truly is a great deal of very funny material here.

If you're only going to read one book by P.J. O'Rourke, this shouldn't be it. It should be "Parliament of Whores", unquestionably his best. But if you've tried that and liked it, you may enjoy this as well.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Easily worth the cover price... May 2, 2000

By "wbichteman"

Format:Paperback

"Republican Party Reptile" is a collection of essays and ramblings by P.J. O'Rourke, a sometimes Journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. Although not every one of these pieces is a masterwork there are several stories that simply must be read. One of my favorites is a story where P.J. is asked by Car and Driver magazine to drive a Ferrari cross country to California to be used in a film. When our deadline-challenged hero approaches his editor about taking time from his other projects to make the trip his boss invites himself along. What follows is one of the greatest road trip stories I have ever read. Not because it is filled with adventurous predicaments but because it conveys the thrill and freedom of both the automobile and the road with such a romantic slant that the story stands alone as a thing of beauty. Several other stories featured are simply hysterical. From analyzing drunk driving methods to taking a Russian cruise with a bunch of...activists to railling against the menace of bicycles, P.J. O'Rourke has made an art of sarcasm. I dare you to read this book without laughing out loud.