Random O'Rourke

The theme here is money, finance, and economics, but sometimes that just means that somewhere in a piece there is some reference to money or whatever passes for currency in the odd out of the way place in which O'Rourke has found himself. (example - the Glock is the new Visa card of Mogadishu.) The book is a fairly random collection of different pieces, articles, and columns, so I guess that's to be expected.

I may be done with O'Rourke. As he's gotten older he's gotten grumpier, softer around the edges, whiter, and very predictable. If you already know where and what the punchlines will be, and if it all sounds sort of familiar, it may just be time to move on.

That said, while some of the bits are superficial or downright silly, there are flashes of insight, some surprising connections, a few nicely turned phrases, and enough clever throwaway lines that I can't say I was disappointed by the book. I've probably just had enough, though.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I love PJ O'Rourke, but this book was disappointing
It seemed like a rehash of better, old books with some not very deep economic analysis.

If there's anyone we can count on for hilarious and insightful political and economic commentary, it's P.J. O'Rourke. How can anyone speak so much truth and make me laugh out loud so much? His latest collection of wisdom and laughs is None of My Business: P.J. Explains Money, Banking, Debt, Equity, Assets, Liabilities and Why He'sNot Rich and Neither Are You.



Some of O'Rourke's stories, and certainly his ideas, will be familiar to O'Rourke's readers. He is a libertarian/conservative, but most of all he's full of common sense (but I repeat myself). Besides his lucid take on economics and economic policy, his perfectly placed one-liners set his work apart. For instance, after comparing the cost of living for a middle class family today to the years of his youth, he writes, "What the math tells us is . . . In order to live an ordinary middle-class life, you have to be rich." I can relate to that.



On a more practical level, he raises legitimate considerations for the charitably inclined. "The . . . problem with charity is that you have to be careful when you try to make the world a better place. When you try to make the world a better place, you're assuming that you know what the world needs, that you know what the world should be doing, that you know what everyone in the world wants. I don't even know what I want." Humbling and true. Same goes for government efforts as well.



On the media, O'Rourke says "a significant American consumer trend is a bull (not to say bullsh-t) market in shallow, sensationalist, and often erroneous news stories." He's not a Trump lover or hater, but he sees the bias in the news: "You'll never see a headline about how good things are. Especially not involving President Trump."



None of My Business is a breath of fresh air. O'Rourke's unique perspective is decidedly on the right, but with enough good will and truth that surely those on the left can appreciate his writing. May his pen never run out of ink.





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Hilarious as ever. If he lived in England, PJ O'Rourke would be a regular on TV's Grumpy Old Men, but i don't think he's give up his guns

Once upon a time when I was very rich I read P.J. O'Rourke and laughed. Now that I am as poor as a churchmouse and need him and this book, I can't get into it. I didn't like the style and often could not figure out what he was getting at. I haven't been able to afford new glasses recently and maybe that's the problem, but anyway I didn't finish the book.

Someone once called economics the"dismal science." From most books on economics I've read, thus is pretty true, they mostly make for dull reading. Happily to save us all and to us understand economics PJ O'Rourke comes riding in on his tractor.

This book, while short, is absolutely delightful, full of the author's great wit. One of the things I love best about O"Rourke is his ability to explain difficult concepts with apt, everyday analogies. An example of this is his chapter on the "Central Bank of Me," showing us how the Federal Reserve works by applying it to his middle-class life. The book is full of great stuff like this.

I loved it and I read it in a day.

Another great read by P. J. O'Rourke! I smiled and laughed throughout this book. I highly recommend this book.

I love to listen to P.J. O'Rourke but I didn't like reading his writing nearly as much, although he makes a lot of sense and the book is amusing. However, I didn't finish it.

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

P. J. O'Rourke is known for "humorous" writings on a wide variety of topics. In None of My Business, P. J.tries to provide a off-kilter look at money, economy, mutant capitalism, the digital economy, and consumption.

P. J. O'Rourke opens the book with the admission that he does not know how get wealth. But he tries to have fun with discussing economics as a blood sport that he enjoys as a spectator. He then proceeds to have three chapters under the heading "How I Learned Economics by Watching People Try to Kill Each Other"; four chapters under "Money and Banking"; three chapters under "Mutant Capitalism"; twelve chapters under "The Transition"; six chapters under the heading "Consumption"; and finishing with seven chapters under "Random Walk".

Basically P. J. O'Rourke has taken everything including the kitchen sink that he thinks he knows about money, economics, consumers and the like, stirs it together, and hung it out to dry. So the reader's enjoyment will depend upon their interest. But the chapter comparing the cost of a middle class lifestyle from the 1950's with today is worth the price of the book. So, if you like P. J. O'Rourke or humorous examination of economics, you may like this book.

PJ O'Rourke may be the funniest political commentator writing today. I was alternating laughing out loud and ready passages to my wife as O'Rourke navigates the surprisingly humorous world of finance. Highly recommended

O'Rourke, the libertarian humorist and satirist, decides to take on economics and technology in this latest round of tongue-in-cheek irreverence. If you're familiar with O'Rourke's previous work, you know what you're getting into. If you're not familiar with his particular brand of anti-big-government humor - O'Rourke is a former writer for National Lampoon, a roving reporter, and currently writes columns for several news and opinion publications; his typical style is to take a topic and simplify it down to easily mock-able bits, frequently using amusing anecdotes and a smattering of non-sequitur. He's very much in similar humor vein to Dave Barry and Tony Kornheiser. In this particular book, O'Rourke spends the first half going over some (very) simplified economics in attempting to make his case that free-market capitalism is the best form of social construction available and that representative democracy is the best form of government to support free-market capitalism. The arguments, while probably not persuasive enough to convert those who disagree, are amusing and are written in a reductivist way which can help get at the roots of the libertarian frame of thought for those who don't understand where the logic comes from. The second half of the book O'Rourke shifts into full-on "grumpy old man" mode to decry technology in nearly all its forms. He does this knowing he's in "grumpy old man" mode, and even frames this a social class (the grumpies and opposed to the yuppies). Targets are typical - smartphones, social media, overly complicated cars, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, etc. and this section of the book is the weaker of the two. Perhaps if you're of a certain age, this "it's new and scary and I hate it" type of writing will be appealing, but either I haven't hit that point or I just don't get it. O'Rourke's political writing is still very fun to read, but once he switches to social commentary I lose the plot. Recommended for those who like charming political reading while sipping a gin-and-tonic in a hammock.