Heading off for vacation...wondering what's happening with the world? Well..this book is a gem-- it's amazingly 2 decades old...but the stories are as fresh as ever...including the first chapter on what else LEBANON....and war....and you thought your hotel was a hellhole....this writer is amazing...I'm VERY IMPRESSED with his insight and how well the book gives us a view of what's happened or has not in the past 20 years!
PJ O'ROURKE WAS AN INTERNATIONAL editor for ROLLING STONE for years-- he's a dude from Ohio who has traveled the world especially as he says the 'hell holes' -- that's why it's called Holidays in Hell...
WARZONES...and other HOT SPOTS!
he revisits some of the war zones he's been too -- Lebanon, Panama, Post-Marcos Philippines, El salvador and then throws in a whole slew of controversial trips -- to such amazing places as Seoul, Korea, Heritage USA, At sea with the America's Cup, Africa in the 'old days' a Mexico border patrol experience, the Holyland and even Epcot Center.
MAYBE ONE OF THE BEST WRITERS OF OUR TIME?
You must read his stuff-- he may just be one of the best writers of our time. -- This guy has an amazing droll, dark comedy sense of humor or is it irony or sarcasm? His world goes behind the scenes where we would not want to go.
He sees what we might not and talks about what we would never dare to -- at least without some brewskis in us. In the preface he talks about this being a takeoff of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad-- and it is but it is also a cross between Chevy Chase National Lampoon Vacation and RV with Robin Williams and a bit of Updike (for the people) Steinbeck for the locations/places vs spaces and the sarcasm of a Philip Roth -- and it appears to be non-fiction.
Terrific read-took it on my vacation trip and it's easy to carry around and easy to read because each chapter is short -- 20-30 pages max and about one subject-- bit like a short story...
yet it all flows together. No matter what happens to you -- restaurant closed, flat tire on car, plane delay, yearning for a fresh apple instead of peanuts-- it all looks like a day in the park compared to his hellish experiences.
BUT THEY WILL make you laugh and think.
The sad part is the headlines today read like they did 25 years ago-- so it helps us come full circle with some history on the hot spots like Lebanon and Israel and even Seoul.
GREAT BOOKHolidays in Hell by P. J. O'Rourke
Edition: Paperback
LINK TO OTHER JOYCE SCHWARZ reviews on Amazon.com Reviews written: 117
Comments