Holidays in Hell

"A Trouble Tourist- going to see insurrections, stupidities, political crises, civil disturbances... because it's fun"
By sally tarbox on 5 May 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Laugh-out-loud adventures from the 1980s, as journalist PJ O'Rourke travels the globe. A Ramble through Lebanon ("in Lebanon you'd be crazy not to have a gun. Though, I assure you, all the crazy people have guns too."). A student protest in S Korea, patrolling the US / Mexico border for illegal immigrants, a satirical look at Panamanian, Salvadorian and Filipino government... Nearer to home, he visits Belfast during the troubles in The Piece of Ireland that Passeth all Understanding, investigates fun in Warsaw and is underwhelmed by Europe: "The French are a smallish show more monkey-looking bunch and not dressed any better, on average, than the citizens of Baltimore". He explores Israel, South Africa -and Russia as it begins perestroika.
Some of the funniest episodes are in his native USA, visiting a born-again Christian resort ("Dorothy and I came to scoff - but went away converted. Unfortunately we were converted to Satanism."), the Epcot Centre and the Gorbachev/ Reagan meeting.
Some of the government stuff left a jumbled impression on me - the Central American countriesrun together in my mind. But certainly an entertaining, non-PC account. show less

I think I would have rated this 4 stars when I first read it a couple of decades ago... It is still hilarious, but vigorous satire and above-it-all laughing at misery makes me feel a tad uncomfortable when it didn't bother me, then. That being said, I was reminded of this tome when I saw it on "15 funniest travel books ever written" on CNN.com. Now what strikes me is how sad so much of the problem spots are still problem spots without resolution: illegal immigrants from Central America, infighting in the Levant and parts north, ... even the promise of the Reagan-Gorbachev summit didn't pan out in these Putin times...

..Also, I think this the type of travel writing, Henry David Thoreau warned of: "It's not worthwhile to go around the show more world to count the cats in Zanzibar" and from Walden, "I read one or two shallow books of travel in the intervals of my work, till that employment made me ashamed of myself..."

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From an Epcot review I did in 1995:

Holidays in Hell by P. J. O'Rourke I one of my favorite travelogues. In that hilarious and snide collection, he declaims, “This book is written from the worm's viewpoint, and the things I've asked my fellow blind, spineless members of the phylum Annelida The annelids, also known as the ringed worms or segmented worms, are a large phylum, with over 17,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. are things like, 'What's for dinner?’” He also includes in that witty compendium a withering attack on Epcot. ...

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My reactions on reading this book in 1991.

Beyond the cynical, black, sometimes hyperbolic humor of this book, O'Rourke gives some telling insight into various hellholes on the planet. (Most are Third World ones, but there is also the strange land of the Euro-Weenies and Dark Places of America: Heritage U.S.A. and EPCOT Center.) P.J. tries to avoid cliches, see both sides, and cite the telling detail whether it's the befuddled Afrikaaners, the El Salvadorians who can't be satisfied given their position, the anarchic Beirutians, and the brain-dead, smug Europeans.

O'Rourke's position seems closest to libertarian. He despises liberals and cites many examples of their lies and stupidities. But he also takes a few swipes at Republicans. show more Indeed, he seems unsure if America can help the rest of the world. O'Rourke is firmly anti-communist. His piece on Poland is a set-piece of his philosophy. Here O'Rourke ignores direct talk on totalitarian Communism and its effect on freedom and wealth. For him it's crucial that life under the system is boring, squallid, and no fun. He really is, as he quips, interested in the difference between wrong and fun. O'Rourke is convinced America is the best place on Earth but in political, physical, and social danger from within and without. O'Rourke is proof that truth about the world can be communicated with engaging humor. O'Rourke may do more for the political education of the American populace than many "serious" writers. show less

The author wrote about his travels, and published as the "International Affairs Desk Chief" at Rolling Stone. This is a travel book. The author chose to visit and write about trouble-spots around the globe. He did sight-seeing in war-torn Lebanon, was pepper-gassed in Korea, checked out night-life in Poland, and did a Christmas in El Salvador. He described a Philippine army officer as "powerful-looking in a short, compressed way, like an attack hamster".

He takes on serious issues, with merciless parody: "Due to this actuarial wrestling match between mortality and screwing like bunnies, average age in the Third World will drop precipitously. By 2013 many Third World business and political leaders will be under the age of five. Thus show more government and economic matters will be conducted at approximately the same level of maturity and sophistication as they are now." [254]

He's pretending to just be out to have a good time, but usually at the expense of others, and usually others of an oppressive persuasion. show less

Risking life and limb in such Hellish zones as 1980s Lebanon, El Salvador, and Harvard University, O’Rourke looks “for a good time” amidst the chaos according the rear cover description… just above the Nixon quote…trippy… While reading this, I assumed he was a journalist that had attempted the objective route during the sundry riots, protests, and Vietnams dotting the sixties and finally said “F**k it! This is all bullsh*t that perpetually repeats itself!” and moved on to a, if you will, more subjective approach to covering contentious situations. Apparently he’s always been a satirist/smart ass and this is certainly well-conveyed with these hilarious essays.

Beyond apparently consuming massive quantities of booze, show more O’Rourke’s “holidays” aren’t about vacationy stuff like awkwardly para-sailing in Beirut during the latest bombing campaign. He’s there like “real” journalists, under fire, seeking out key interviews, and doing whatever else real journalists do in troubled zones (apparently consume massive quantities of booze). The difference is O’Rourke takes it all with a grain of salt and a long ton of cynicism.

Compiled throughout the eighties, this is obviously dated in a same-damn-thing manner. Problems in and around the Holy Land? Mexican border issues? Slimy evangelists? I’m so glad we’re in a more advanced millennium. South Africa gets a big soccer tournament in our brave new world, though I hear Epcot is still charging admission for awe-inspiring exposure to the prowess that is General Motors. Can’t win them all. Don’t sell that show less

Hilarious. Although opinionated and boorish, I find his writing equally critical of U.S. social craziness as of the foreign cultures he satirizes. In particular his chapters on the Heritage USA Christian theme park and another on the Epcot Center ("Darkest America") stand out as social commentary in the same vein as Mark Twain or Ring Lardner.

P.J. O'Rourke can be a very funny writer and this is on show in "Holidays in hell", a collection of his writing as a foreign affairs journalist.

The most memorable entry is his trip to the Philippines to cover the election result that eventually led to the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos and the rise of Corazon Aquino. Trips to Communist nations and Israel also feature, as do some good one liners.