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    How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016
    Unavailable
    How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016
    Unavailable
    How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016
    Ebook239 pages3 hours

    How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016

    By P. J. O'Rourke

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This election cycle was so absurd that celebrated political satirist, journalist, and die-hard Republican P. J. O’Rourke endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. As P.J. put it, “America is experiencing the most severe outbreak of mass psychosis since the Salem witch trials of 1692. So why not put Hillary on the dunking stool?”

    In How the Hell Did This Happen?, P.J. brings his critical eye and inimitable voice to some seriously risky business. Starting in June 2015, he asks, “Who are these jacklegs, high-binders, wire-pullers, mountebanks, swellheads, buncombe spigots, four-flushers and animated spittoons offering themselves as worthy of America’s highest office?” and surveys the full cast of presidential candidates including everyone you’ve already forgotten and everyone you wish you could forget.

    P.J. offers a brief history of how our insane process for picking who will run for president evolved, from the very first nominating convention (thanks, Anti-Masonic Party) through the reforms of the Progressive era (because there’s nothing that can’t be worsened by reform) to the present. He takes us through the debates and key primaries and analyzes everything from the campaign platforms (or lack thereof) to presidential style (“Trump’s appearance—indeed, Trump’s existence—is a little guy’s idea of living large. A private plane! A swell joint in Florida! Gold-plated toilet handles!”). And he rises from the depths of despair to come up with a better way to choose a president. Following his come-to-Satan moment with Hillary and the Beginning of End Times in November, P.J. reckons with a new age: “America is experiencing a change in the nature of leadership. We’re getting rid of our leaders. And we’re starting at the top.”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAtlantic Monthly Press
    Release dateMar 7, 2017
    ISBN9780802189387
    Unavailable
    How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016
    Author

    P. J. O'Rourke

    P. J. O'Rourke is the bestselling author of ten books, including Eat the Rich, Give War a Chance, Holidays in Hell, Parliament of Whores, All the Trouble in the World, The CEO of the Sofa and Peace Kills. He has contributed to, among other publications, Playboy, Esquire, Harper's, New Republic, the New York Times Book Review and Vanity Fair. He is a regular correspondent for the Atlantic magazine. He divides his time between New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.

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    Reviews for How the Hell Did This Happen?

    3.5/5

    26 ratings8 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Series of political satire articles, published in book form. Each chapter stands alone making for easy reading in short sessions. There is a political pundit glossary in the back of the book that I found informative and humorous..
    • 4/5
      P.J. O'Rourke and his conservative view is bearable because he presents it with a sense of humor. Something usually missing in conservative presentations. Another saving grace is the fact that he realizes the election of Donald Trump to the presidency is the worst outcome possible in this election, (except P.J. obviously thinks this election couldn't have a good outcome, considering the candidates!). He does present some alternatives, some of whom I could also get behind. So maybe with a little humor and an open mind, there is still hope!
    • 4/5
      3.5 P. J. O'Rourke is a political satirist and journalist, so I knew this would ne somewhat amusing and well, the title is definitely a draw. Although there wasn't too much in this that I didn't know, I did enjoy reading his take on the presidential hopefuls, their platforms, even their clothing. It seems he only has respect for three, and one wasn't running. Have to agree with him there. He has a keen mind, a wonderful and amusing turn of phrase. Yet, as amusing as this was, there was an alarm, a seriousness behind the comments. So while I am glad I read this, I also, wish my country would not have come to this. His views on why Trump was elected are I believe spot on, but not much consolation. Still feel, as if I am, stuck in a nightmare, one that will last form the next four years. I just hope I, we can survive for that length of time.ARC from publisher.Publishes March 7th.
    • 2/5
      There was a time when I thought PJ O'Rourke was the funniest political commentator/writer around. However, in today's world of Jon Stewart, Colbert, Bee, and John Oliver, he really needs to up his game. I skipped my way through 'How the Hell Did This Happen?' and was struck by how hard PJ was working to be funny and how generally ineffective his efforts were.'How the Hell....' is a series of essays O'Rourke penned during the 2016 presidential campaign. They're very uneven... some are semi-serious, others ludicrous, but they all try to be humorous. It's certainly interesting to follow the writer's attempts to make sense, and light, out of the circus that was the 2016 election. After a while, though, it became tedious as we know the outcome and what's happened after the election is sadder and funnier than the book.
    • 5/5
      This is an absolutely hilarious and compelling look at the presidential election of 2016. It is a must read for social studies teachers and anyone interested in either politics or history. I loved it!
    • 3/5
      I tend to avoid reading election post-mortem books because usually the ground covered is simultaneously too old to be newsworthy and too fresh to be considered "history." They are somewhere in between: a political netherworld of limited relevancy. But P.J. O'Rourke has been popping up recently as a pundit on the airwaves, offering his wry commentary and promoting his new book, How the Hell Did This Happen?: The Election of 2016. So, based largely on his reputation as a humorist I decided to give it a shot. The book reaffired my aversion to such books on that opening principle. And while there are a few good laugh-out-loud moments, particularly in his fashion notes on the candidates, this is an uneven mix of essays that generally fail to amuse or offer lasting insights.
    • 5/5
      Amazingly entertaining and intelligently constructed book! I'd tell P. J. He should run for President, but then we might never get any more work from him...(enter wink here). Cheers!
    • 3/5
      Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.You're right, it's a good title. P. J. O'Rourke's always been good at titles ([Eat The Rich, Don't Vote, it Just Encourages the Bastards, The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It Wasn’t My Fault)). When it comes to his politics, your mileage may vary.O'Rourke's beliefs are not mine: he likes guns, God and the American Way; I like peace, Dawkins and a more equivocal Captain America. But that's OK, that's fine; if you only ever read people who agree with you, you're going to be very tiresome at parties. That said, neither of us likes Donald Trump, so we can at least come together around the roaring tyre fire of American politics. Journalists are going to be trying to make sense of the Donald's win for decades to come – many were trying before it even happened. As a first pass, this collection of essays is as bewildered as the rest of us; as O'Rourke acknowledges, "if my book lacks a coherent narrative it's because I couldn't find one."While I can sympathise with his confusion it doesn't make for the best of reads. He is reliably funny and insightful ("Americans appreciate bad taste or America wouldn't look the way America does") but the lack of focus leads to repetition, a certain degree of disingenuousness, and some brashness verging on outright offensiveness (I genuinely don't think his problem with Hillary Clinton is her gender, but he's too happy to make her gender the subject of his jokes).Filters set and allowances made, I'll be reading more P. J. O'Rourke. He's the semi-acceptable face of American conservatism (with all the moral relativism that implies) at a time when that label is better associated with mendacity, bigotry and the neediness of a five-year-old. But while funny, this just particular book just isn't a particularly insightful or enlightening history of its subject. Shame.