Thomas W. Hodgkinson

The man who went to Hell and back – for a laugh

A review of The Baby Boom, by P.J.O’Rourke. Like all the best memoirs, Baby Boom stirs suppressed memories in the reader

[Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]

Since the passing of Auberon Waugh, there haven’t been many really successful right-wing comedians. The Mayor of London is one. Another is the American journalist and wit P.J. O’Rourke.

The alliterative title of The Baby Boom, his 20th book, essentially sums up its author’s style, his childlike boisterousness, his resonant infantilism.

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