THE CEO OF THE SOFA

"This brings me to the other little problem I'm having with the story of my life . . . remembering it." So remarks the last proud martini-swilling, cigar-chomping, wife-baiting Republican alive in the world today. O'Rourke's combination of arrogance and self-deprecation is funny on the page; Dick Hill makes it choicer still. Hill won an Audie for serious nonfiction, but his AudioFile Golden Voice is best suited for humor. The man could render a phone directory hilarious. Some of the magazine essays collected here are slightly dated, as when O'Rourke jokes about Pakistan's nuclear weapons. Often enough--as in his discussion of legalized drugs--the arguments presented are not just amusing, but also truly provocative. Who says thinking can't be fun? B.H.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]