Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism by P.J. O'Rourke Search Amazon for other books by or about P.J. O'Rourke. Rating: Reviewed by: Kevin Bouchard

P.J. O'Rourke, the best selling author and frequent contributor to The Atlantic Monthly, produces another solid volume of sarcasm, satire, criticism and wit to his loyal fan base. Although each of these chapters presented in the book were previously published as essays in other venues, Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism deserves some serious attention.

O'Rourke focuses on a variety of international topics and hotspots including Kosovo, Israel, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, and Washington D.C., which comprise the backbone of his chapters in the book. Starting off with the topic of why Americans hate foreign policy, O'Rourke writes, "Americans hate foreign policy because Americans hate foreigners. Americans hate foreigners because Americans are foreigners...Being foreigners ourselves, we Americans know what foreigners are up to with their foreign policy-their venomous convents, lying alliances, greedy agreements and trick-or-treaties." Thus by reading the last quote, the reader should get an excellent viewpoint of O'Rourke's stinging style.

Other chapters have a similar tone and message. O'Rourke details in the Kosovo chapter how to distinguish "piles of rubble" from the war. "When the destruction was general, it was Serbian...When the destruction was specific, it was Albanian...And when the destruction was pointless-...it was NATO trying to fight a war without hurting anybody."

Nevertheless some chapters were clearly more interesting and sharp than others in the book. O'Rourke's discussion of the Washington D.C. demonstrations in 2002 was absolutely brilliant and hilarious at the same time. Equally moving, the chapter titled "Iwo Jima and the End of Modern Warfare" was as analytical and observant as any other in the book.

P.J. O'Rourke has a style and perception that is uniquely his own. If you are a diehard O'Rourke fan, this book will be a great choice. If you are new to the O'Rourke legend as I was, read up on US foreign policy and the international agenda in order to understand his sharp comments and zingers. One thing is for sure is that when the US-Iraq conflict is simmering down, O'Rourke will have the necessary material to write his best book to date. Only time will tell.