The Baby Boom

In his first book of all new, previously unpublished material since 2007, best-selling humorist P. J. O’Rourke turns his lens on his fellow post-war babies. In The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way … And It Wasn’t My Fault … And I’ll Never Do It Again, O’Rourke draws on his own experiences and leads readers on a candid, laugh-out-loud journey through the circumstances and events that shaped a generation. “We’re often silly, and we’re spoiled by any measure of history,” writes O’Rourke. “At the same time we made the world a better place — just not necessarily in the ways we set out to.”

O’Rourke has reported on the inner workings of the U.S. government, explained the global economy, and written on the American automobile industry. At this Cato Book Forum, he will tackle the big, broad problems stemming from the generation that, for better or worse, changed everything.

“P. J. O’Rourke’s Baby Boom may just be his best book ever,” states Christopher Buckley — winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. “A terrific American memoir, in tone a beguiling mix of Jean Shepherd and ‘Animal House’. In fact, I’m going to revise my prior statement and say flat-out that this is O’Rourke’s best book ever, which is saying a lot.”