Tuesday Nov. 17, 2:00 pm Pacific Time

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In his new book, A Cry from the Far Middle: Dispatches from a Divided Land, P.J. O’Rourke says we’ve worked ourselves into a state of anger and perplexity, and it’s no surprise because perplexed and angry is what Americans have been since the Roanoke Colony got lost. This astute and entertaining look at the current state of these United States includes essays on everything from our fraught history (“Oh Beautiful for… Pilgrim Feet?”) to the political effects of social media (“Whose Bright Idea Was It to Make Sure that Every Idiot in the World Is in Touch with Every Other Idiot?”). A Washington plan is advanced to reform federal poverty programs, “Just Give Them the Money.” And a rant is made against the “Internet of Things” because your juicer is sending fake news to your FitBit about what’s in your refrigerator.

Included is a quiz to determine whether you’re a “Coastal” or a “Heartlander” (you know organic, fair-traded, locavore, and gluten-free, but do you know hay from straw?), an impassioned plea to license politicians (as opposed to licensing beauticians!), and much more.

Mary L. G. Theroux

Mary L. G. Theroux is Senior Vice President of the Independent Institute. Having received her A.B. in economics from Stanford University, Ms. Theroux is Managing Director of Lightning Ventures, L.P., and Vice President of the C.S. Lewis Society of California. She is former Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Alameda County Salvation Army; former Chairman and current member of the San Francisco Salvation Army Advisory Board, and also serves on the National Advisory Board of The Salvation Army. Ms. Theroux was also Chairman of Garvey International, Inc., and Co-Founder, President, and CEO of San Francisco Grocery Express, Ltd. Articles on Ms. Theroux have appeared in Business Week, Forbes, Savvy, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and other publications.

P. J. O’Rourke

P. J. O’Rourke is a Founding Member of the Board of Advisors for the Independent Institute. He is America’s leading political humorist and the best-selling author of 20 books. He has written for The National Lampoon for which he was editor-in-chief, Automobile, American Spectator, Playboy, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The Independent Review, and Harper’s. He was also a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and Foreign Affairs Desk Chief for Rolling Stone. Currently he is Editor-in-Chief for American Consequences, H.L. Mencken Fellow at the Cato Institute, a regular panelist on NPR's Wait Wait . . . Don't Tell Me! and a member of the editorial board for World Affairs. He lives in rural New England, as far away from the things he writes about as he can get.

A Cry from the Far Middle

Dispatches from a Divided Land

“[P. J. O’Rourke] was able to yank conservatives out of the hands of the humorless and shrill, and make such writing accessible ... He changed my life.”
—Greg Gutfeld, Co-Host, The Five; Host, The Greg Gutfeld Show; Fox News Channel

“[P. J. O’Rourke] occupies a rare place among the laughing class: He has somehow avoided the orifice obsession that captivates many of its members; he identifies as Republican; and he is no mere thumb-sucker, having visited more than 40 countries to report on wars, regime changes, economic revolutions and the experience of drinking cocktails garnished with the poison sacs of cobras.”
—Wall Street Journal

“Outspoken conservatives have long been a minority in comedy, particularly in the mainstream media, which provided an opportunity for P.J. O’Rourke, who for decades cornered the market for prominent right-wing humorists... If his wry essays have a mission statement... it’s this: Starchy Republicanism is really, really fun.”
—New York Times Book Review