Books in Brief: Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics

Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics, by P. J. O’Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press, 240 pp., $25)

PART Econ 101, part travelogue, and part stand-up routine, Eat the Rich asks the question: “Why are some places wealthy and other places poor?” We meet a government planner in Sweden, a safari guide in Tanzania, and a harried broker on Wall Street, with stops along the way in Albania, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. P. J. O’Rourke’s delightfully skewed sense of humor keeps things moving, as when he discovers California cuisine in Moscow (“My chicken had not only been allowed to range free, it had been given aromatherapy, and stress counseling”). In the end, he learns that above all prosperity requires freedom. That so many economists and politicians seem not to know this is just one reason to recommend this funny, insightful book.

About the Author

Christopher Rapp

Mr. Rapp is a former member of the National Review editorial staff.

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Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics, by P. J. O’Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press, 240 pp., $25)

PART Econ 101, part travelogue, and part stand-up routine, Eat the Rich asks the question: “Why are some places wealthy and other places poor?” We meet a government planner in Sweden, a safari guide in Tanzania, and a harried broker on Wall Street, with stops along the way in Albania, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. P. J. O’Rourke’s delightfully skewed sense of humor keeps things moving, as when he discovers California cuisine in Moscow (“My chicken had not only been allowed to range free, it had been given aromatherapy, and stress counseling”). In the end, he learns that above all prosperity requires freedom. That so many economists and politicians seem not to know this is just one reason to recommend this funny, insightful book.