The American Spectator's Enemies List

April 15, 1996
The ghosts of Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon live on through political humorist O'Rourke's compilation of his New Enemies list. Debuting in 1989 in the conservative monthly American Spectator, it has since appeared annually. Readers of the magazine responded to the list by gleefully sending in their own nominees of individuals and organizations deemed too "politically correct." Thus, feminists, liberals, any elected Democrat at any level, various organizations (including the American Library Association), celebrities, TV talking heads, and the like are skewered here. Funny as the columns and reader comments are (even to liberals), in book form it's a one-joke, redundant whine. If your library doesn't have anything by O'Rourke and doesn't carry American Spectator, buy this; otherwise, save the money and interlibrary loan the magazine. Better yet, buy some of O'Rourke's previous books.--Pamela R. Daubenspeck, Warren-Trumbull Cty. P.L., Ohio