Mon. Jan. 29

 Is there a sharper, funnier, more cynical - and yet self-deprecating - satirical writer out there than P.J. O'Rourke? At least one who's a Republican? No. O'Rourke was one of the guys we read as a teenager when we were hooked on the National Lampoon, and we've stayed with him. He made his stripes as an adult writer through his Rolling Stone adventures as a foreign correspondent, a guy whose contrarian view was always welcome, if not always agreed with. More often than not, though, we'd start out disagreeing and end up grudgingly thinking the man was right - and not a right-wing crank. Humor really can be the most persuasive device of all, and O'Rourke has got it down. (He's the reason we keep thinking we need to re-subscribe to the Atlantic, because he's a columnist there now.) O'Rourke wrote the classic "Eat the Rich," title cribbed from both an Aerosmith album title and a Motorhead song. He's a master of irony, a writer who can live with (and explain) contradictions, and an adept analyst of economics, class and the way the world is structured. There are many shades of gray - funny, bittersweet gray - in O'Rourke's world. His new book, "On the Wealth of Nations," may sound familiar because of Adam Smith's rather famous "The Wealth of Nations." What O'Rourke has done is distill the tome and explain the relevance of Smith's work - key revelation: the pursuit of self-interest is critical - to today's world. And, yes, there's plenty of humor in what you might think would be dry as dessert dirt. He speaks at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, part of the Brookline Booksmith Author Events on Monday, January 29 at 6 p.m. Get $2 tickets at Booksmith, across the street from the theater, ahead of time.\

290 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-734-2500 or 617-566-6660 (Booksmith) coolidge.org or brooklinebooksmith.com