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Welcome to Hell World
When Luke O’Neil isn’t angry, he’s asleep. When he’s awake, he gives vent to some of the most heartfelt, political and anger-fueled prose to power its way to the public sphere since Hunter S. Thompson smashed a typewriter’s keys.
Welcome to Hell World is an unexpurgated selection of Luke O’Neil’s finest rants, near-poetic rhapsodies, and investigatory journalism. Racism, sexism, immigration, unemployment, Marcus Aurelius, opioid addiction, Iraq: all are processed through the O’Neil grinder. He details failings in his own life and in those he observes around him: and the result is a book that is at once intensely confessional and an energetic, unforgettable condemnation of American mores.
Welcome to Hell World is, in the author’s words, a “fever dream nightmare of reporting and personal essays from one of the lowest periods in our country in recent memory.” It is also a burning example of some of the best writing you’re likely to read anywhere.
____________________________________________________________________________
"Luke O’Neil is not on staff. " — The Boston Globe
"Unbelievable." —Ben Shapiro
"The Left’s new low." —Tucker Carlson
"A widely read, offbeat newsletter… " —Mike Isaac, The New York Times
"Luke O’Neil is one of the few writers who faces our grim reality the way it is, and not the way we wish it was. Compiling Hell World is a sin-eater’s task, and we are indebted to him for doing it.”
—Dan Ozzi, co-author of Tranny
"One of my favorite things I read all year…” —Frida Garza, Jezebel’s The Best Political Writing 2018
"Welcome to Hell World is a distress call from a place where hope still exists, dispatched by a man who clearly sees the insanity of life in America and believes it doesn’t have to be this way.” —Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die, author of Watch
"Luke O’Neil is like no other journalist working today, fusing original reporting with memoir and frequently-profane observational humor to create what feels like a new type of truth-telling: precise, fucked-up, infuriating, and, somehow, beautiful. ...This is what it looks like when a gifted writer finds his voice.” —Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack and author of Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil
Welcome to Hell World is an unexpurgated selection of Luke O’Neil’s finest rants, near-poetic rhapsodies, and investigatory journalism. Racism, sexism, immigration, unemployment, Marcus Aurelius, opioid addiction, Iraq: all are processed through the O’Neil grinder. He details failings in his own life and in those he observes around him: and the result is a book that is at once intensely confessional and an energetic, unforgettable condemnation of American mores.
Welcome to Hell World is, in the author’s words, a “fever dream nightmare of reporting and personal essays from one of the lowest periods in our country in recent memory.” It is also a burning example of some of the best writing you’re likely to read anywhere.
____________________________________________________________________________
"Luke O’Neil is not on staff. " — The Boston Globe
"Unbelievable." —Ben Shapiro
"The Left’s new low." —Tucker Carlson
"A widely read, offbeat newsletter… " —Mike Isaac, The New York Times
"Luke O’Neil is one of the few writers who faces our grim reality the way it is, and not the way we wish it was. Compiling Hell World is a sin-eater’s task, and we are indebted to him for doing it.”
—Dan Ozzi, co-author of Tranny
"One of my favorite things I read all year…” —Frida Garza, Jezebel’s The Best Political Writing 2018
"Welcome to Hell World is a distress call from a place where hope still exists, dispatched by a man who clearly sees the insanity of life in America and believes it doesn’t have to be this way.” —Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die, author of Watch
"Luke O’Neil is like no other journalist working today, fusing original reporting with memoir and frequently-profane observational humor to create what feels like a new type of truth-telling: precise, fucked-up, infuriating, and, somehow, beautiful. ...This is what it looks like when a gifted writer finds his voice.” —Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack and author of Insane Mode: How Elon Musk's Tesla Sparked an Electric Revolution to End the Age of Oil
524 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2019
39 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 14, 2019
Cooking the books baby!
October 14, 2019
No writer possibly captures the feeling of living today in this country better than Luke O'Neil. The combination of helplessness, resignation, and eternal desire for things to be better for all people is perfectly captured in countless essays in this book, and everyone should seek out his writing to see if it speaks to them.
November 21, 2019
I was nervous about this one bc 500 pages of hell (it's a little fatty, cute design)? But it was short jabs, really funny, and moved along quickly to the next awful thing about ourselves.
March 8, 2024
I subscribed to Hell World sometime in the past year, so reading this collection of a bunch of the earlier pieces was a great way to catch up. Luke is one of the few contemporary writers I would describe as “important.” His commentary is insightful, compassionate, and funny as hell (when it’s not heartbreaking, and sometimes even when it is).
April 28, 2020
Luke O'Neil is an angry journalist chronicling America's descent into dystopia. He does not put himself up as some paragon, though. He often turns his critical eye to himself and his own struggles. Still, in the era of Trump and Fox News, sexism and racism, he rightfully finds a lot to his distaste. This is not garden-variety "objective" journalism. Rather, it is provocative, confrontational, and often cuss-laden writing about today's America. Highly recommended.
September 19, 2019
This book made me feel sad by the end but I read it in a weekend which is probably in retrospect not the wisest way to go about consuming it.
I was captivated by Luke's prose and stream of consciousness style, both of which contributed to the aforementioned binge.
Highly recommended.
I was captivated by Luke's prose and stream of consciousness style, both of which contributed to the aforementioned binge.
Highly recommended.
February 3, 2020
If we make it out of this messed up period in history this book will be considered a classic.
January 24, 2024
o'neil's unique voice is a campfire far off in the distance, promising a measure of warmth and companionship in this cold, cruel world.
or maybe it's something else, but whatever it is, it helps me feel like i'm not alone. i've also got this miserable bastard and the rest of his readers by my side.
or maybe it's something else, but whatever it is, it helps me feel like i'm not alone. i've also got this miserable bastard and the rest of his readers by my side.
October 2, 2021
Love Luke's writing and always look forward to the next Hell World dropping into my inbox. Not sure why it took me so long to finally read this, but I guess when you're going through a never-ending global pandemic this isn't quite the escapism you need.
👮🏻♂️🚫🔥
👮🏻♂️🚫🔥
February 22, 2021
Reminded me how much I loved reading and actually inspired me to start writing as well
December 29, 2019
Not sure this book can cure Fox News Brain or teach somebody compassion but it's probably the best chance we've got
December 17, 2019
I love this guy so fucking much
November 17, 2019
I made the mistake of reading other reviews before writing this, so now I don't feel like my perspective on this book is quite so necessary, but here goes anyway: America in 2019 has sold out many of the values it once claimed to champion in this world, but that fact doesn't quite capture what it's like to live in the vacuum left behind. "Welcome to Hell World" does the experience justice, and it does so with bravery and a grim sort of humor. You'll find yourself impressed and amused by this turn of phrase or that carefully woven bit of imagery, but nauseous at what is says about this country (and probably yourself). It's like you've entered a funhouse and are gradually realizing that these are the real mirrors and all of the other mirrors outside of the funhouse were the true distortions. Enjoy!
June 21, 2020
All these ratings have got to be from the authors friends. Utter drivel and has to be ghost written as on twitter he has no idea how to punctuate or spell. The review that said his book is disorganised hit the nail on the head, but it’s not just the layout, even his own views are confused, you can hardly tell if he’s left or right wing, admits on twitter that he loves being racist and loves slavery.
Terrible writer, terrible tweeter, just an all round terrible person. His profile picture on twitter makes him look like a British Chav so it pretty much answers why the spelling, punctuation and views expressed are so third rate.
He must have spent his entire families life savings to get the one reviewer to compare him to Hunter S. Thompson. The only way they should be in the same sentence, is if you were comparing O’neils best writing to Thompson’s brain, in the scene of fear and loathing where he’s on mescaline and trying to book into his hotel. An utter mess that has no idea where it is, what it’s doing or what it’s meant to be.
Terrible writer, terrible tweeter, just an all round terrible person. His profile picture on twitter makes him look like a British Chav so it pretty much answers why the spelling, punctuation and views expressed are so third rate.
He must have spent his entire families life savings to get the one reviewer to compare him to Hunter S. Thompson. The only way they should be in the same sentence, is if you were comparing O’neils best writing to Thompson’s brain, in the scene of fear and loathing where he’s on mescaline and trying to book into his hotel. An utter mess that has no idea where it is, what it’s doing or what it’s meant to be.
January 14, 2020
A book that sounds like the brain in real time as it copes with the heart enduring the slog of feeling it all.
I have this up there as a post 9/11 people’s history of the US through a brutally honest emotional lens.
I had to read 5 other books while picking away at this
So not to turn into a giant ball of tears and rage and hopelessness. Loved it
I have this up there as a post 9/11 people’s history of the US through a brutally honest emotional lens.
I had to read 5 other books while picking away at this
So not to turn into a giant ball of tears and rage and hopelessness. Loved it
January 23, 2020
Often heavy, often funny, always thoughtful and honest. A battle cry of empathy.
I was worried I'd be put off by the comma-less stream-of-conscious-style writing, but within thirty seconds I was used to it and totally in Luke's rhythm. Good shit.
I was worried I'd be put off by the comma-less stream-of-conscious-style writing, but within thirty seconds I was used to it and totally in Luke's rhythm. Good shit.
October 21, 2019
My favorite book, by my favorite author!
February 15, 2020
Man that was a lot of unedited complaining
Shtick got tired real fast
Shtick got tired real fast
November 8, 2020
I became aware of Luke O'Neil through Twitter after one of my cooler, more in-the-know friends retweeted something funny from him. I don't remember what it was or who shared it but it doesn't really matter. I'm just happy he got on my radar because this was one of the better – and certainly one of the most sardonic – takes I've read on modern America.
The book is a collection of posts from O'Neil's newsletter with some tweaks and additions to make it better suited to book form. The guy has a unique writing style that takes some getting used to (seriously, why do you hate commas so much, dude?) but that's quickly overcome and once you adapt to his stream-of-conscious, often wildly meandering style, this book is like having a conversation over some beers with one of your witty friends. A witty friend that is pretty far left in their beliefs, it should be noted.
There are 60-plus stories here and O'Neil covers a hell of a lot of ground. Some chapters are original reporting on things as varied as groundwater pollution in West Virginia, America's highly dysfunctional healthcare system and the human costs of the Trump administration's cruel immigration policies. Others are more personal, with O'Neil chronicling his substance abuse, body image and family relationships. Whatever the topic, he often diverges midway through the story (or even a particular thought) but usually brings it back home. His writing is hard-hitting and alternately laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreaking.
Of the 64 stories, I starred 17 that really stood out but there couldn't have been more than 2-3 that I didn't either enjoy or learn something from. Here are a few passages that I really liked:
[On Trump's appeal]
"Fuck me? No, fuck you is a powerful drug you see. Trump often talks about how he fights back and people like that very much. They line up for hours to hoot and holler amid a sea of sunburned car dealership guys and boat owners and let the fuck you come over them. You can get people hooked on fuck you and they'll do almost anything you tell them to."
[On modern "conservatism"]
"Conservatism is a lack of empathy it is nothing else is what I think. No conservative you know cares about anyone but themselves and maybe their families if we're being generous and they will not change until they personally experience a particular hardship of their own then they go like ah I see why this is bad now. One thing that is funny though is watching people who've boiled their brains on a non-stop diet of Fox News become increasingly isolated and alienated from everyone who ever loved them because they can't stop mainlining Tucker Carlson."
[This one I like because it captures his wit and his abrupt change of topic]
"Kirstjen Nielsen is either a particularly stupid person or a particularly evil one and when we’re talking about anyone in this administration your guess is as good as mine. Some of them can be both I suppose. Sometimes especially when I’m drinking a lot I get this pressure inside of my skull and I want to run into a wall over and over again to make it stop but I don’t ever end up doing that and probably won’t but I just remembered that that happens."
[On America's fucked-up healthcare system and those who constantly scream "socialism"]
"'Once the socialists take over and give everyone "free" health care even talking to a robot doctor, let alone a real one, will probably be a luxury,' a person named Snowbird wrote and I wonder what it’s like to be a person like that who is constantly paranoid about an always soon to be arriving hypothetical dystopia because what do they think the world we have now actually is?"
I could go on, but you should just read this book.
The book is a collection of posts from O'Neil's newsletter with some tweaks and additions to make it better suited to book form. The guy has a unique writing style that takes some getting used to (seriously, why do you hate commas so much, dude?) but that's quickly overcome and once you adapt to his stream-of-conscious, often wildly meandering style, this book is like having a conversation over some beers with one of your witty friends. A witty friend that is pretty far left in their beliefs, it should be noted.
There are 60-plus stories here and O'Neil covers a hell of a lot of ground. Some chapters are original reporting on things as varied as groundwater pollution in West Virginia, America's highly dysfunctional healthcare system and the human costs of the Trump administration's cruel immigration policies. Others are more personal, with O'Neil chronicling his substance abuse, body image and family relationships. Whatever the topic, he often diverges midway through the story (or even a particular thought) but usually brings it back home. His writing is hard-hitting and alternately laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreaking.
Of the 64 stories, I starred 17 that really stood out but there couldn't have been more than 2-3 that I didn't either enjoy or learn something from. Here are a few passages that I really liked:
[On Trump's appeal]
"Fuck me? No, fuck you is a powerful drug you see. Trump often talks about how he fights back and people like that very much. They line up for hours to hoot and holler amid a sea of sunburned car dealership guys and boat owners and let the fuck you come over them. You can get people hooked on fuck you and they'll do almost anything you tell them to."
[On modern "conservatism"]
"Conservatism is a lack of empathy it is nothing else is what I think. No conservative you know cares about anyone but themselves and maybe their families if we're being generous and they will not change until they personally experience a particular hardship of their own then they go like ah I see why this is bad now. One thing that is funny though is watching people who've boiled their brains on a non-stop diet of Fox News become increasingly isolated and alienated from everyone who ever loved them because they can't stop mainlining Tucker Carlson."
[This one I like because it captures his wit and his abrupt change of topic]
"Kirstjen Nielsen is either a particularly stupid person or a particularly evil one and when we’re talking about anyone in this administration your guess is as good as mine. Some of them can be both I suppose. Sometimes especially when I’m drinking a lot I get this pressure inside of my skull and I want to run into a wall over and over again to make it stop but I don’t ever end up doing that and probably won’t but I just remembered that that happens."
[On America's fucked-up healthcare system and those who constantly scream "socialism"]
"'Once the socialists take over and give everyone "free" health care even talking to a robot doctor, let alone a real one, will probably be a luxury,' a person named Snowbird wrote and I wonder what it’s like to be a person like that who is constantly paranoid about an always soon to be arriving hypothetical dystopia because what do they think the world we have now actually is?"
I could go on, but you should just read this book.
April 6, 2025
Luke O'Neil delivers blow after blow of what living day to day in America is like in the times that are a Trump America that is the product of all the years we've been able to amass in the time of about late 2018. Woo boy wait til you see what comes next amirite. Today when I got out of my car to go swim at the health club a senior lady stopped and said I have something for you and I said uh oh and she gave me a little plastic white Jesus with a sash that had Jesus Loves You written on it. I was wearing at the time a black t-shirt with a skeleton and white lettering that said WE ARE FULL OF MICROPLASTICS I LOVE BEING POISONED MY BODY WILL NEVER DECAY from da.sharez0ne and I said thank you. Little Jesus is now hanging out in our half bathroom next to a little astronaut a little witch and a little Polly pocket that is picking its nose. Incredible the stuff that's happening and we're just all like goin' for it so . . .
Pretty good book I recommend it.
Pretty good book I recommend it.
February 19, 2020
Luke is a virtuoso. This isn’t an easy read because of the darkness of the subject matter but Jesus H. the stream-of-consciousness style is brilliant.
I’d encourage my right-leaning friends, especially, to read it. It may not change your beliefs about many things but reading another perspective is usually illuminating in its own right and as yet still one of the freedoms we enjoy as citizens. And maybe it’ll trigger some latent empathy too.
For me—having read most of these in the Hell World newsletter, what strikes me most isn’t the despair or humor (it's often riotously funny) or the righteous anger. It’s the pathos. It’s the deep longing for people to just be a little better, maybe a little kinder.
Anyway. Highly recommended.
I’d encourage my right-leaning friends, especially, to read it. It may not change your beliefs about many things but reading another perspective is usually illuminating in its own right and as yet still one of the freedoms we enjoy as citizens. And maybe it’ll trigger some latent empathy too.
For me—having read most of these in the Hell World newsletter, what strikes me most isn’t the despair or humor (it's often riotously funny) or the righteous anger. It’s the pathos. It’s the deep longing for people to just be a little better, maybe a little kinder.
Anyway. Highly recommended.
May 19, 2020
Perhaps not the best book to read during a global pandemic, I still gave it a go since I love O'Neil's style and how effortlessly he expresses sarcasm in his writing without me thinking "WAIT? Is he really a Fox News lover? Is this ALL a farce?" (I will admit, occasionally he does get me.)
If you love to quiet-laugh at things because they're true while slowly shaking your head in disbelief, this is the book for you. Just remember in the current state of affairs, it isn't much of an escape. But that's okay. I think we will all be okay. Right?
If you love to quiet-laugh at things because they're true while slowly shaking your head in disbelief, this is the book for you. Just remember in the current state of affairs, it isn't much of an escape. But that's okay. I think we will all be okay. Right?
September 23, 2023
Seriously needs an editor/proofreader.
I’m currently reading this, and while I am finding the commentary to be mildly thought-provoking, I have to admit to having trouble with the actual writing—it’s clumsy and replete with grammar and punctuation issues that consistently distract.
Disappointing. Give it a pass. Instead, spend the time reading Hunter S. Thompson (who a reviewer inexplicably compares this book to). Thompson had a better handle on politics and, to boot, knew where the commas go.
I’m currently reading this, and while I am finding the commentary to be mildly thought-provoking, I have to admit to having trouble with the actual writing—it’s clumsy and replete with grammar and punctuation issues that consistently distract.
Disappointing. Give it a pass. Instead, spend the time reading Hunter S. Thompson (who a reviewer inexplicably compares this book to). Thompson had a better handle on politics and, to boot, knew where the commas go.
March 13, 2020
An engrossing commentary on the atrocities of the world and what we think and feel when observe them. The book also includes O’Neil’s reflections on his own personal shortcomings and hardships. Incredibly written with some beautiful paragraphs and one-liners.
May 4, 2020
The perspective of someone who has lived life online and offline. Not sure which is more important but both sides definitely exposed luke to enough downer shit to acknowledge.
May 15, 2020
It was a wild experience reading this pre pandemic and into the pandemic. In the beginning it was depressing reading all these stories and at the end I found myself saying “how quaint.”
February 7, 2023
Fun stream of consciousness on the awful state of society
July 11, 2023
4.5 stars
January 17, 2020
Engrossing, despairing, accurate, and sometimes very moving.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews