Christopher Buckley (novelist)
Christopher Buckley | |
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Born | Christopher Taylor Buckley September 28, 1952 New York City, U.S. |
Alma mater | Yale University[1] |
Occupation |
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Spouse(s) | Lucy Gregg Buckley (divorced) Katherine Close |
Children | 3 |
Parent(s) | William F. Buckley Jr. Patricia Buckley |
Relatives | James L. Buckley (uncle) L. Brent Bozell, III (cousin) Patricia Buckley Bozell (aunt) L. Brent Bozell Jr. (uncle by marriage) |
Christopher Taylor Buckley (born September 28, 1952)[2][better source needed] is an American author and political satirist. He is known for writing God Is My Broker, Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, The White House Mess, No Way to Treat a First Lady, Wet Work, Florence of Arabia, Boomsday, Supreme Courtship, Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir, and The Judge Hunter.
Life and career[]
Buckley is the son of writer and Firing Line host William F. Buckley Jr. and socialite Patricia Buckley.[3] After receiving a classical education at the Portsmouth Abbey School,[4] Buckley graduated from Yale University in 1975.[5] He was a member of Skull and Bones like his father, living at Jonathan Edwards College.[6]:173
In 1981, he moved to Washington, D.C. to work as chief speechwriter for Vice President George H. W. Bush. This experience led to his novel The White House Mess, a satire on White House office politics and political memoirs.[7][a]
Buckley wrote the non-fiction Steaming to Bamboola about the merchant marine. He also contributed to an oral history of Milford, Connecticut, served as managing editor of Esquire, and worked as an editor at Forbes magazine.[citation needed]
National Review[]
For a brief time in summer and fall 2008, Christopher Buckley wrote the back-page column for National Review, the conservative magazine founded by his father. He ceased to write this column after endorsing the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, in October 2008. Buckley's endorsement (entitled "Sorry Dad, I'm Voting for Obama"[8]) appeared in The Daily Beast. After many National Review readers and contributors expressed their displeasure, Buckley resigned from National Review.[9][10] Buckley disavowed the title of his article endorsing Obama (which many of his father's friends and supporters found offensive, particularly as it appeared shortly after his father's death), but continued to occasionally write for The Daily Beast.[11]
Family[]
Buckley first married Lucy Gregg. Gregg is the daughter of Donald Gregg, who served as assistant to Vice President Bush for national security affairs.[12] Buckley and Gregg have two children, Caitlin and William (born in 1988 and 1991, respectively). In 2000, Buckley's son, Jonathan, was born to former Random House publicist Irina Woelfle.[13][14] Buckley and Gregg divorced in 2011.
In 2012, Buckley married Dr. Katherine "Katy" Close,[15] a physician. She has four children.
Bibliography[]
Satirical novels[]
- God Is My Broker: A Monk-Tycoon Reveals the 7½ Laws of Spiritual and Financial Growth (1998) (written with John Tierney)
Political satire[]
- The White House Mess (1986)
- Thank You for Smoking (1994)
- Little Green Men (1999)
- No Way to Treat a First Lady (2002)
- Florence of Arabia (2004)
- Boomsday (2007)
- Supreme Courtship (2008)
- They Eat Puppies, Don't They? (2012)
- Make Russia Great Again: A Novel (2020)
Historical satire[]
- The Relic Master (2015)
- The Judge Hunter (2018)
Films based on novels[]
- Thank You for Smoking (2006) (Directed by Jason Reitman, Screenplay also by Reitman)
- Little Green Men (In development) (Screenplay by Sean Bates and Gregory Mackenzie)
- Boomsday (In development) Screenwriters Ron Bass and Jen Smolka have adapted the novel into a screenplay. Tom Vaughan was set to direct the film in early 2011 for GreeneStreet Films and Das Films
Travelogues[]
- Steaming to Bamboola – The World of a Tramp Freighter (1983)
- Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (2003)
Other[]
External video | |
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Booknotes interview with Buckley on Wry Martinis, May 4, 1997, C-SPAN |
- My Harvard, My Yale (1981) (contributor, segment "Stoned in New Haven") (university biography)
- Campion: A Play in Two Acts (1990) (written with James Macguire) (play)
- Wet Work (1991) (novel)
- Wry Martinis (1997) (collected humor and journalism)
- (2009). Description & preview. Hachette ISBN 0-446-54094-3 (Biographical)
- (May 6, 2014). Description & preview. Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1476749518
- Eulogy to Christopher Hitchens (The New Yorker)
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ "Profile: Christopher Buckley" Archived 2013-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Forum on Law, Culture, and Society, Dir. Thane Rosenbaum
- ^ "Christopher Buckley". Christopher Buckley. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
- ^ Nast, Condé. "Bob Colacello on Pat and Bill Buckley". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Goldman, Andrew (September 5, 2008). "Mr. Right". Elle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ^ "Yale Class Day Speaker: Christopher Buckley" Archived 2012-07-12 at archive.today, Yale University, Office of Public Affairs and Communications, May 24, 2009
- ^ Robbins, Alexandra (2002). Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-72091-7.
- ^ McDowell, Edwin (16 April 1986). "2 Buckleys Become Best Sellers". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
The author's insights into the corridors of power were acquired during the year and a half he spent as a speech writer for Vice President Bush, starting in 1981.
- ^ "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Chris Matthews, Christopher Buckley (2008-10-14). Hardball (Television). New York City: MSNBC. Archived from the original (Javascript) on 2004-01-13. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ Beach, Patrick (October 14, 2008). "A little scoop on Christopher Buckley". The Reader. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
- ^ "Christopher Buckley". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ "C. T. Buckley to Marry Lucy S. Gregg". The New York Times. 1984-10-07.
- ^ Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (2008-10-08). "Chris Buckley's Child-Support Saga Continues". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
- ^ Gregorian, Dareh (2008-10-02). "Not One 'Buck'ley for You!". NY Post. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Historic Wedding". New York Post. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
External links[]
- Media related to Christopher Buckley at Wikimedia Commons
- Author's Official Website
- NadaPress.com The Home of Buckley Prose
- Christopher Buckley at IMDb
- NOW. Arts & Culture. Christopher Buckley PBS interview by David Brancaccio.
- Novelist Buckley, Smoking Out the Self-Righteous
- Christopher Buckley – National Book Festival, Library of Congress
- Christopher Buckley audio interview about Losing Mum and Pup
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- 1952 births
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American satirical novelists
- American satirists
- Buckley family
- Living people
- New York (state) Republicans
- American agnostics
- William F. Buckley Jr.
- Writers from Stamford, Connecticut
- American political journalists
- Yale University alumni
- American male novelists
- Former Roman Catholics
- Novelists from Connecticut
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- American male non-fiction writers
- Portsmouth Abbey School alumni
- 20th-century American male writers
- 21st-century American male writers