Little Green Men [Paperback]

Christopher Buckley (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: New York, Random House, 1999 (1999)
• ASIN: B000UZSIWM
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,371,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Buckley is the author of fourteen books, including "Supreme Courtship," "Boomsday," and "Thank You For Smoking." He is editor-at-large of "ForbesLife" magazine, and was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor and the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence. He lives on the Acela train between Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hello from the world, February 15, 2001

By 

Frank Marton (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Green Men: A Novel (Paperback)

Wow! I can't recall the last time I actually laughed out loud while reading a book. My contagious giggling actually caused my wife to suggest I read it only while alone and in an enclosed room.

Satire is best when nobody is safe and Buckley spares no one. Everyone from white trash, "X Files" buffs, politicians to the sexually dysfunctional are lampooned with utter hilarity. I dare you to read this without cracking a smile! I'll bet UFO conspiracy theorists are forming up as we speak to lynch Buckley. Always worth a smile or two, I'll never be able to look at one again without bursting out in laughter.

In an age where government scandals and cover-ups have been decidedly un-funny, this book is a welcome change. In this era in which people think that poking fun is offensive, I love the fact that Buckley pulls no punches and really goes out of his way to offend everybody! Forget politically correct, leave your cares at the door and lose yourself in a wild ride full of hilarious characters and dead pan humor.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hysterical romp through conspiracy theories, September 6, 2002

By 

Nadyne Richmond (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Green Men (Hardcover)

The conspiracy theorists are right: the government is hiding something from us. According to Christopher Buckley, the big secret is this: the government is responsible for the reports of alien activity. The super-secret organisation known as MJ-12 flattens fields and abducts lonely housewives.

One night, Nathan gets fed up with his lack of advancement. Drunk, he decides to abduct John Oliver Banion, a successful political talk-show host. After the second abduction, Banion goes public with his experiences, resulting in the loss of his entire life. Banion is approached by other UFO abductees, all of whom he vaguely feels as if they're just lonely people who need some excitement in their lives. However, he can't deny his own experiences, and continues to attempt to force Congress into conducting hearings. Finally, he organises a march on Washington.

Watching the monster he has created, and disgraced from MJ-12, Nathan tries to fix the situation. He and Banion team up and take on the government's only secret.

In this book, Buckley skewers everyone from the government to UFO fanatics. Although his targets are relatively easy to take to task, his deft handling of the story has laugh-out-loud results. I devoured this book overnight. When I was finished, a friend immediately borrowed it after noticing how hard I was laughing. It is a great light-hearted read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good God! Is Buckley the Greatest living writer?!, April 7, 2006

By 

Turin "Turambar" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Green Men: A Novel (Paperback)

Reading this book is literally stunning. If there were any justice, the hacks ought to abandon their work (or at least rewrite it through a few times) before they sling it out the door- looking at James Patterson and Dan Brown.

The prose on every page is so carefully wrought it is amazing. He captures characters, organizations and Washington dynamics with such economy, with such perfect on-the-nose phrasing it, it really is amazing. Put your finger down on any page and you will find excellence. This is the league of Wodehouse and Waugh.

The book is both amusing and enteraining and worth the purchase because the reread value will be high, but I'll be damned if you dont come away with the feeling of resentment at other popular authors who's poor craftsmanship is so clearly shown up by Buckley.

"Banion took the call.

'Jack!' Bill Stimple was the Ur-corporate relations man. Each greeting began with an exclaimation mark. When the Grim Reeper came for Bill he'd probably bray, 'Death!', and ask how his golf game was coming."