The White House Mess (Paperback)

by Christopher Buckley (Author)
Key Phrases: White House, First Lady, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
With a dotty, pajama-clad President Reagan refusing to leave the White House on his successor's Inauguration Day, Buckley has given this farce of Oval Office politics a nearly perfect beginning. Unfortunately, he uses his best shot first and the rest of the book rarely equals the wit that energizes the hilarious opening. Parodying the familiar form of the White House memoir, Buckley (author of Steaming in Bamboola, son of William F. Buckley) recounts the turbulent years of the Democratic Tucker administration, as told by loyalist Herbert Wadlough. Through this former accountant's eyes, we see the infighting that plagues the White House, the President's faltering marriage to a former starlet, and his ongoing crises, including restoration of ties with Castro andin one of the novel's smarter sectionsa Marxist coup in Bermuda. Buckley, a onetime speechwriter for George Bush, obviously knows Washington's foibles and follies, but the zest of the book's early promise is smothered by an otherwise bland performance. Literary Guild alternate. (March 24p
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
An uproarious comedy about a presidential administration totally off the rails. This fictional political memoir by the Personal Assistant to President Tucker, Herbert Wadlough, offers a unique, utterly self-serving inside view of the ill-fated Tucker administration, 1989-1993. "A brilliant satire . . . A witty, very funny, intricate spoof."--Bob Woodward.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); First Edition. 1st thus edition (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140249281
• ISBN-13: 978-0140249286
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,498 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is Christopher Buckley a secret psychic friend?, January 20, 2002

By	Jeffrey Ellis "bored recluse" (Richardson, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The White House Mess is both a hilarious political satire and an amazingly accurate portrait of the first Clinton Administration. Sure, the names have been changed but anyone who followed politics over the course of the '90s will recognize the characters. Thomas N. Tucker is a so-called "Moderate Democrat" who, after a few terms as Governor of a small Republican state (Idaho, in this case), is elected President over Republican George H.W. Bush. Tucker comes to Washington with a fiercely independent wife and a staff that is an uneasy mix of cynical insiders and idealistically niave (read: stupid) campaign aides with little actual practical experience. Over the course of the next four years, Tucker finds himself embroiled in a sex scandal, has to deal with his idiot brother, fails to establish any firm policy beyond what the polls say he should do, and -- as his Presidency comes to a close -- manages to embroil American soldiers in a futile military campaign. There it is, the Clinton Administration in a nutshell. Of course, what's truly amazing isn't that Buckley managed to write a memoir of the Clinton Presidency but that Buckley did so in 1987 -- five years before anyone outside of Arkansas even knew who Bill Clinton was and certainly before anyone expected this guy to be President. (Of course, what's really funny is that when the book first came out, many critics sniped that Buckley's satire was too outrageous and had no basis in reality.)

Unfairly or not, Clinton hangs over Buckley's satire and, what originally might have seemed as a simple farce, is now tinged with a certain bittersweet feel. You still laugh but its no longer a what-will-he-say-next laugh as much as its a laugh of I-Can't-Believe-This-Actually-Happened. By that same regard, when the book first came out, one of the funniest parts dealt with the difficulty of getting a senile Ronald Reagan to leave the Oval Office following Tucker's inaguration. As funny and well-written as this scene is, its no longer quite as funny with the knowledge that Reagan is -- in real life -- suffering from the late stages of Alzheimer's.

However, these are all minor quibbles and they shouldn't take away from what is one of the funniest, unsung political satires of the previous century. Buckley disguises his book as the political memoir of former Tucker aide Herbert Wadlough. Wadlough, a stuffy, pompous, but well-meaning Englishman, comes across as something of a poor man's Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Buckley perfectly captures the man's moralistic yet clueless voice. As well, anyone who has read any of the recent memoirs by various Reagan and Clinton administration veterans will be amused as Wadlough continually tries to overhype his importance and present himself as something other than a rather minor cog in the government. Admitedly, its probably easier to enjoy this book if you're a conservative -- most of Buckley's barbs are reserved for the less-than-worldly liberals who surround Tucker. However, Buckley is hardly a partisan when it comes to throwing his punches. The Republican Party takes it share number of shots. Buckley is truly a bipartisan ridiculer but writes with such good-natured wit and skill that its hard to imagine any sensible person (no matter what their political alignment taking offense). This is a truly hilarious book and a must read for anyone with an interest in politics or a need for a good laugh.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, I Needed That, January 17, 2001

By	Amy R. Nix "Aspen74 - just another bibliophile" (California, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Believe it or not, I managed to make it through this much of my life having never read a word by Christopher Buckley. This book was loaned to me by a friend, and I was a little skeptical about reading a political satire after coming off the past several months of "political cartoon overload."

The belly laughing had begun by paragraph 5 of the prologue, and I was unable to put this book down. I read the entire book in two sittings, and I have to say that I haven't laughed so hard or so well in a long, long time.

I was genuinely concerned that the book would be just another politics-driven piece of thinly disguised propoganda for one "side" or the other, but it was, instead, a refreshing and silly poke at government in general. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this book is a good poke at <i>people</i> in general.

I loved every page of <u>The White House Mess,</u> and I recommend it whole-heartedly to anyone looking for a good chuckle.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christopher Buckley skewers the fabled Insider's Memoir, May 7, 2000

By	Jussi Bjorling (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This book will be funny to anyone, but readers unfortunate enough to have read any memoirs of the "from the corridors of power" genre will be convulsed. Buckley writes from the perspective of a high-ranking aide to Reagan's fictional successor, President Tucker, jotting down a diary as self-important as his real-life counterparts (one subplot turns around the writer's attempt to keep his parking spot, which seems to be of equal importance as the rest of the nation's business put together).

Buckley is not just amusing, but often insightful. While the events of the book are absurd, the characters are often all too realistic. A must-read for Buckley fans, and highly recommended for anyone else.