Christopher Buckley (novelist)

Christopher Taylor Buckley (born September 28, 1952)[2] 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.

Christopher Buckley
Buckley in May 2012
Born
Christopher Taylor Buckley

(1952-09-28) September 28, 1952
New York City, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University[1]
OccupationAuthor, satirist, novelist
Spouse(s)Lucy Gregg Buckley (divorced)
Katherine Close
Children3
Parent(s)William F. Buckley Jr.
Patricia Buckley
RelativesJames L. Buckley (uncle)
L. Brent Bozell, III (cousin)
Patricia Buckley Bozell (aunt)
L. Brent Bozell Jr. (uncle by marriage)

Life and career

Buckley is the son of writer 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][lower-alpha 1]

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.

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

Political satire

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
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)
  • Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir (2009) ISBN 0-446-54094-3 (Biographical)
  • But Enough About You: Essays (May 6, 2014) Simon & Schuster ISBN 978-1476749518
  • Eulogy to Christopher Hitchens (The New Yorker)

Notes
  1. The book's title refers to the White House lunchroom, which is known as the "mess" because the Navy operates it.

References
  1. "Profile: Christopher Buckley", Forum on Law, Culture, and Society, Dir. Thane Rosenbaum
  2. "Christopher Buckley". Christopher Buckley. Retrieved 2015-07-26.
  3. Nast, Condé. "Bob Colacello on Pat and Bill Buckley". Vanity Fair.
  4. Goldman, Andrew (September 5, 2008). "Mr. Right". Elle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  5. "Yale Class Day Speaker: Christopher Buckley" Archived 2012-07-12 at Archive.today, Yale University, Office of Public Affairs and Communications, May 24, 2009
  6. 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.
  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.
  8. "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. "Christopher Buckley". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
  12. "C. T. Buckley to Marry Lucy S. Gregg". The New York Times. 1984-10-07.
  13. Argetsinger, Amy; Roberts, Roxanne (2008-10-08). "Chris Buckley's Child-Support Saga Continues". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  14. Gregorian, Dareh (2008-10-02). "Not One 'Buck'ley for You!". NY Post. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  15. "Historic Wedding". New York Post. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
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