Rating: 
Summary: Buckley is a genius.
Review: Thanks to TV shows and movies like The X-Files and Independence Day, public fascination with conspiracies and aliens has probably never been stronger. Naturally, satirist Christopher Buckley would turn his talents towards spoofing trend that is long overdue for parody after so cleverly mocking the tobacco industry and Washington D.C. politics in his brilliant "Thank You For Smoking".Buckley's protagonist is pompous Sunday morning talk show host John Oliver Banion, whose arrogance annoys a government employee whose job is to arrange for the government to kidnap average people and make them believe they were abducted to spread hysteria and justify the defense budget. Abducted, Banion becomes a believer in the abduction cause and fights to expose the government's complicity in the abduction conspiracy. From politics to the media to the conspiracy-theory ridden alien abduction movement, Buckley's targets for ridicule richly deserve his wrath. "Little Green Men" isn't quite the laughfest of "Thank You For Smoking", but it is still a richly entertaining book that will entertain admirers of Buckley to no end.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: To be frank, this book was an impulsive purchase. I saw it at the bookstore some years ago, and bought it after scanning briefly through it. Of course, like most impulsive book purchases, it wound up sitting on my shelf until last week. Buckley makes a strong showing in this book as a political satirist, however his ability to craft a story has something to be desired. He was able to capture my attention for hours at a time with this book, but the I found myself dragging my feet through the last fifty pages or so: I kept asking myself if something was going to happen of any particular significance. While Buckely himself is a mediocre writer, his jokes and usage of intertextuality makes him interesting to read. The premise of this book is interesting enough, and gives Buckley an excellent jumping-off point to plunge the reader into a hilarious rendition of Alien abductees who finally have their day in the sun. The national issue of UFOs and alien contact is brought to the forefront of US media after a prominant televisoin host, Jack Banion, is abducted twice by a top-secret US Government collective, Majestic 12. It is clear that Buckley did his research; he intertwines this story with many references to various conspiracy theories. Banion, the protagonist, finds himself falling from grace - he is no longer on Washington DC's A-list. Rather, he becomes the champion of UFO wackos, people who come in throngs claiming to have been abducted. While the story line continues upon a predicatble path, the ending had something to be desired. Additionally, for such an excellent premise, Buckley really fails to do anything phenomenal with it. That being said, "Little Green Men" is not without its merits. While it was initially difficult to get into, after the first two-dozen pages I found myself smirking and, yes, even laughing aloud to what was said by Buckley. His political commentary falls middle-of-the-road, and while he does dish out a few low-brown sex jokes (probably pandering to the "People" magazine crowd), his humor does have some fine points. His continual parodies of government officials as bumbling fools become tiresome (if not already cliche before opening the book itself), but overall a worthy effort.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Spoof of a Genre, Politics and Current Events
Review: As a devoted fan of the 'Aliens Are Among Us' literary theme, I always make a special effort to read any example of the genre, no matter how good or bad the writing. Buckley's latest work, however, truly surprised me with its quality writing, side-splitting humor and dead-on-target sarcastic commentary about aliens and alien abductions, a much maligned subject that quite frankly deserves to be much maligned. Little Green takes the reader into the life of one John Oliver Bannion (whose initials have some disturbing Biblical connotations), a staunch Guardian of the Establisment and deeply entrenched member of the Beltway Elite. Bannion is something of a political gadfly, and delights in skewering uppity politicians with smug intellectualism on his highly rated political news hour. As such, although he is the last person any one would point to as being an 'alien abductee', we can rest assured that once Bannion uses his nationwide popularity and broadcast TV to tell his unbelievable story, every single one of the numerous enemies he's made will be giddy with glee. Well, you can guess quite accurately the rest. Of course, his life is turned upside down, his marriage falls apart, his Beltway 'friends' fall by the wayside, and our hero eventually runs happily into the smothering embrace of the lunatic fringe. But then, something strange happens. It would seem that an alien abductee of such high political and social standing gives a new luster to the charges made by kooks of all stripes about UFOS and government involvement. And as luck would have it, this former political icon and total blowhard is transformed, and ultimately becomes the Messiah of a Movement, a counter-cultural icon whose mission is to get the government to tell THE TRUTH about aliens. In short, all your standard props about aliens, alien abductions, and UFOs are here, and they are all spoofed in top form. I especially liked the part involving the intervention set up by his friends, and Bannion's wry comment that the good thing about an intervention is that you learn from it which of your friends you really don't like. On the whole, the book is very well plotted, chock full of solidly motivated characters, and overflowing with hilarious scenes. This is definitely one of those books that you will enjoy reading while sitting in your favorite chair, in your favorite place, sipping away at your favorite drink. Savor this literary treat, and sneak away to a quite place, where you can let the chuckles linger for a while.
Rating: 
Summary: Hysterical romp through conspiracy theories
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Witty / Funny
Review: John Bannion / Talk Show Host, dry "I am smarter than you" journalist is abducted not once, but twice by aliens. He immediately buys into the fact he has been abducted and starts telling the world all about it. Along the way this book pokes fun at Washington, DC and politics in general. At times this book is maybe too serious to be a 5 star comedy. But, overall this book was fun, light and witty. A- Joseph Dworak
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining UFO alternate-history political satire
Review: -----------------------------------------------------------
John Oliver Banion (note 1) hosts an influential political talking-
headshow on TV. He has a beautiful house in Georgetown, a
permanent spot on the "A" list of every Washington hostess of note,
and commands lecture fees of $25,000 and up. Life is good -- until
he's abducted by aliens at the fourth hole of the Burning Bush golf
course. And, um, *probed*. And abducted again a few weeks later,
on his way to give a lecture to the American Auto Consumer
Association, a trade group for foreign-car dealers. Nathan Scrubbs is Manager of Abductions for Majestic-12. a
supersecret bureau that was started in 1947 to convince Joe Stalin
that the US had found advanced alien technology at the Roswell,
NM "crash" site. Like all government programs, it's acquired a life of
its own: "A country convinced that little green men were hovering
over the rooftops [would be] inclined to vote yea for big weapons and
space programs." In recent years, MJ-12 has turned to abductions and
cattle-mutilations to maintain belief in UFO's. Staff mathematicians
have devised a credibility algorithm for determining who to abduct
next. Usually the program picks overweight housewives, but
credibility figures are down, and Scrubbs has decided he needs a
more prominent abductee. Banion's wife, agent and TV-show sponsor are, well, not pleased
when he begins a high-profile campaign to uncover the "truth"
about alien abductions. But the UFO fans love it -- he's the most
respectable spokesman they've ever had. Soon he has no wife, a new
sponsor, a new hit TV show, and is calling for a "Millenium Man
March" on Washington, to demand congressional UFO hearings.
Except his televised call-to-arms is mysteriously interrupted with
clips from "Space Bimbos from Planet Lust", a simulcast on the
Yearning Channel.... I can't say much more without spoiling the fun, but no plot outline
can convey Buckley's sly humor, surreal plot, equal-opportunity
skewers and deadpan delivery. I find it remarkable that he can keep
delivering wonderful one-liners, deadly gigs at thinly-disguised
("Senator Bore") politicos, and weird but almost-believable scenarios
for 300 pages. Buckley notes that the CIA actually did run such a
scam in the early 60's. And he quotes First Friend/felon Webster
Hubbell's assignment from Pres. Clinton: "One: who killed JFK?
And two, are there UFO's?" Which may account for Mr. Clinton
expressing an interest in Buckley's project that "seemed to go beyond
the merely polite." Or are these more put-ons? (note 2) Suffice it to say that, if you liked "Thank You for Smoking", LGM is
for you. And if you missed "Smoking" (note 3), you have *two*
treats in store. Highly, and enthusiastically, recommended.
_____________
1) Think George F. Will, and note Banion's initials. 2) I was unable to verify Buckley's factual(?) statements, above. But
stranger things have happened:
"In the [3-10-99] N.Y. Times there's an obituary of the CIA guy who
did all of the LSD experiments, Sidney Gottlieb. He just died at 80. His
hobbies were folk dancing and herding goats. He loved LSD: he took it,
and I quote, "hundreds of times." He conducted 150 separate mind-
control experiments. One guy jumped out a window and was killed.
I'll just read you a bit: "Government documents and court records show
that at least one participant died, others went mad, and still others
suffered psychological damage after participating in the project,
known as MK-Ultra." The experiments were useless, Mr. Gottlieb
concluded, shortly before he retired in 1972. The CIA awarded Mr.
Gottlieb the Distinguished Intelligence Medal...
...We must soldier on, despite the appalling odds against
our coming up with something more piquant than the morning
headlines."
(from author interview at amazon.com) 3) Wm. J. Clinton, on "Smoking": "That's the funniest goddam book
I've ever read!" Your reviewer concurs.
(from author interview at amazon.com)
Rating:
Summary: You're not paranoid if they really are after you....
Review: This is a funny book, a classic Chris Buckley satire. He spoofs talking-head news analysts, conspiracy theories, and the beltway elite, among others. The premise is a bit more far-fetched than his other books, but he does manage to make it work. Not as good as "Thank You For Smoking", but still an entertaining book that will have you chuckling.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful premise...but it never gets off the ground
Review: Little Green Men has a great premise and a wonderful line or two -- "Eich bin ein kook!" is unforgettable -- but the plot loses its charm in meandering incoherence and the characters, except for the George Will knock-off, never come alive. The big build-up and the ending, especially, are about as funny as the Carter administration. Ugh. A crash landing for Buckley.
Rating:
Summary: Another Grand Slam for Buckley
Review: Chris Buckley has spun another masterpiece, a worthy successor to the fabulous "Thank You for Smoking." The mildly absurd plot is made plausible by Buckley's astute insight into the institutional lunacy of both government and the media. As usual, Buckley pierces the inflated egos of the bureacracy (both in the media and public service) with his intellect and wit. Like most of his works, you won't want to put down this fun and funny work.
Rating:
Summary: Funny
Review: I've read all of Buckley's books. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's not as great as "The White House Mess" which kept me on the floor laughing for the entire read, but Buckley's cunning and sharp political satire is still present, though not his best. Don't be fooled by the title, it's not a book about the alien subculture in America, rather it is more a spoof off the governments reaction to it!
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