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: 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: Wonderful premise...but it never gets off the ground
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: fun stuff, a quick read
Review: I became a fan of Buckley last year when I read his very funny book, Thank You For Smoking. So naturally, when Little Green Men arrived in paperback, I snapped it up. Little Green Men is about a pompous political talk-show host who gets abducted by aliens--twice--and then goes on a crusade to have congress open up hearings on the existence of UFO's. Buckley consistently makes me chuckle out loud while reading his books. If it's not the situations and characters themselves or his skeweringly funny footnotes, the very names he gives his fringe characters crack me up. For instance, the protagonist's talk show rivals are named Tony Flemm and Brent Boreman. I loved the first half of Little Green Men, but it slowed considerably in the second half before picking up again at the climactic finish. This book is only 300 pages long and I consumed it like candy. Little Green Men is a fun read but it's not quite as good as Thank You For Smoking. (2000)
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Don't Waste Your Time
Review: This is one of the most uninteresting novels I have ever read. There was nothing in the whole book that was worth reading. The characters are so 1 dimensional that from the get go you can see through them all and wish you weren't reading the book. I finished the novel, just to see if it ever redeems itself. Please don't waste your time.
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