Christopher Buckley
Christopher Buckley (disambiguation)Christopher Buckley
Also recorded as Christopher Taylor Buckley · Christopher Wayne Buckley
Christopher Buckley

Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Christopher Buckley
- Birth Name
- Christopher Taylor Buckley
- Born
- 28 September 1952
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Education
- Yale University (BA)
- Occupation
- * Author
- Spouse
- * Lucy Gregg
- Full name
- Christopher Taylor Buckley.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- political satire and journalism.
- Languages
- English.
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wikidata · Q1086549
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Christopher Buckley • Birth Name — Christopher Taylor Buckley • Born — 28 September 1952 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Education — Yale University (BA) • Occupation — * Author • satirist • novelist • Spouse — * Lucy Gregg • Katherine Close • Children — 3 • Father — William F. Buckley Jr. • Mother — Patricia Buckley • Relatives — * James L. Buckley (uncle) • Priscilla Buckley (aunt) • Patricia Buckley Bozell (aunt) • Reid Buckley (uncle) • L. Brent Bozell III (cousin) Christopher Taylor Buckley (born September 28, 1952) is an American author and political satirist. He also served as chief speechwriter to Vice President George H. W. Bush. 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.
Early life and education
Early life and education
Buckley is the only child of writer and Firing Line host William F. Buckley Jr. and Patricia Buckley. After receiving a classical education at Portsmouth Abbey School, Buckley worked his way around the world as a deckhand on a Norwegian tramp freighter. He graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1976.
Career
Career
He joined the staff of Esquire magazine in 1976 and seven months later was promoted at age 24 to managing editor. In 1980 he returned to sea aboard an American ship and made eight mid-winter transatlantic crossings between U.S. Gulf ports and North Sea ports in England and Germany. The experience was the basis for his first bestselling non-fiction book, Steaming to Bamboola: The World of a Tramp Freighter, published in 1982. In 1981, he moved to Washington, D.C. to become chief speechwriter to Vice President George H. W. Bush. His first bestselling novel, The White House Mess, published in 1986, was a satire on White House office politics and political memoirs. In 1989, Malcolm S. Forbes hired Buckley to start up a supplement to Forbes magazine. Buckley was editor-in-chief of Forbes FYI, later Forbes Life, from 1990 to 2007. His 20 books have been published in 16 languages. His novel Thank You For Smoking was adapted to the screen and directed by Jason Reitman.
National Review
National Review
In summer and fall 2008, Christopher Buckley wrote the back-page column for National Review, the conservative magazine founded by his father. In October 2008, Buckley wrote a column endorsing Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, choosing to have it published in The Daily Beast to avoid backlash from National Review readers. After many National Review readers and contributors still expressed their displeasure, Buckley resigned from that publication. The Beasts title for his endorsement, "Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama", was found by many of his father's friends and supporters to be offensive, particularly as it appeared shortly after his father's death. Buckley disavowed the choice of title, although he continued to occasionally write for the Beast.
Personal life
Personal life
Buckley's first marriage was to Lucy Gregg, the daughter of Donald Gregg, who served as assistant to Vice President Bush for national security affairs and later as United States Ambassador to South Korea. Buckley and Gregg have two children. In 2000, Buckley's son was born to former Random House publicist Irina Woelfle. Buckley and Gregg divorced in 2011. In 2012, he married Katherine Close, a physician. She has four children.
Satirical novels
Satirical novels
• God Is My Broker: A Monk-Tycoon Reveals the 7½ Laws of Spiritual and Financial Growth (1998) (written with John Tierney) • Has Anyone Seen My Toes? (2022)
Political satire
Political satire
• The White House Mess (1986) • Thank You for Smoking (1994) • Little Green Men (1999) • No Way to Treat a First Lady (2002) • Florence of Arabia (2004) • Boomsday (2007) • Supreme Courtship (2008) • They Eat Puppies, Don't They? (2012) • Make Russia Great Again: A Novel (2020)
Historical satire
Historical satire
• The Relic Master (2015) • The Judge Hunter (2018)
Travelogues
Travelogues
• Steaming to Bamboola – The World of a Tramp Freighter (1983) • Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (2003)
Other
Other
• Theophilus North (introduction) • If These Walls Could Talk (contributor) • 101 Damnations (contributor) • Islands: A Treasury of Contemporary Travel Writing (contributor) • Fierce Pajamas: An Anthology of Humor Writing from The New Yorker (contributor) • Disquiet, Please! More Humor Writing from The New Yorker (contributor) • The New Yorker Book of Political Cartoons (introduction) • Ray Bradbury: The Stories of Ray Bradbury (introduction) • Our Man in Havana, by Graham Greene (introduction) • Bright Pages: Yale Writers, 1701-2001 (contributor) • Mirth of a Nation (contributor) • The Faber Book of Smoking (contributor) • The New Yorker Book of Money Cartoons (introduction) • Another Sage of Baltimore (contributor) • True Prep (contributor) • Catch-22: 50th Anniversary edition (introduction) • The Best American Travel Writing (contributor) • Moby-Dick (afterword) • The Seven Deadly Virtues (contributor) • Wish You Weren't There (contributor) • Once a Catholic (contributor) • The Best American Nonrequired Reading (contributor) • Backward and Upward: The New Conservative Writing (contributor) • Legend: Frank Sinatra and the American Dream (contributor) • Sex and God at Yale (introduction) • The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails (introduction) • Thank You For Smoking: The Shooting Script (introduction) • Now What? Essays on Life After Trump (contributor) • My Harvard, My Yale (1981) (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). Description & preview. Hachette (Biographical) • But Enough About You: Essays (May 6, 2014). Description & preview. Simon & Schuster • Postscript: Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011 (The New Yorker)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Christopher Buckley was recorded at birth as Christopher Taylor Buckley. The authorities additionally record the headings Christopher Taylor Buckley and Christopher Wayne Buckley. His recorded language was English. His recorded confession was Catholicism. He was the child of William F. Buckley Jr. And Patricia Buckley.

Author Christopher Buckley book signing and conversation at the LBJ Presidential Library. May 15, 2012, in Austin, Texas. (Photo/Harry Cabluck)
Harry Cabluck
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1952
Christopher Buckley born at New York City.
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
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Christopher Buckley.
- 2.Former Speechwriter Of George H.W. Bush Discusses President's Legacy. NPR.org.
- 3.Christopher Buckley. Hoover Institution.
- 4.Goldman, Andrew. Mr. Right. Elle. September 5, 2008.
- 5., Forum on Law, Culture, and Society, Dir. Thane Rosenbaum
- 6.Buckley, Christopher. Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama. The Daily Beast. October 10, 2008.
- 7.MSNBC. Hardball. October 14, 2008.
- 8.Beach, Patrick. A little scoop on Christopher Buckley. The Reader. October 14, 2008.
- 9.The Daily Beast. Christopher Buckley.
- 10.Argetsinger, Amy. Chris Buckley's Child-Support Saga Continues. The Washington Post. October 8, 2008.
- 11.Stamford Physician Katy Close Joins AmeriCares Board of Directors. December 16, 2015.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1086549: Christopher BuckleyWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
Further particulars
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Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Formation and teaching. Buckley studied at Yale University, Fordham University, Portsmouth Abbey School and Jonathan Edwards College. Recorded as journalist, novelist, writer, satirist and editor.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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