book data
1,692 ratings,
3.88
average rating, 195 reviews
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published
February 14th 2006
(first published 1994)
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
binding
Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
0812976525
(isbn13: 9780812976526)
description
"Nick Naylor had been called many things since becoming chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. But until now no one had actually com...more
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avg 3.88
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editions: all | this edition
Funny little biting political satire on the nonsense that goes on in Washington (and Hollywood, to a lesser extent); the money that changes hands, the souls that are sold, the amoral deals that are made, the shrieking hysterical harpies on each side of a divisive issue (smoking, in this case) that are convinced they just want what's best for the American public.
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2 comments
Read in December, 2008
recommends it for:
--
This is the second time I have read this book. I remember that the first time I read it, I was somewhat confused by the various plot twists and what seemed like hundreds of characters. As a result I gave up in the middle of reading it. After finding it in my room recently and restarting it, I am disappointed to say that it remains an awkward novel.
The best thing that can be said for Thank You For Smoking is that it is funny. It takes many of the conceptions that we as a society have...more
The best thing that can be said for Thank You For Smoking is that it is funny. It takes many of the conceptions that we as a society have...more
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Read in June, 2009
Buckley has a very dry sense of humor. A good example is the name of the main character, Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the tabacco industry. "Nick" for nicotine and "Naylor" for coffin nails. a euphemism for cigarettes. The other lobbyists featured in the book are for alcohol and guns (firearms). The three main lobbyists in the book are anti-ATF.
To me, Nick is a modern-day Scrooge. Not many people remember that at the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is said to kee...more
To me, Nick is a modern-day Scrooge. Not many people remember that at the end of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is said to kee...more
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3 comments
Read in December, 2008
recommended to Claudia by:
Peggy recommended all his booksrecommends it for: Christopher Moore fans
Funny! I've begun to really appreciate Buckley's humor. Nick is a PR man for a tobacco lobby, and in the course of his job he must say outrageously false things with a sincere face...and he does. His best friends work as lobbyists for the booze firearms industries. They call themselves the MOD Squad: Merchants of Death. Nick gets sideways with his boss and the fun (and double crosses) begins. Buckley's literary allusions remind me he was raised in an extremely literate home: "Call me Ishmae...more
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The movie of this book... is possibly the worst I've seen of a movie from a book... The movie totally butchered the story altogether... they skipped Jeanette all together and the kidnapping wasn't even a main part... If you haven't watched the movie, read the book first. If you have, you should still read the book cause it's awesome and very different then the movie, it's almost like they're two separate stories altogether. The ending of this book though, was HORRIBLE. He attempted to wrap every...more
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Christopher Buckley does a good job keeping the reader interested, using quite a bit of dry humor mixed with seemingly true (but sad) "facts" about smoking and the power of marketing. I do not read so many novels, and perhaps this is why when I do they seem like easy reads. This one is no different. Easy, interesting, but a bit disappointing in the end. Buckley seems to stumble over the "mystery-intrigue" part of the novel. The humor makes up for it, however. Want a qui...more
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It was so absurd that it was hilarious. The author is great at exaggerating the politics surrounding the tobacco companies. The main character spends his career trying make people believe that smoking is not bad for you by making false statements, trying to get Hollywood to get people to smoke in movies and paying off victims of lung cancer to keep their mouths shut. He is also very charismatic while he is doing all of these things so I could not help but really like him. It's funny and ridiculo...more
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01/05/09
Stop
added it
Read in October, 2008
Read the STOP SMILING interview with Thank You For Smoking author Christopher Buckley:
HUMOR IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
By Chris Haskell
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING DC ISSUE)
There are many ways of defining Christopher Buckley. He is the son of William F. Buckley Jr., the late host of Firing Line and the so-called father of modern conservatism. He is a novelist, a political satirist concocting outlandish, though eerily real st...more
HUMOR IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL
By Chris Haskell
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING DC ISSUE)
There are many ways of defining Christopher Buckley. He is the son of William F. Buckley Jr., the late host of Firing Line and the so-called father of modern conservatism. He is a novelist, a political satirist concocting outlandish, though eerily real st...more
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Christopher Buckley’s book Thank you For Smoking is a satirical jab at the nation’s smoking industry. Buckley also makes bold and unflattering statements about office politics, journalism, and the Washington machine that we call our government. No one is spared.
The book differs in many aspects from the film – including the very different ending; however both work have merit. Both demand of the viewer/reader some critical thinking about the world in which we live and how much w...more
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Read in October, 2008
Epping genius. If I didn't have a soul or some sense of morals (waiiit a minute...I don't!) then I'd probably be very good at such a job as well. If only I didn't hate smoking so much, it might be feasible with how smarmy and wily I am.
Ok, I should really stop complimenting myself so much, I'm going to get an ego. All I'm saying is I'm pretty good at polishing a turd. Thus why I've made it my life's work. =)
The book is incredibly witty and facinating. I mean really, yes,...more
Ok, I should really stop complimenting myself so much, I'm going to get an ego. All I'm saying is I'm pretty good at polishing a turd. Thus why I've made it my life's work. =)
The book is incredibly witty and facinating. I mean really, yes,...more
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Read in March, 2008
Quando eu vi que o filme era baseado num livro, resolvi ir atrás. E valeu a pena. Tô escrevendo essa resenha acreditando que você já tenha visto o filme Obrigado por fumar. Se ainda não viu, corre atrás e vá ver! =)
O legal pra quem viu o filme e leu o livro é que do meio pro final, os dois ficam bem diferentes um do outro. O filho do Nick Naylor, por exemplo, é um personagem quase insignificante no livro, mas que é bastante presente no filme.
Isso é legal porque...more
O legal pra quem viu o filme e leu o livro é que do meio pro final, os dois ficam bem diferentes um do outro. O filho do Nick Naylor, por exemplo, é um personagem quase insignificante no livro, mas que é bastante presente no filme.
Isso é legal porque...more
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Read in February, 2008
Like Fight Club, Thank You For Smoking (TYFS) was one of the very few books I've picked up after seeing the movie adaption first. And like Fight Club, TYFS was one the very few where I think the movie was better.
They made some interesting adaptions for the big screen. For one, Aaron Eckhart's "Nick Naylor" is a very different creature from the novel's. Whereas Buckley's protagonist is a morally compromised figure peddling a product he inwardly believes to be evil, Eckh...more
They made some interesting adaptions for the big screen. For one, Aaron Eckhart's "Nick Naylor" is a very different creature from the novel's. Whereas Buckley's protagonist is a morally compromised figure peddling a product he inwardly believes to be evil, Eckh...more
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Read in January, 2006
Buckley, the nationally-syndicated conservative writer, takes a break from political humor to skewer both the lobbying industry and the PR/media spin industry. The book focuses on Nick Naylor, the spokesman for the Tobacco Industry, and his struggle to defend the rights of the tobacco industry to kill people. When Naylor is kidnapped by “nico-terrorists” and almost killed (they strip him and cover his body in nicotine patches), Naylor becomes a minor celebrity and sympathetic figure – wh...more
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
Humor readers, satire readers, people trying to quit smoking
Every day there are people who fight to male smoking seem healthy and attractive, fight off the lawsuits of cancer patients and simultaneously try to convince your kids to take a puff. Considering that we've had books making fun of war, death, sex, science and religion, somebody had to turn around and make fun of the tobacco groups eventually. Here is such a book, going through this wealthy world from over the shoulder of a tobacco lobbyist. At its worst, Thank You For Smoking is suffficiently h...more
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Read in March, 2006
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Read in March, 2009
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Read in October, 2008
Fun, rollercoaster ride of events. The main character loves to debate. He doesn't always have to be right, he just has to prove you're wrong. He hangs out with the MOD Squad, Merchants of Death. Made up of the himself (lobbyist for the Tobacco companys), the Alcohol lobbyist, and the NRA lobbyist. If you've seen the movie, make it a point to read the book. Worth the read. Laugh out loud.
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Read in December, 2008
Another Christopher Buckley novel -- this one was hilarious(I often laughed out loud). The main man is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry in Washington, whose two closest friends represent the alcohol and gun lobbies. The tobacco guy is very successful until he is the target of anti-smoking terrorists. There's a lot of truth in how Washington works here.
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02/08/09
Becky Ioppolo
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Read in January, 2009
I read the book before the movie intentionally, and I'm still glad I did. But I think as a whole, the movie trumps the book. The book, as I recall, didn't really come to a conclusion and the movie emphasizes the father-son relationship more. I enjoyed sitting through 1.5 hours of satirical comedy that moves rather than a week of screenplay-esque plot.
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Read in January, 2007
A very funny black comedy about a spokesman for the tobacco industry. Great spin doctor stuff. The best parts are when the the MOD Squad (Merchants Of Death) meet for their weekly lunch. They are the spokespersons for the tobacco, alcohol and firearm industires. They talk about their challanges and their respective death tolls -hilarious!
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[b:Pride and Prejudice and Zombies|5899779|Pride and Prejudice and Zombies|Seth Grahame-Smith|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1232908922s/5899779.jpg|6072122], Seth Grahame-Smith
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