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Losing Mum and Pup

3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 · rating details · 1,670 ratings · 458 reviews

In twelve months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, one of New York's most glamorous and colorful socialites. He was their only child and their relationship was close and complicated. Writes Buckley: "They were not - wit...more

Hardcover, 272 pages

Published May 6th 2009 by Twelve (first published April 22nd 2009)

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Apr 02, 2013 Jocelynne Broderick marked it as skipped

I consider myself a very smart person, and this book was full of words even *I* didn't know! Sheesh! Talk about writing for the common folk. Seriously, if I Post-it flagged every word to look up, this would look like a freakin divorce decree with all the "sign-here"s. Also, this bonehead goes right into the story ASSUMING we know who his "famous" parents are. He never says. What he does do though is list the famous people his parents hung around with. So what? He's all "I don't want to be a name...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Christopher Buckley was the only son of the Messiah of Conservatism, William F. Buckley, and his wife, the style icon and socialite Pat Buckley. When he lost these two larger-than-life characters within a year of each other, he felt compelled to pen this short memoir of that painful year. I confess that I was no fan of either parent, but this memoir is actually quite lovely. Buckley writes of both of these difficult, complicated people with wry honesty, genuine affection, and a complete and (to...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Terra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley is an unforgettable memoir that is endearing, enchanting and spoken from the heart. A story of dedication, love, honesty, irritable moments and just plain stubbornness. A serious story but with so many light moments that you can't help but chuckle out loud. Oh don't get me wrong as you will still need a hankie for the tear jerking renditions of what we deal with when a loved one dies, but that is more back story and the pleasant, jovial moments of life a...more

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Sep 12, 2009 Bill rated it 3 of 5 stars

Christopher Buckley's bittersweet memoir of his final year with his stylish mother and famously conservative father lends a human scale to a couple that so often appeared larger than life. Personally, I was never particularly enamoured of William F. Buckley, Jr.'s politics or even his books, despite being piqued by God and Man at Yale and amused on occasion by the capers of fictional CIA agent Blackford Oakes. However, from the time I was a small boy who loved big words, I was flattered to be c...more Christopher Buckley's bittersweet memoir of his final year with his stylish mother and famously conservative father lends a human scale to a couple that so often appeared larger than life. Personally, I was never particularly enamoured of William F. Buckley, Jr.'s politics or even his books, despite being piqued by God and Man at Yale and amused on occasion by the capers of fictional CIA agent Blackford Oakes. However, from the time I was a small boy who loved big words, I was flattered to be compared favorably to the legendarily eloquent Buckley, for whom it was perfectly natural to toss off a word like "postprandial" when one intended to take a stroll after a lunch. (Despite his legendary command of the English language, it was apparently his third language.) In addition, although no sailor myself, I have always had an outsized admiration for anyone who could captain or navigate a wind-borne vessel. Ironically, I have not read Buckley's celebrated sailing books, but I have admired his exploits on the water based on second-hand accounts. Finally, anyone who is able to make a good living through his pen earns a certain amount of admiration from me. As Samuel Johnson famously said, "No one but a blockhead would write except for money."

There are few more difficult ways to grow up than as the son of a famous father and a socialite mother. Winston Churchill is perhaps the most notable example, having admired from afar his imperious, syphilitic father and fashionable, flirtatious mother -- reportedly a consort of no less than than the King of England. Christopher Buckley, similar in kind if not degree, seasons his admiration for his famous parents with a clear-eyed and painful acknowledgment of their many shortcomings public and private. Patricia Buckley, once one of New York's most celebrated hostesses, apparently frequently found it impossible to distinguish between truth and fiction on topics as diverse as her reasons for not finishing her college education at Vassar to visits from the Royal Family in her youth.

Christopher's Buckley's relationship with his mother was often stormy, but his complex blend of admiration and antagonism toward his father is the potent cocktail that really fuels this story and carries it to its poignant conclusion. Bill Buckley's Olympian detachment from quotidian concerns resulted in over 90 books, thousands of pages of articles, hundreds of television appearances, and friends and acquaintances among the most celebrated persons of the day. Coupled with Buckley's steadfast convictions, conservative views, and Catholic certitude, Buckley's sense of himself could be alternately entrancing and insufferable. And his personal recklessness in his boat and in his car whether his family was aboard or not bespeaks a level of self-absorption that contrasts sharply with moments of familial generosity. Ultimately, of course, laboring as an author in the shadow of your more famous father, subject to criticism alternately enthusiastic and capriciously cruel, is a cross no son should have to bear, even if it is assumed voluntarily.

Christopher Buckley, despite the traces of bitterness that lace this confection, writes with wit, grace, and self-awareness of his attempt to reconcile himself to the complex emotional inheritance bequeathed to him by his parents. In doing so, he seems ultimately to come to terms with the repeated betrayals inflicted on him by his prevaricating mother. The wounds left by a half century of fighting and making up with his father require a slower reconciliation, brought about in part by his father's slow physical decline and the constant devotion it evoked. To his credit, the senior Buckley, whose unfailing mental acumen carried him through the completion of biographies of Goldwater and Reagan even as he succumbed to kidney failure, diabetes, skin cancer, and general physical enfeeblement, was mostly good-humored and gracious toward his son as he approached his end. In the end, the younger Buckley's vocation as a humorist and the elder Buckley's personal civility and generosity shine through the tangled emotions of this real life soap opera featuring one of America's first families.
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Jan 07, 2013 Ariel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

The problem with this book is that it is a book in which someone says a lot of nice things about a person whose political ideology I find pretty abhorrent (and that's before we even get to the nice things the author says about Henry Kissinger-PS: the nice things he says about Kissinger make me kind of wonder how he and Christopher Hitchens remained such good friends). Also, there is a lot of irritating rich WASP b.s. that I suppose is unavoidable when you are writing a memoir and that's your bac...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Jay Glickman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction-biography

Bestselling satirist Christopher Buckley (Thank You for Smoking, Supreme Courtship) lost both his parents in 2007. Their death was not entirely unexpected - Buckley was 55 years old, and both Mum and Pup (as he called them) were in their eighties, and in failing health. The interesting part of this memoir is that his Pup was world-famous Conservative author, icon, television personality, and intimate of Presidents William F. Buckley, Jr.; and that his Mum was the almost equally famous society fi...more Bestselling satirist Christopher Buckley (Thank You for Smoking, Supreme Courtship) lost both his parents in 2007. Their death was not entirely unexpected - Buckley was 55 years old, and both Mum and Pup (as he called them) were in their eighties, and in failing health. The interesting part of this memoir is that his Pup was world-famous Conservative author, icon, television personality, and intimate of Presidents William F. Buckley, Jr.; and that his Mum was the almost equally famous society figure, charity fundraiser, extremely tall person (5', 11"), and intimate of everybody Patricia Taylor Buckley.

Together Buckley's parents dominated the world of American politics and society for more than 40 years, while raising their son (Buckley has no siblings) in a milieu comprised by everyone from Truman Capote to Henry Kissinger. Buckley writes feelingly, honestly, and above all hilariously of his often absentee, and frequently maniacal parents. Anecdotes illustrate death-defying father and son sailing trips around the world, as well as his mother's well-known penchant for grievously insulting friends and family members.

Where this book really shines is demonstrating the emotional complexity and ambivalence inherent in family relationships that span more than half a century. Buckley is upfront about the fact that his relations with both parents continued to be stormy, yet affectionate, until their deaths - and he very amusingly depicts his own faults as well as his parents. And while growing up in the relentlessly Preppy Buckley household may lack the heartwarming bathos of many family memoirs, it does not lack for very personal and intimate authenticity.

Equally involving are Buckley's thoughts and feelings regarding aging, the rituals of death in America, and his personal memories of growing up amidst many of the most famous and powerful people on the planet. Christopher Buckley's father was a talented and enormously prolific writer (among literally thousands of published columns in National Review and other periodicals, he found time to write more than 50 books of fiction and non-fiction); the son is not so prolific (nor nearly as partisan), but his work so far demonstrates the talent that clearly runs in his blood.

Engaging, quick-witted, and morbidly funny, this is a worthwhile read for any one who has (or has had) parents, famous or otherwise.(less)

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Jun 17, 2012 Holly Morrow added it

I bought this on a whim in an airport bookstore. Its essentially an extended eulogy for William F Buckley and his formidable wife Pat, told by their son Chris as he processes their deaths, which happened within a year of each other. The author has a breezy, sardonic style that some probably find annoying but I really like; for example recounting an ill-fated sailing trip with his father which ended with their boat laying on its side, run aground, with the mast under water - which he refers to a...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is skinny so it is a fast read. Plus, Christopher Buckley, the son of the aforementioned "Mum and Pup," is a good writer. Pup, is William F. Buckley, the ultra-conservative and Mum is, his wife, Pat Buckley, a socialite. Ultra-conservatives and socialites are not exactly the kind of people that I am crazy about but this memoir is the tale of parents, as they slip, not too quietly into old age and death. Also, it is a retrospective, of a sort, of what these difficult people were like in...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Ellen Gemmill rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a terrific read, as are all the other books I've read by Christopher Buckley. His humor is unparalleled, especially in the face of such sadness - losing both his parents within a matter of months, both of them succumbing to slow and painful illnesses. Buckley's writing is crisp, clear and clever. He is unflinching, and valiently forgiving, of his parents' faults and foibles.

I found it interesting to learn that William F. Buckley, Jr. (Pup) had feet of clay. WFB smoked pot? Abused pills...more

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May 27, 2011 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, william-f-buckley, national-review

Chris Buckley is a wonderful writer, and the vignettes he offers of his mother and father are as beautiful as they are revelatory. The Buckleys were not ideal parents; great men (and this includes women) rarely have time to be. And it is at times, remarkable, that CB would offer such personal details about his parents. Even WFB, Lion of the Right and one of the most notable Catholics on the planet, considered suicide in his last year of life. The sort of suffering he endured in his final months,...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Edith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

I found this book fascinating! It was my Christmas vacation read this year. Christopher Buckley writes about his famous father, William F. Buckley, “considered the father of the modern conservative movement”, and his mother, Patricia, who was “one of New York’s most glamorous and colorful socialites.” He concentrates on details during their final years leading to their deaths, but also dips back into their history for interesting stories. And there are lots of them...these were colorful people w...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Nita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

This is a mixed review. It's possible that I liked it in spite of myself. I listened to this on CD and Chris Buckley's upper class manner of speaking as if his nose were ever so slightly turned up turned me off a little. I mean, I went into it knowing there would be tons of name dropping and such,but it got old after awhile.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed it a great deal. I love the way he titled each chapter using a line of dialogue that would occur later in the chapter. I also love his r...more

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Oct 04, 2010 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-and-biography

This book was a mixed bag, but overall, pretty good. I listened to it, if that makes a difference. The author read it. He was okay.

I had to apoligize to my mother that I was reading anything related to the "Lion of the Right", William F. Buckley. Who I have a vague image of, some snooty guy barking questions on Sunday morning political shows. This book is by his son, and is more or less a tribute to his "larger than life" parents.

This book had a little history in it, of course, but was mostly a...more This book was a mixed bag, but overall, pretty good. I listened to it, if that makes a difference. The author read it. He was okay.

I had to apoligize to my mother that I was reading anything related to the "Lion of the Right", William F. Buckley. Who I have a vague image of, some snooty guy barking questions on Sunday morning political shows. This book is by his son, and is more or less a tribute to his "larger than life" parents.

This book had a little history in it, of course, but was mostly about a son's love for his parents.

When Ted Kennedy died, someone I work with was talking about the funeral and memorial service, and said that at the end of it all, if your kids say you were a good father, that is all you can ask for. This book echoes that--and I was touched by this crazy family.

That said, the tone is sometimes glib and a little hard to take. Very New York rich living which makes me grumble out of jealousy. They vacation in Switzerland. They are members of the old school conservative party--Cold war threat and all that bunk.

William B., as described by his son, is a stong personality who mostly has it his way--very frustrating to live with. Having a different version of this type---The one who is always right, I had to laugh alot over parts of this book. His father will just dismiss concerns--don't worry about it, the storm is not going to hit us. But his father is also described as generous, a staunch Catholic, gifted writer, and so on.

There is a lot of humour in this book,the author does not feel sorry for himself, which allows him to be a bit sarcastic.

The book spends way more time on Pup than Mum, partly because Mum dies first, and much of the book accounts the chronology of the parents' passing. But, interstingly, Mum is a real crazy bitch--beautiful and alluring and sharp, but a nutter who lies and is mean and viscous. Christopher does not give us the real grit, he gives one or two glimpses of her antics, but he loved her, so you appreciate he is not going to trash her, but has to at least nod to her craziness.

Another interesting part of this book was reading up on Christopher, who I discovered wrote "Thank you for not smoking" a really funny book I read a few years ago...So I looked him up on the interwebs and made a puzzling discovery about an out of wedlock (such an old fashioned terms fits) kid. There are news reports of legal actions for child support. I don't know what to make of it. You just never know about people.

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Jul 21, 2010 Sherry Howland rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, if for no other reason than it reminded me how much I miss Buckley's intelligent discourse of issues (even if I rarely if ever agreed!) rather than the mudslinging lies and vitriol that pass for news & views nowdays.

The young Buckley does a masterful job of opening the family home, allowing us to eavesdrop on some of the most laugh-out-loud conversations and situations one can imagine. Yes, yes, yes...he shamelessly namedrops. "Whatever," as he would say.

I d...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Deanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wendell and I listened to this book, read by the author, the son of conservative leader William F. Buckley. The book is one long list of incredibly famous people, and their connections to WFB and his wife Patricia. Christopher documents each of their final illnesses, and the agony it was for him to watch them die, one year apart, with a grace and openness that help make sense of grief at the loss of a parent, even when that loss is expected, and even when there are moments when you might wish th...more

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Mar 27, 2010 David rated it 3 of 5 stars

well-written book about losing his mother and father within a year when he was age 55. Author is self-aware enough to know that being "orphaned" at this age is hardly the most tragic experience the reader will have heard of, but it's still poignant.

He clearly admired his parents tremendously, perhaps esp. his well-known father William F. Buckley Jr., and the number of allusions to the "great" man and his many famous friends and connections (VP Dick Cheney couldn't make the cut as a eulogist; th...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

I kept resisting this book, but it showed up everywhere I looked so I finally gave in and read it in one sitting. I have always enjoyed Christopher Buckley's fiction, so I should have expected I would also enjoy his memoir about his parents. What I found remarkable about this book is that he manages to tell horror stories about his parents' bad parenting without ruining their reputations. Some examples include: his father's only acknowledgment upon the publication of one of Christopher's best-se...more

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Dec 25, 2009 Sam Schulman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not quite the Roman Catholic answer to Leon Weiseltier's Kaddish, but an interesting evasion/revelation of a struggle with his parents that Chris Buckley has only started to think about. He will have more to say than he can say here - or at least he has more to say, whether or not he will ever say it. This remains a first draft. Still, the book has interesting bits - about being an only child in a world of filial plenitude: he proclaims that he has 57 - or 71? - first cousins, poor fellow, but n...more Not quite the Roman Catholic answer to Leon Weiseltier's Kaddish, but an interesting evasion/revelation of a struggle with his parents that Chris Buckley has only started to think about. He will have more to say than he can say here - or at least he has more to say, whether or not he will ever say it. This remains a first draft. Still, the book has interesting bits - about being an only child in a world of filial plenitude: he proclaims that he has 57 - or 71? - first cousins, poor fellow, but no brother or sister.
The truth is, from what I have read and from my slight acquaintance with various members of the family, that Buckleyite parental love - like Roman Catholic parental love in general - is designed to be spread thinly and inadequately among too many children. The parents are overwhelmed and forced to neglect every child to some degree; the children are bitter because they never got the attention they needed. The result is that everyone is happier. Woe unto Christopher and Bill and Pat - they had no one but Christopher to concentrate upon, and that kind of love does not do well in concentrated doses. Chris thinks he would have liked the company of brothers and sisters now to share his loss - what he really would have liked is the existence of these siblings to draw away, like decoys, the intensity of his parents' concern with him over the years.
There are other good bits: The explanation of his oddly unmotivated endorsement of Obama in the fall of 2008 is unintentionally provided - McCain, unforgiveably, did not send him a sympathy note (and as I tut-tutted, I realized, neither did I. Both the war hero and the chicken hawk should be ashamed of himself). And a vignette which describes Sam Tanenhaus's habitually courageous behavior is not to be missed.
Actually, come to think of it, there is more here about Chris's relationship with his parents than there is in Kaddish about Leon's relationship with his father - I have done Chris an injustice.
I wonder how Senator McCain liked Kaddish?

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Sep 05, 2009 cat rated it 3 of 5 stars

After this son of two of the most well-known conservative parents eschewed his father's (william F. Buckley) politics and endorsed Obama for president last year, causing the loss of his position with The National Review, the uber conservative publication that his father started in 1955, I decided he was interesting enough to actually seek out. I soon realized that he had written 'Thank You for Smoking', which I saw in movie form, and my interest was cemented.

This memoir of losing both his mothe...more

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Jul 25, 2009 Kathleen Hagen added it

Shelves: 2009-audio-books, 2009-nonfiction

Losing Mum and Pup, by Christopher Buckley, narrated by the author, produced by Hachette Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

I couldn’t describe this book better than the publisher’s note so I include it. I was, however, moved by the book and laughed much more than I would have expected to laugh.

In 12 months between 2007 and 2008, Christopher Buckley coped with the passing of his father, William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative
movement, and his mother, Patricia Taylor Buckley, on...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: recentlyread

What I’ve read of Christopher Buckley’s fiction is funny and incisive, as he takes on the hypocrisies, corruption, foibles and follies of the American political universe (or should that be “biverse”?)—the lobbyists, lawyers, candidates, spin doctors, players, kingmakers, etc., etc. And he should know this world, since he’s the son of William F. Buckley, conservative icon, author of over 50 books, creator and host for 30 years of “Firing Line” and founder of “National Review,” both prominent defe...more What I’ve read of Christopher Buckley’s fiction is funny and incisive, as he takes on the hypocrisies, corruption, foibles and follies of the American political universe (or should that be “biverse”?)—the lobbyists, lawyers, candidates, spin doctors, players, kingmakers, etc., etc. And he should know this world, since he’s the son of William F. Buckley, conservative icon, author of over 50 books, creator and host for 30 years of “Firing Line” and founder of “National Review,” both prominent defenders of the political right. What I hoped for in reading this memoir about, and eulogy to, his parents, the famous Bill and his socialite wife Pat Buckley, was perhaps a more Oedipal book about “Christo’s” liberation from their tyranny—he did, after all, publicly betray his father’s political convictions last year by coming out in support of Obama—but perhaps he couldn’t write that book yet. As it is, I’m sure lots of republicans and Buckleyites will accuse the son of some sort of parricide. He tells enough stories that put Mum and Pup in a pretty unflattering light, though he’s in almost every instance quick to apologize and remind us that Great People can be forgiven their arrogance, blindness, pomposity, selfishness. I’m willing to do that to some extent, I guess, though I’m less tolerant about Christo’s namedropping—how many times do I really want to hear about good ol’ Henry (i.e. Kissinger), whom Buckley jr. calls one of the most brilliant and eloquent men on earth, not to mention several presidents, kings and queens, artists, billionaires, actors, and so on and so forth. Is the book a paean to this host of who’s who or an attempt to come to terms with his parents and their deaths? On the plus side, Buckley’s book is nearly as funny as a book about the terminal illnesses and deaths of one’s parents can be. Certainly much of what surrounds death should amuse us (I strongly recommend Evelyn Waugh’s satire of the funeral industry, “The Loved One,” which surely Christopher Buckley must have read once upon a time), even if death itself is not so funny.(less)

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Jun 14, 2009 bookczuk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to bookczuk by: Elizabeth

Shelves: biography-autobiography-or-memoir, borrowed, i-heard-about-it-on-npr, moxie-review

I adore Christopher Buckley's writing. Have been a big fan for a while now, especially with his novels and pos-NR stuff. Had read excerpts of this book in various places, then my mom took a nosedive in her health and I forgot about reading the book. Enter my good friend Liz, my book-lending savior, with a copy of Losing Mum and Pup.

What a truly moving memoir. Humor, honesty and a helluva vocabulary (not to mention a fabulous writing skill and the ability to tell a story) made this one of my fav...more

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May 30, 2009 Art rated it 4 of 5 stars

Losing Mum and Pup: a memoir by Christopher Buckley. Some time last year, when I was speaking with my "pup" on the phone, he remarked, "I thought of you the other day when that guy you used to watch on tv died." It took me a couple of minutes to figure out who he was talking about. "That guy" was William F. Buckley, Jr. (WFB) I used to watch "Firing Line" when I was young (now my weekly political addiction is "The McLaughlin Group"). In this memoir, Christopher Buckley talks about the two year p...more

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May 29, 2009 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was interested in what he had to say and in the discussion on handling a parent's death.[return][return]Christopher Buckley writes well and is very funny. And what a life and cast of characters to discuss. My parents were really nice people, but they weren't "great" people so I didn't live with the pressure of having an intellectual powerhouse or social phenomenon for a parent. Chris Buckley did, but I never felt like I couldn't relate to his life. He tells the stories so matter-of-factly that...more

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May 14, 2009 Kristi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Leave it to Christopher Buckley to write a light, funny book about his recently deceased parents. I really want to read NT Wright's The Resurrection of the Son of God but am waiting until I'm not so sleep-deprived. Losing Mum and Pup is not as edifying -- CB's idea of the afterlife, if there's any, is pretty juvenile -- but it's an entertaining book w/ interesting anecdotes, some flattering and many not, about his famous parents. This book supports the hypothesis that "great" men don't make the...more

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May 05, 2010 Trish rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, nonfiction, audio

I borrowed this book in audio from my library because the Boston Globe made it sound like a book that one shouldn't miss. I must admit I don't know quite what to make of it. Firing Line may have taken place while I was younger, but my guess is the politics didn't appeal. I paid no attention. I wish now I had seen it, and may still try to rustle up a couple episodes. Christopher Buckley is rather more open than either his mother or father would have liked, I'm sure, but since his birth, educatio...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I know only the very basics about William F. Buckley (mostly that he and I would never agree on politics or religion) and I know less about his son Christopher. But this book is a pretty fun read, despite the fact that it's Christopher's recollection of losing both parents within a year of one another. Christopher Buckley has a sharp wit and a great sense of humor, so while he writes in a very humane way about how hard it is to lose your parents, and how hard his parents could be on people at ti...more

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Feb 17, 2010 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The author, the only child of William F. Buckley and Pat Buckley, writes about his parents' deaths, which occurred about 11 months apart, but he also writes about their unconventional parenting, their many flaws, and their substantial personal legacies. This is a very unusual memoir about unusually complex people. Buckley Jr., a successful novel writer, is very frank (and often funny) in his descriptions of the shortcomings of his parents, who were generally difficult to be around and not very n...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’m going to begin on a rather odd note for a review about a book that deals with losing both parents within a year: Mr. Buckley ruined my fun. As I read this book, I found myself mulling over the thought that Mr. Buckley should have stuck with his promise to never write a memoir about his parents. I even had the review all mapped out in my head: I was ready to point out that in writing a book about that all-too-human emotion called grief, Mr. Buckley ably demonstrated just how divorced his fami...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was liking this book until I was about halfway through and decided to do a Google search on Christopher Buckley. Come to find out that he had a child, Jonathan, out of wedlock who he doesn't seem to have contact with. I could care less about his infidelity or parenting skills. What really bothered me is that he makes no mention of this child in what is supposedly a very intimate look at his life. His "legitimate" children are mentioned frequently.

What was even more troubling was what my search...more

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About Christopher Buckley

Christopher Buckley graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1976. He shipped out in the Merchant Marine and at age 24 became managing editor of Esquire magazine. At age 29, he became chief speechwriter to the Vice President of the United States, George H.W. Bush. Since 1989 he has been founder and editor-in-chief of Forbes Life magazine.

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“I looked at Mum and realized -- twang! -- that she was telling an untruth. A big untruth. And I remember thinking in that instant how thrilling and grown-up it must be to say something so completely untrue, as opposed to the little amateur fibs I was already practiced at -- horrid little apprentice sinner that I was --like the ones about you'd already said your prayers or washed under the fingernails. Yes, I was impressed. I too must learn to say these gorgeous untruths. Imaginary kings and queens would be my houseguests when I was older.” — 3 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6218315-losing-mum-and-pup?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344269005l/6218315.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6218315-losing-mum-and-pup?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley[/url]

Losing Mum and Pup

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