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Thank You for Smoking

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 5,920 ratings · 437 reviews

Nick Naylor likes his job. In the neo-puritanical nineties, it' s a challenge to defend the rights of smokers and a privilege to promote their liberty. Sure, it hurts a little when you' re compared to Nazi war criminals, but Nick says he' s just doing what it takes to pay the mortgage and put his son through Washington' s elite private school St. Euthanasius. He can handle...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published June 7th 1995 by Harper Perennial (first published 1994)

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Mar 18, 2009 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: that-was-funny

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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Jun 03, 2011 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw the film in the theatre in the spring and really liked it a lot, so of course, I picked up the book. It was smartly written and had the same tone as the film, which is always great. The movie dealt more with Nick and his family, especially his son, while in the book, they where in it for like one, maybe two chapters, out of thirty. they hardly made a dent. He dealt more in the book with his job as a spokes person for a pro-tobacco company and his relationship in the MOD (Merchants of Death...more

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Feb 19, 2011 Leah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century, american-writers, culture, fiction, political, satire

This was a rip-roaring good read. I haven't had as many good laughs reading a book in ages. On that note, I suggest to everyone that you avoid reading this in public. I was reading this a few minutes before my Chinese literature class started, and chortled at a particular paragraph, which got me the famous line I never thought I'd hear outside of elementary school: "Care to share what's so funny with the rest of the class, Leah?"
This time though, I got lucky. I made my professor laugh and the r...more This was a rip-roaring good read. I haven't had as many good laughs reading a book in ages. On that note, I suggest to everyone that you avoid reading this in public. I was reading this a few minutes before my Chinese literature class started, and chortled at a particular paragraph, which got me the famous line I never thought I'd hear outside of elementary school: "Care to share what's so funny with the rest of the class, Leah?"
This time though, I got lucky. I made my professor laugh and the rest of the class enjoyed it too. It sparked a discussion about the 90s and political corruption and famous smokers.
That's the beauty about this book. It's not only going to have you giggling like a madwoman, it has the power to force you to rethink your positions and examine the world around you. It also serves as a seething critique of the corporate culture of the 90s (and today...) It's to the 90s what American Psycho was to the 80s, with less blood and squick. A lot of people probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about what goes on behind closed doors in the offices of the most powerful and rich, but if reality is reflected in Buckley, then, well, yikes.
The theme of the novel however, isn't just corporate corruption and cheesy greed. The ultimate theme is loyalty and its price.
An oft-repeated mantra in the book is "Tobacco Takes Care of Its Own". At first, the protagonist, Nick seems to take this at its surface value; so long as he's in this industry, he's reassured safety and a mortgage. However, when examined at a deeper level, the true malice of the motto, and how it is used to bring down Nick slowly, in a way that is somewhat surprising but not all that unexpected. Nick himself may be "lower than the slime on an eel's underbelly", but his life as a death merchant almost seems honest compared to the tactics employed by those who wish him ill will. And they're not always vigilant smokers.
At first, I was dissatisfied with the ending, hence the not-so-perfect score. I felt that it was a cheap and hasty exit, as many epilogues tend to be. But then I re-read it again, because I'd felt a few things in my brain lighting up, and yes, for sure, I saw that none of Nick's original smarminess had gone away. It had just taken up a new format. It wasn't a Happily Ever After redemption, only masquerading as one. And I was absolutely thunderstruck by that, and laughed harder than I had reading the entire book.
Pick up Thank You For Smoking. It might just encourage you out of your own sinful business, and it doesn't only apply to cigarettes. There are worse things than lighting up that a person involved in smoking can do. (less)

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Nov 07, 2010 Book Concierge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A political satire skewering the tobacco, alcohol and gun lobbyists, the media, and the politicians who all have a role in public policy regarding these “legal vices.”

Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a organization funded entirely by the big tobacco producers. As such, he is frequently vilified, and the target of threats. His boss, BR, and his chief rival at the Academy, Jeanette (who happens to be the boss’s “main squeeze”) seem to be trying to angle him ou...more

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Sep 07, 2010 MacK rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: am-lit, contemporary

As I continue my long strange voyage through Chris Buckley's assembled work, I was surprised at how underwhelmed I was by Thank You for Smoking. Perhaps it steams from the fact that I watched the Jason Reitman film first, or from the fact that I've become used to his more mature style. Whatever the case, while I read, and chuckled and enjoyed Thank You for Smoking this might well be the first Buckley book I feel no temptation to read again.

With a plot that scatters like buckshot and a main chara...more

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Nov 04, 2009 Karin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-the-library

Corporate spokesperson for the tobacco industry has the unenviable job of having to promote smoking while denying that it has any detrimental effects on people's health. He's about to lose his job to a more attractive candidate when his appearance on Oprah turns everything around. Suddenly he's hot stuff, he's made smoking look cool again, and he's receiving death threats.

Premise was rather amusing, execution was ok. I became disenchanted, however...and probably at a turning point (just after a...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This was a fun read that went very quickly. Buckley's humor is subtle, depending on things like the names of characters and organizations. But he also has a sense for the absurd; part of what makes the situations his main character finds himself in is the fact that you can picture them actually happening, goofy as they are.

The book is about a major spokesperson for the tobacco lobby named Nick Naylor. He and his friends (Billy Jay, spokesperson for the gun lobby, and Polly, spokesperson for the...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

As chief spokesman for the Academy for Tobacco Studies, Nick Naylor pays his mortgage by trying to convince the world that tobacco is not damaging to your health. Christopher Buckley� s 1994 novel about Nick is outrageous from beginning to end. There� s almost no tactic that Nick and his cohorts won� t stoop to. If you� ve ever wondered if those talking heads on Larry King and the like can be trusted, this book will do nothing to inspire confidence. [return][return]For me, the book was at its be...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Spencer Bloor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thank You For Writing, Chris Buckley

This book is a must read for anyone who likes witty humor or political satires. Christopher Buckley comes from a conservative political background (his dad being William F. Buckley), and it shows in his writing. I liked how he uses the tobacco lobby as a metaphor for all corporations in Washington D.C. His characters and dialogue are genuine and keep the reader's attention. I was eager to turn all 277 pages.

The protagonist, Nick Naylor, is surprisingly likable...more Thank You For Writing, Chris Buckley

This book is a must read for anyone who likes witty humor or political satires. Christopher Buckley comes from a conservative political background (his dad being William F. Buckley), and it shows in his writing. I liked how he uses the tobacco lobby as a metaphor for all corporations in Washington D.C. His characters and dialogue are genuine and keep the reader's attention. I was eager to turn all 277 pages.

The protagonist, Nick Naylor, is surprisingly likable considering he is the spokesman for an industry that has killed millions of people. He never takes himself too seriously. The Mod (Merchants of Death) Squad, which includes Nick and the spokespeople for the alcohol and firearm lobbies, provides relief from these people's stressful jobs. The only time Nick can be himself is when he's with these friends. Because he is so damn charming and well-spoken, he can make tobacco sound like it's not bad for one's health. He is the victim of many death threats from anti-smoking radicals. Buckley develops his characters so that the reader can relate to and sympathize with them, regardless of what they do for a living.

Buckley's dialogue is natural and believable. He uses dialect more than most authors I've read, which contributes to believability. His theme of standing up for something that most people are against is something we've all had to do at some point. Nick Naylor just gets paid to do it. Between Nick and his estranged son, the anti-tobacco terrorists, and the Mod Squad, there is a ton of irony in this novel.

When describing characters, Buckley often uses unique comparisons. His writing style is witty, yet he still is able to convey a serious message when needed. What kept my attention was the smirky comments with underlying political meanings. These types of jokes appear frequently in the book, almost on every other page. Another style technique I liked in particular was his incorporation of research. Many facts and figures are used, but they aren't dumped onto the reader. They appear in dialogue, like when Nick is giving a speech or replying to an interviewer.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. Even if you're not into politics, it's a smart, satirical novel that anyone would enjoy.(less)

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May 30, 2012 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested

Shelves: z_12, fiction

Heaven help us, but you're going to like and side with Nick Naylor. Egads, You might even believe him.

What's great is that Buckley not only takes on smoking, politics, pesuasion/advertising, but he does so while giving you an entertaining plot. This is satire that's fun, funny, and entirely readable. Is it as laugh out loud funny as the reviews say? Nope, but I liked it anyway. The Mod Squad bits = great fun.

I was surprised but glad to find loyalty at the heart of the book. Nick's job of selli...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Nikole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nick Naylor is a spin doctor. His forte? The tobacco industry. Naylor’sjob is to keep people smoking, and hopefully gain a few new customers along the way.

In this entertaining, and extremely addictive novel, Christopher Buckleyshows us the live of Nick Naylor as he gains power working for the leading tobacco company in the US. His job is to convince the public that contrary to what they are being shown again and again, smoking isn’t bad for you. As the novel progresses, Naylor’s job, and his liv...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Sidna Bookout rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 keep Christmas better than anyone....more

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Karla I will be curious as to your opinion on this book. I have NO room in my heart for Nick Naylor and couldn't even stomach the idea of picking up this bo...more
Jun 07, 2009 09:23am

Sidna Bookout Last year I read Boomsday, which I thought was great! I was really expecting to enjoy this one, but I'm about half way through and I don't think it is...more
Jun 07, 2009 03:01pm

Karla I agree that people go to far with anti-smoking, in fact I think it borders on persecution many times. But my sentiments on the tobacco industry as a...more
Jun 07, 2009 03:21pm

Jul 21, 2012 Aggy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

okay, i have to be honest here; i watch the movie first so the entire book is like an open spoiler to me. i know the storyline, i can imagine what Nick Naylor and other characters exactly looked like... and after reading the entire book; i like the movie more

i have to admit that it's hard to have a non-biased opinion towards the book. of course, the satirical way of portraying The Big Tobacco is hilarious, but i feel like the movie were exceeding the 'hilarious-form' while the book is 'just hila...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book is a clever satire revolving around the life and work of Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist spokesperson. He strikes me as Sarah-Palin-esque: he strings his sentences in an earnest truthful but nonsensical matter regardless of actual facts and figures. All this, of course, to "pay the mortgage". Deep inside, I believe Nick has his qualms about his advocacy, but he manages to circumvent guilt through denial and through the support of his MOD Squad (Merchants of Death) buddies, who along wi...more This book is a clever satire revolving around the life and work of Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist spokesperson. He strikes me as Sarah-Palin-esque: he strings his sentences in an earnest truthful but nonsensical matter regardless of actual facts and figures. All this, of course, to "pay the mortgage". Deep inside, I believe Nick has his qualms about his advocacy, but he manages to circumvent guilt through denial and through the support of his MOD Squad (Merchants of Death) buddies, who along with him advocate for firearms and the alcohol lobby.

When Nick is kidnapped (and subsequently rescued) in an apparent backlash against the tobacco industry, things begin to unravel. Is Nick really a bad person? Or is he just talented in his job? After all, smoking is a choice, and a lobbyist shouldn't effect your judgment on such habits. Or does the smokescreen he throws implicate his guilt? Furthermore, could he have staged such his own kidnapping to benefit from the publicity of the crime to further his propaganda? This to me, is a little murky. And we all have a little Jekyll/Hyde in us. He is a good man: as an individual and friend, Nick is honest and hardly deceitful. However, when he is "the tobacco man", he glibly spins tales, perhaps because the audience is not a reality and he feels that the dye is cast when it comes to his role: he's a slick lobbyist, so why not stick to it?

And what of the backstabbing BR and ambitious Jeanette? Although they do not have their public soap-box for tobacco advocacy, wouldn't their devious plans and characters make them more villainous then Nick Naylor? I certainly think so!

Personally, this book speaks to me of perspectives of good/bad. How Nick, despite his shortcomings, is a somewhat good man. And how, seemingly mediocre people can harbor very bad character. Don't judge a book by its cover. It also very cleverly satirizes lobbyist and politics, reminding us how utterly ridiculous those games are, and how money and power come into play in government, rather than the actual reason government exists for.
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Sep 14, 2011 Veronica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After having read his autobiographical book on the passing of his parents ("Losing Mum and Pup"), I really wanted to read Buckley's fictional work as well.

This fictional tale about the tobacco lobbyist's PR guy in Washington and his efforts to promote smoking rings true. Of course, the lobby has a great name (The "Academy of Health Studies") and they spend most of their time sowing distrust in the medical and scientific studies that show smoking to kill nearly half a million people in this count...more

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Dec 01, 2008 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Christopher Moore fans

Recommended to Claudia by: Peggy recommended all his books

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

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 Ishmael and...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Travis McClain rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As you may recall, one of my 2009 reading goals is to get to some of the books that have been the basis for some of my favorite films. Thank You for Smoking was adapted and directed by Jason Reitman in 2004, and quickly became one of my top twenty favorite films of all time thanks largely to the sardonic humor and Aaron Eckhart's irresistibly charming portrayal of lead character Nick Naylor. It's always difficult coming to a written work after seeing the film version of it, because of two things...more As you may recall, one of my 2009 reading goals is to get to some of the books that have been the basis for some of my favorite films. Thank You for Smoking was adapted and directed by Jason Reitman in 2004, and quickly became one of my top twenty favorite films of all time thanks largely to the sardonic humor and Aaron Eckhart's irresistibly charming portrayal of lead character Nick Naylor. It's always difficult coming to a written work after seeing the film version of it, because of two things.

First, the notion of being cheated out of being able to visualize characters and other elements for yourself because you see the actors and sets from the film. For me, this is not much of a problem because I rarely visualize anything I read. To be honest, it helps me to read the character of Nick and picture Eckhart. Secondly, and this actually does apply to me, I find it difficult not to think of the film version while reading. I find myself thinking in terms of, "That was arranged in a different order," "They truncated that character/plot" and "Oh, so that's what that was about."

For those unfamiliar with the premise, it is the 1990s and Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the tobacco industry. We follow his efforts at maneuvering and finagaling the truth to his employers' advantage against the backdrop of the industry's political death throes. He largely justifies doing what he does using what is characterized as the "yuppie Nuremberg defense:" to pay the mortgage.

Buckley deftly paints a portrait of the D.C. climate of the '90s, complete with fictionalized versions of many real figures. At one point, Nick makes small talk about wondering who will succeed Morton Kondracke on The McLaughlin Group, noting, "Boy...the things we care about in Washington...." The problem is that Buckley has left alone the history up through the Nixon administration, but has re-written is successors. Naylor, as a news correspondent, mistakenly reported the death of a President Broadbent, for which he was drummed out of journalism; John Hinckley is still locked up, though President Reagan is never named--rather, a President Finisterre was assassinated (it is never connected to Hinckley), and his nephew is fighting for his political life by going after tobacco.

By moving back and forth between reality and fiction, Buckley treats us to an insider's view of our system and then, without warning, takes us out of the story entirely. Curiously, it's the invocation of the fictitious characters that ruin the effect. Given that the story never actually involves these people, I cannot fathom why it matters that Nick's journalistic faux pas involved a President Broadbent; it could just as believably been President Ford, or Carter.

In any event, the story is greatly entertaining from start to finish. As a political junkie, I find it titillating; as someone with a bent sense of humor, I laughed aloud countless times. I would recommend that anyone interested in this story see the film first, though. The reason I say this is that the original novel--with numerous different plot points, including an entirely alternate conclusion--costs the film some of its luster. I think, were I to have read the novel first, I would have never thought so highly of the Reitman adaptation.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 Lindsay green rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I saw the movie for this first...which I normally refuse to do. But the book was definately better.
I really enjoyed this book (I knew I would because the movie was great too!).
The characters are witty and hilarious.
We read about a Nick Naylor chief lobbyist at the Academy of Tobacco Studies in Washington. He makes his money by lying to America about tobacco. Nick gives several interviews about how smoking is NOT harmful. As mush as you know he is a liar and BSer, you like him. He is not a bad gu...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Karyl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nick Naylor is the spokesman for the tobacco lobby in Washington. He's got his work cut out for him, as so many people die of lung cancer, caused by smoking, each year. Each time he's asked about the scores of people dropping dead of cancer, he insists that the science tying the cancer to smoking is tenuous at best. Even though you realize that Naylor is pretty much a schmuck, as evidenced not only by his choice of career but also that he's a divorced man who hops from bed to bed, you end up roo...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Bonnie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: satire, read-as-audio-book

In a word: underwhelming. It was funny, but it felt like sit-com funny when you know exactly what the jokes will be about as soon as i.e.) Jerry Seinfeld gets to the dentist/buys an old car/gets a new girlfriend. In fact, in the end I thought that Buckley left good material out and missed a few potential jabs. All in all it was unsatisfying. I only laughed out loud once (and I was alone, driving up to DC, so I had ample opportunity to snort/laugh obnoxiously). I loved Boomsday and I hoped this w...more

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May 11, 2012 Dani Peloquin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The plot of Thank You For Smoking revolves around Nick Naylor and his work at the Academy for Tobacco Studies in Washington D.C. Basically, he is the spokesperson for the company and spends the majority of his time defending cigarettes and trying to debunk the “myth” that cigarettes are bad for people. Though the majority of people would find this job to be immoral, Nick is able to pull it off splendidly to the point that it appears he actually believes the lies that he tells the public. Nick is...more The plot of Thank You For Smoking revolves around Nick Naylor and his work at the Academy for Tobacco Studies in Washington D.C. Basically, he is the spokesperson for the company and spends the majority of his time defending cigarettes and trying to debunk the “myth” that cigarettes are bad for people. Though the majority of people would find this job to be immoral, Nick is able to pull it off splendidly to the point that it appears he actually believes the lies that he tells the public. Nick is as alienated in his personal life as he makes himself in his professional life. He is divorced and though he helps to support his ex-wife and son, he has little to do with either. The majority of his support comes from the self-proclaimed “Merchants of Death”, also known as the Mod Squad, which is made up of Nick and his two closest friends one of whom is a lobbyist for the alcohol industry and the other is a pro-gun lobbyist. Nick’s boss and co-workers are even less helpful in giving him a moral balance to his character. BR, Nick’s boss, is driven solely by money and power and has no qualms about casting employees aside if they refuse to help him in either of these ventures. Even more dubious is Jeanette who is BR’s office love interest and has had her eye on Nick’s job. Though the characters are interesting in themselves, the action in the novel really begins when Nick is brought on the Larry King show where a caller threatens Nick’s life.

Overall, this is a great novel! It has everything that an enthralling tale should: sex, lies, deceit, and redemption. A lot of the humor is tongue and cheek and the majority of the dialog is sarcastic. All of the characters are cynical and do not hide their prejudices which leads to some hilarious situations. Most of all, I loved the characters. I thought that Buckley did in excellent job in making almost every character seem to be without a conscience and yet the reader is encouraged to root for “the enemy”.

Less than 12 hours after I finished this novel, I ran out and rented the movie. Though they share the same title and some of the same plot points, the novel and movie are completely different. In order to make the movie stay within in an hour and a half, the director/screenwriter took out a main character who was crucial to the novel. In doing so, the film has a completely different feel than the movie. The moral of the book is to basically watch one’s back because a friend or co-worker could be your greatest enemy. However, the moral of the movie is that you should never tell anything to a reporter even if you are sleeping with her and she seems sweet. In other words, the enemy is from the outside. Due to this, the ending of the novel and that of the film are almost exact opposite of each other. While the film eliminated a pivotal co-worker character, it added Nick’s son. Though the scenes between father and son were humorous, I don’t believe that it added anything to the movie. In contrast, the book only mentions Nick’s son once or twice which further shows Nick’s alienation from his family and any kind of love. Lastly, the novel puts a great emphasis on Nick’s relationship with the owner of the Academy of Tobacco Studies (known as the Captain). It is this relationship that gives Nick any hope for the future and the Captain acts as Nick’s only ally. Yet in the movie, the profoundness of this relationship is stripped down. Overall, I think that the movie and the book are wonderful! I fully enjoyed both. I have to say that I might have even enjoyed the movie a bit more than the book (but the jury is still out on that). However, they are so different that they must be viewed as entirely different entities that merely share the same name.

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Apr 30, 2011 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loveed this book!! It was hilarious and so fun to read!! I couldn't stop reading it, I finished it in a couple of days! It shows you the point of view of the tobacco industry from the "evil" tobacco man himself, the man who makes a living from telling people cigarettes are not bad for you. Even though he may be a "bad" person, I feel for his character and actually kinda like him because he just seems like a funny, charming guy but he just happens to have a "bad" job. I love Christopher Buckele...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Cassy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Cassy by: Allison

Shelves: books-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I loved this book. I thought it was so interesting to read the book from the point of view of the other side. Everyone is told from day one how cigarettes are bad and to stay away from them. Everyone knows that the tobacco industry gets a lot of resistance. However, we seem to forget that despite how bad it might be for us, at the end of the day people in the tobacco industry are just trying to make a living. It's as cutthroat as any business, dealing with tobacco or not.

I loved the lunches that...more

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Nov 16, 2012 melydia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nick Naylor is the spokesman for the powerful tobacco lobby and he loves his job. Lots of people want him dead, but he's sort of gotten used to that by now - until he's kidnapped, covered with nicotine patches, and left to die. The plot is somewhat intricate here and there, but the true beauty is how you find yourself rooting for his guy, the self-professed death dealer. There are parts that are quite funny, and some that are almost painful they're so true. I admit I suspect the Big Twist pretty...more

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Apr 19, 2009 Freda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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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Jan 16, 2010 Rich Jonny's Son rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ir-reading

A corporate spokesman for the tabacco industry has the job of promoting somoking. Which as you can tell by context is extremly dificult. His main internal conflict is that he might loss his job.His main external conflict trying to dying the efect smoking has on ones healt.

While reading this book i made a text-to-self connection. Based on how my dad use to smoke cigirats. It took him a very long time to stop. So he stil smokes cigars.

While reading this book Gave it four out of five stars. This...more

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Mar 01, 2009 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 quick and easy sidetrack from...more

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May 02, 2012 Zulfy Rahendra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: terjemahan

Buku yg agak boring sebenernya. Kebanyakan dialog. Wawancara, debat di acara TV, ngobrol2 santai sama geng Mod Squad, ngobrol sama orang2 penting lain. Tapi untungnya obrolannya bermutu dan cerdas. Jadi bosennya bisa ditekan.

Tokoh utamanya Nick Naylor, juru bicara industri tembakau. Nick ini orang yg sangat mendukung rokok (walaupun alasannya krn dia butuh uang gajinya buat bayar cicilan). Konfliknya adalah ketika Nick diculik oleh pendukung fanatik anti-rokok, namun pihak FBI tidak mempercayain...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Guy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

There was something about the style of writing that made this more like an outline with the blank parts colored in than a naturally evolving narrative. The story is told in third person limited style, making the inclusion of a couple of redundancies in the novel obvious errors on the part of the author/editor. Those errors increase that experience of being told a story by someone who considers themselves witty, as opposed to reading a witty story.

There are the obligatory, tired, cut-and-paste pe...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Artha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: komedi, black-comedy, my-fave

Novel ini menawarkan sisi pekerjaan yang unik. Pekerjaan seorang juru bicara asosiasi tembakau. pekerjaan yang membuat nick dibenci lebih dari setengah penduduk amerika. Namun nick merasa dirinya mampu di bidang ini, nick yakin pada dirinya sendiri. Meskipun pekerjaan ini membuat dia dibenci semua orang [di luar perusahaan tembakau:]

Novel ini juga membuat saya kagum akan setiap "balasan balik" nick untuk pembelaan mereka terhadap tembakau. Raja ngeles sejati dia ni.... buku ini juga penuh dengan...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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