| Boomsday | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 93 reviews)
Sales Rank: 27992
Category: Book
Author: Christopher Buckley
Publisher: Twelve
Studio: Twelve
Manufacturer: Twelve
Label: Twelve
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0446697974
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780446697972
ASIN: 0446697974
Publication Date: May 16, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
BOOMSDAY'S heroine is Cassandra Devine, a charismatic 29-year-old blogger who incites massive political turmoil when, outraged over mounting Social Security debt, she politely suggests that Baby Boomers be given government incentives to kill themselves by age 75. Her modest proposal catches fire with millions of her outraged peers ("Generation Whatever") and an ambitious Senator seeking to gain the youth vote in his presidential campaign.
With the help of Washington's greatest spin doctor, the blogger and the politician try to ride the issue of euthanasia for Boomers (they call it "Transitioning") all the way to the White House, over the forceful objections of the Religious Right and, of course, Baby Boomers, who are deeply offended by demonstrations on the golf courses of their retirement resorts.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 witty page-turner political satire, what could be better? December 5, 2008
This was the perfect vacation read for me. It was 'intellectual' enough to keep me engaged. Like Thank You for Smoking (If you have seen the movie), the plot is funny but human, which makes it light hearted and yet worth the investment of turning the page!
Lighter side of satire November 28, 2008
Boomsday is not a biting satire, but it is entertaining none the less. Mr. Buckley has written more subtle books, but his nuance of Washington life and intrigue is probably uncomfortably spot on. Too often we look at our national leaders as demigods, as opposed to people who lead lives very similar to our own. The fact that we recognize ourselves in many of the characters in this novel is upsetting to some readers. But not to this one.
Although the protagonist in this text is the least interesting character, she serves as the catalyst by which we meet the more infinitely appealing supporting cast. Their clever idiosyncrasies and obvious faults are funny because many readers share them. The characters of President Peachum and the evangelist Gideon Payne are some of the more enjoyable characters in this text precisely because they are so flawed. Who doesn't root for the biggest idiot in the room?
My only complaint is the let down of the ending. Buckley builds the climax to dizzying heights, and then can't top the buildup. The resolution is a let down. But the journey to it was worth the ride.
For another great Buckley DC satire check out his older White House Mess.
Brilliant November 28, 2008
I haven't laughed so hard, so often, or so loud while reading a book in years. The parallels that can be drawn between this brilliant piece of political satire and today's economic situation will leave some readers with butterflies in their stomachs, but Buckley's talent for satire will leave most readers laughing out loud while pondering whether or not Boomsday could really, or will really occur.
Insanely Hilarious September 26, 2008
"Boomsday" is the hilarious satirical novel from Christopher Buckley who brought us, "Thank You for Smoking." After having read a few of Buckley's previous novels I certainly had high hopes for "Boomsday" and to my delight, was not disappointed. Buckley's sense of humor is truly border line wicked, but yet ingenious.
Following the lives of a public relations spinster, her boss and Senator and future presidential hopefully, the plot of the novel is so ridiculous that it becomes a brilliant spectacle.
Cassandra Devine, public relations whiz by day and blogger by night sets loose a wild suggestion to deal with the country's massive Social Security debt. Devine, in her Red Bull blogging haze, proposes that the baby boomers aka, Social Security guzzlers, receive government incentives to commit suicide at age 75. As Devine's radical idea catches on with Generation-X, the entire country goes wild, spurring a presidential race nearly defined by the Social Security crisis.
Buckley sets out to tackle the very real issue of Social Security of our generation, making "Boomsday" our modern answer to Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal."
Buckley is able to highlight the circus of Beltway insider politics in a way that is scarily accurate and ludicrous at the same time. His ability to conquer political satire will leave you sore from laughing the entire way through this novel. If you are a fan of humor, then read this book, you will surely not be disappointed. I highly recommend it.
Almost too true to be funny - but it still is September 8, 2008
With the bottom dropping out of the economy and bad news coming from every direction, Chris Buckley's satire on similar times sparking a youth uprising against the Baby Boomers - whose retirement after a life of self-indulgence threatens to bankrupt the nation - is almost too true to be funny. Happily, it still is funny. Buckley has great comic chops.
Protagonist Cassandra Devine is a twenty-something PR woman in Washington, bitter over losing a chance to go to Yale because her father invests her college tuition in a dot.com IPO. Forced to join the Army instead, she becomes a scandal queen when, guiding blue-blooded (and headline-seeking) Congressman Randy Jepperson through Bosnia, he drives their Hummer into a minefield. The ensuing scandal gets her kicked out of the military.
Jepperson tries to make it up to her, giving her a job on his Congressional staff, and from there she gets hired by his PR man. She spends her nights blogging about Social Security. And she becomes an overnight sensation when she suggests the government balance the budget by offering tax and inheritance incentives to Baby Boomers willing to commit suicide at age 70. Youths riot in Florida, trashing golf courses and gated communities at her suggestion.
Jepperson, now a senator, sees her platform as his ticket to the White House, while the president, up for re-election, plots with her own father - now a dot.com billionaire - to politically destroy her. A leader of the Christian right fights this appalling insult to life. Political chaos ensues. Great fun.
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