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Thank You For Smoking (novel)
''Thank You for Smoking'' is a novel by Christopher Buckley (novelist), Christopher Buckley, first published in 1994 in literature, 1994, which tells the story of the fictional character Nick Naylor, a tobacco lobbyist during the 1990s. Plot summary Nick Naylor is the chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, a tobacco industry lobbying firm that promotes the benefits of cigarettes. He utilizes high-profile media events and intentionally provocative rhetoric in order to highlight what his clients view as an unfair crusade against tobacco and nicotine products. The political satire is heightened by Naylor's informal association with lobbyists from other industries that are subjected to routine vilification in the media, e.g. Polly Bailey, a lobbyist for the alcohol (drug), alcohol/spirits industry, and Bobby Jay Bliss, who represents the firearms industry. Collectively, they form what is known as the M.O.D. Squad, a reference to the title of a The Mod Squad, police dram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Buckley (novelist)
Christopher Taylor Buckley (born September 28, 1952) is an American author and Political satire, political satirist. He also served as chief speechwriter to Vice President of the United States, Vice President George H. W. Bush. He is known for writing ''God Is My Broker'', ''Thank You for Smoking (novel), Thank You for Smoking'', ''Little Green Men (novel), Little Green Men'', ''The White House Mess'', ''No Way to Treat a First Lady'', ''Wet Work'', ''Florence of Arabia'', ''Boomsday (novel), Boomsday'', ''Supreme Courtship'', ''Losing Mum and Pup: A Memoir'', and ''The Judge Hunter''. Early life and education Buckley is the son of writer and ''Firing Line (TV program), 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 He joined the staff of ''Esquire'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrop Frye— but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellow-backs, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1994 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1994. Events *October 11 – The choice of James Kelman's book ''How Late It Was, How Late'' as the year's Booker Prize winner proves controversial. One of the judges, Rabbi Julia Neuberger, declares it "a disgrace" and leaves the event, later calling the book "crap"; WHSmith's marketing manager calls the award "an embarrassment to the whole book trade"; Waterstone's in Glasgow (where it is set) sells a mere 13 copies of Kelman's "Mogadon" the following week. *November 26 – Poland's Ministry of Culture and Art orders the exhumation of the presumed grave of the absurdist painter, playwright and novelist Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (suicide 1939) in Zakopane. Genetic tests on the remains show they belonged to an unknown woman. *December 1 – Iceland's National and University Library of Iceland (Landsbókasafn Íslands – Háskólabókasafn) is founded in Reykjavík by merging the former national ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or exposing the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. A feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm —"in satire, irony is militant", according to literary critic Northrop Frye— but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to question. Satire is found in many a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alcohol (drug)
Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ''ethanol'', is a depressant, depressant drug that is the active ingredient in alcoholic drink, drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor). It is one of the oldest and most commonly consumed recreational drugs, causing the characteristic effects of alcohol intoxication ("drunkenness"). Among other effects, alcohol produces happiness and euphoria, anxiolytic, decreased anxiety, increased sociability, sedation, impairment of cognitive, memory, motor control, motor, and sense, sensory function, and generalized depression of central nervous system (CNS) function. Ethanol is only one of several types of Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, but it is the only type of alcohol that is found in alcoholic beverages or commonly used for recreational purposes; other alcohols such as methanol and isopropyl alcohol are significantly more toxicity, toxic. A mild, brief exposure to isopropanol, being only moderately more toxic tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mod Squad
''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, and Tige Andrews as Captain Adam Greer. The executive producers of the series were Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas. The counterculture police series earned six Emmy Award nominations, four Golden Globe nominations plus one win for Peggy Lipton, one Directors Guild of America Award, and four Logies. In 1970, the second-season episode, "In This Corner . . . Sol Alpert," script by Rita Lakin and Harve Bennet, was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for an Edgar Award in the category of Best Mystery Teleplay, losing to the TV-Movie '' Daughter of the Mind''. In 1997, a 1970 episode "Mother of Sorrow" was ranked #95 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. Plot They were The Mod Squad ("One black, one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicotine Patch
A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation. Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is considered one of the safer NRTs available for the treatment of tobacco use disorder. Nicotine replacement products including gum and transdermal patches are on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Medical uses Effectiveness A meta-analysis found that fewer than 20% of people treated with nicotine replacement therapy remain abstinent from smoking at one year. History The first study of the pharmacokinetics of a transdermal nicotine patch in humans was published in 1984 by Jed Rose, Murray Jarvik, and Daniel Rose, and was followed by publication by Rose et al. (1985) of results of a study of smokers showing that a transdermal nicotine patch reduced craving for cigarettes. Frank Etscorn filed a patent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Green Men (novel)
''Little Green Men'' is a satirical novel by Christopher Buckley, first published in 1999. The novel follows a fictional "Inside the Beltway" talk-show host whose career and life is altered forever when he is abducted by aliens. Plot John O. Banion is a well-known pundit, who hosts a popular Sunday-morning television show (similar to ''Meet the Press''). One morning, Banion grills the president of the United States on issues surrounding NASA. Shortly after, while enjoying a game of golf, Banion is abducted by what he believes are aliens and taken to their lab and probed. When he is returned, Banion is a changed man. He sets about trying to convince his friends in the Washington elite that the alien threat is real, but he is met with skepticism and derision. His marriage begins to fall apart and his friends abandon him. Banion starts to doubt himself, but is soon abducted a second time. When he returns from this abduction he completely abandons his old life and redevotes all hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocalyptic action series ''Mad Max'' and as Martin Riggs in the buddy cop action-comedy film series ''Lethal Weapon''. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, when he was 12 years old. He studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a production company, which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called "an alternative to the studio system". Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the World War I drama ''Gallipoli'' (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute,The Australian Film InstitutPast Winners as well as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thank You For Smoking (film)
''Thank You for Smoking'' is a 2005 American satirical black comedy film written and directed by Jason Reitman and starring Aaron Eckhart, based on the 1994 satirical novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. It follows the efforts of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who lobbies on behalf of cigarettes using heavy spin tactics while also trying to remain a role model for his 12-year-old son. Maria Bello, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J. K. Simmons, and Robert Duvall appear in supporting roles. The film was released in a limited run on March 17, 2006, and had a wide release on April 14. It received largely positive reviews, with particular praise for its screenplay, humor, themes, and Eckhart's performance. As of 2007, the film had grossed a total of more than $39 million worldwide. The film was released on DVD in the US on October 3, 2006, and in the UK on January 8, 2007. Plot Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a Big Tobacco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
