''Little Green Men'' is a satirical novel by
Christopher Buckley, first published in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
. The novel follows a fictional "
Inside the Beltway
"Inside the Beltway" is an American idiom used to characterize matters that are, or seem to be, important primarily to officials of the U.S. federal government, to its contractors and lobbyists, and to the media personnel who cover them – as opp ...
" 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
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
''). One morning, Banion grills the president of the United States on issues surrounding
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
. 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 his energy to pressuring Congress and the White House to investigate the alien threat.
In fact, Banion was not abducted by aliens at all. Rather, he was abducted by
Majestic, a government agency so secret that not even the president knew it existed. The purpose of Majestic was to occasionally make U.S. citizens believe they had been abducted by aliens. The abductees helped spread paranoia that was crucial to sustain public support for NASA's funding levels. When Majestic saw that Banion was critical of these funding levels, a Majestic agent authorized the abduction.
However, the abduction of a well-known public figure caused problems within Majestic. Normally, they abducted slightly crazy people because, while helping "spread the word", nobody would take them too seriously. In an attempt to cover up the error, the leader of Majestic attempts to have Banion sentenced to death.
As the truth about Majestic is discovered, the agency is ultimately forced to disband and the charges against Banion are dropped, although his life as a "Beltway insider" is ruined.
Objects of satire
John O. Banion (whose initials spell the ever-suffering Biblical
Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
) is thought to be a caricature of political commentator
George Will
George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian-conservative political commentator and author. He writes regular columns for ''The Washington Post'' and provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC.Hadas Gold, Gold, Hadas (May ...
.
Banion's best friend in the novel, Burton Galilee, is a thinly veiled version of
Clinton advisor
Vernon Jordan
Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Jor ...
. Also lampooned was the aging senator
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...
, as a similar character, 92-year-old senator Raysor Mentallius, the chairman of the Senate Hindsight Committee.
Several non-political figures are also satirized. One of the minor characters in the book, Karl Cuntmore, is an author of popular political thriller novels who presents himself as a defense expert. The character is suspected to be a swipe at the popular political thriller novels of author
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...
, whom Buckley had criticized in the past. Dutch artist
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer ( , , #Pronunciation of name, see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period Painting, painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class, middle-class life. ...
is said to have produced a painting titled ''More Light Coming From The Window On The Left''.
Others escape Buckley's satire altogether. Some famous television personalities, such as
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...
,
Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
and others, appear in the book as unmolested versions of themselves.
Film adaptation
In early 2006 plans to make a film version were announced, but a release date was not announced.
Whit Stillman
John Whitney Stillman (born January 25, 1952) is an American writer-director and actor known for his 1990 film '' Metropolitan'', which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is also known for his other f ...
initially attached to direct the film, stated he was no longer on the project. The book has been adapted into a screenplay by Sean Bates and Gregory Mackenzie.
References
{{Christopher Buckley
1999 American novels
American satirical novels
Novels by Christopher Buckley
Alien abduction in novels
Novels about public relations