No Way to Treat a First Lady

By: Christopher Buckley

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

Christopher Buckley, the best-selling author of the comic classics The White House Mess and Thank You for Smoking, returns to the funniest place in America: Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Tyler MacMann, the first lady of the United States, has been charged with killing her philandering husband, the President of the United States. In the midst of a bedroom spat, she allegedly hurled a historic Paul Revere spittoon at him, with tragic results. The attorney general has no choice but to put the First Lady on trial for assassination. 

The media has never warmed to Beth MacMann (her nickname in the tabloids is “Lady Bethmac”), and as America girds for a scandalous, sensational trial, Beth reaches out to the only defense attorney she trusts, Boyce “Shameless” Baylor, who charges $1,000 an hour and has represented a Who’s Who of scoundrels: murderous running backs, society wife-killers, Los Alamos spies, and national security sellouts. 

Why Boyce Baylor? Because Beth loved him once, when they were law students. Boyce wanted to marry her, but Beth chose the future President instead. Now, after all these years, Boyce has a second chance. To what lengths will a shameless lawyer go to win the Trial of the Millennium and regain the love of his life? 

Buckley has been described by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as “one of the best and surest political humorists in America” and by Entertainment Weekly as “a superb writer of politically incorrect satire.” No Way to Treat a First Lady is flat-out hilarious. And furthermore, it’s a love story for our time. 

Don't miss Christopher Buckley, Steve Martin, and other humorists discussing their craft at the New Yorker Festival.

©2002 Christopher Buckley (P)2002 Books On Tape, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A wild romp of silliness and irreverence that's sure to please political junkies." (Booklist)
 

"This clever, gleeful satire...sets a high comic standard." (The New York Times) 

"Unspeakably and endlessly funny. Unless you're a former president...Wicked humorist Buckley shoots fish in a barrel and makes them dance." (Kirkus, starred)

 "The lurid sexual excesses of the late 90's provide plenty of comic fodder for Buckley's latest satire, which doubles as a legal thriller…The political humor is first-rate as usual, as Buckley has plenty of fun with the slimy, silly mess that is Beltway politics. This is one of his better efforts, which should keep Buckley on the "A' list of American satirists." (Publishers Weekly lead review) 

Super

It is a laugh riot. Just enjoy. Amazing. Do not think too much, use your book credit on this it is worth more then 2 of them!

Totally irreverent, hilarously funny

If there is a single American value, belief or icon that isn't parodied, teased and lampooned in this book, I missed it. Buckley takes aim at every sacred cow grazing in comtemporary America. Some miss the mark, many make you smile, a few lead to out loud laughter. The surprising thing about this book was the story. The unfortunate President was a not too thinly disguised combination of JFK and Bill Clinton with a Hillary look alike, including the law degree, as the First Lady. Marilyn Monroe shows up in a strong supporting role. Buckley is even able to morph a sleazy lawyer into a sympathetic character. While all this sounds like a cast for the theater of the absurd satire, it developed into a real page turner. My biggest surprise is that I got totally involved in the story, and the smiles, laughs and groans became a pleasant bonus.

It is certainly not great literature but then again not much is. It is a nice respite for the compulsive mystery/thriller addict.

Buckley has no endgame

This was the first Buckley novel I have listened to, but since then have listened to two others. Each one starts off with a great premise and loads of roman a clef characters, countries, etc.

But this one, like the other two, peters out at the end.

The author knows how to set up the situation, but once having written himself into a corner, doesn't know how to get out.

It's as if he suddenly realized that the manuscript is due and so he ends if without any of the cleverness and care taken in the beginning of the book.

But as pure ear-candy, it's not that bad. And the narrator of this book is quite good.

Buckley Is As Funny As He Is Original

I love Buckley's novels because they are entirely unique, extremely witty and always keep me up late finishing them. It may be true that the novels rarely end as cleverly as they begin, but the ride is well worth it!

political satire with no peer

If you're looking for the next tome on what's wrong with the world, how to make money without trying, or by-the-numbers sadists trying to destroy the world, you need Christopher Buckley to teach you how to listen to a book and just LAUGH. Oh, the rest of us need it too. The guy is hilarious. I don't recommend driving while you listen, it could be hazardous to your health. If you have no sense of humour, don't waste your money because you'll hate it, but maybe Buckley can teach you something about enjoying your life more.

Entertaining and funny

This was an enjoyable trip into the private life of the President and First Lady. I found myself laughing out loud while listening. The mix of mystery and light hearted comedy was very refreshing and entertaining. I didn't need to strain and follow many different and confusing characters and plots, just sit back and enjoy the entertainment. The main character of Boyce Baylor was a combination of wealthy arrogance, humor and sarcasm. This character reminds me very much of Andy Carpenter in the David Rosenfelt books. In fact, both authors have used Grover Gardner as the reader who is great. Mr. Gardner does a wonderful job of switching characters and really had me convinced that he was that character. I think Mr. Gardner has really found his niche as the wise cracking, sarcastic rich attorney as well as the other colorful characters of the story. After listening to all of David Rosenfelt's books, I felt starved for more of the type of humor and mystery mix and found it in this book. Please mr. Buckley, give us more of the Boyce Baylor character and use the excellent reading of Grover Gardner. Loved it!

Loved my second Buckley book

Would you listen to No Way to Treat a First Lady again? Why?

Yes, the lighthearted look at serious yet preposterous situations makes it not just a good listen, but also a pleasant one that put me in a good mood.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The tone was good for the material, slightly dry but acknowledging the humor.

Any additional comments?

I have only recently started reading Christopher Buckley. This was second one after Boomssay, which inloved. The combination of humor, serious yet ridiculous topics, a smart wit, and good characters make his books a real treat and I will be reading all of them.

There are often occasions when I want to read something humorous yet smart. Other options for these occasions are Carl Hiassin, Tom Robbins, Christopher Moore. Buckley isn't really like these authors but he fills a similar need for me.

No one does DC politics better than Buckley

No one can write about DC politics better than Christopher Buckley.
I doubt anyone could make an 'act of congress' any funnier than he.

Great book with just the right amount of humor

This book was a great recommendation that I got from a friend. I asked for a fiction novel, preferably a comedy, that required a little bit of thinking to enjoy. And that is exactly what I got. I was a little skeptical about the novel when I was informed that this story along with most books by Christopher Buckley had political tones to it. I decided to give it a try because I had enjoyed the movie Thank You for Smoking, which was based on a book by this same author. I thought this was a great book and a quick listen. I very rarely, if never, found a section of the book where I was bored or wondering why the author included such laborious details. All of the information that was included in this novel was included for a specific reason and was done so in a very clever way. Finally, I want to say that I enjoyed this book because I was kept guessing as to what the outcome would be until the very end. I think that I will try some of his other novels as well.

Absolutely GREAT!!!

You really just can't "put it down". The last time I gave 5 stars to a book was 4 years ago, and finaly this book is worth 5 and more.
It has satire (smart), mystery (which is constantly developing! a thriller!), romance (not over or under done), and the rare thing is that they all work together without weakening the book. Worth reading!