Boomsday

by Christopher Buckley

So, when all of those Baby Boomers start retiring, they're going to eat up all of the Social Security funds, leaving my generation (X) with nothing. And we're mad! What if we offered Boomers incentives to kill themselves at the age of 70? We could then preserve Social Security and let them decide when they die, instead of nature deciding. Such is the premise of Buckley's latest offering, Boomsday.

Silly? Sort of. But there is an appeal to Cassandra Devine's plan, isn't there? And with the help of Randolph K. Jepperson, she's bringing her plan to Washington. Of course, it helps that Cassandra works in PR--she's even given the suicide act an attractive name: voluntary transitioning.

What follows is the usual mix of politics, satire, and good, clean poking fun of Washington and the PR industry. You'll love Buckley's latest novel, whether you're a Baby Boomer or a disgruntled member of Gen X.

4/11/07