William F.Buckley, Jr., who died this week at the age of 82, was an American author and conservative commentator. Whether or not one agrees with his political thoughts, I think one has to acknowledge the talent and complexity of the man. Buckley founded the political magazine National Review (at our library or online) in 1955, hosted over 1,000 editions of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist writing "On the Right," which was syndicated to more than 300 newspapers. His writing style was known for its profound scholarly knowledge, wit and use of uncommon words.
Buckley authored more than 50 books including spy novels, satire, sailing memoirs and collections of his own pithy (precisely meaningful) comments. He received a B.A. with honors (political science, economics, and history) from Yale University in 1950. In 1951 he burst onto the national scene with God and Man at Yale, a controversial book that attacked his alma mater for fostering atheism and stifling the academic freedom of conservative students. In 1965 he was a candidate for mayor of New York City on the Conservative party ticket, receiving13.4% of the vote. Asked what he would do if he won, he famously replies, "I'd demand a recount". He received numerous and diverse awards, including Best Columnist of the Year, 1967; Television Emmy for Outstanding Achievement, 1969; The American Book Award for Best Mystery (paperback) for Stained Glass, 1980; the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award, 1989; the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1991; the Adam Smith Award, Hillsdale College, 1996; and the Heritage Foundation's Clare Boothe Luce Award, 1999.
Buckley's primary intellectual achievement was to fuse traditional American political conservatism with libertarianism (the freedom to do as you choose with your own life and property, as long as you don't harm the person and property of others), laying the groundwork for the modern American conservatism of US Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and US President Ronald Reagan. His personal memoir of Senator Barry M. Goldwater is scheduled to be published this spring, and at his death he was working on a similar work about President Ronald Reagan. Upon Buckley's death, President George W. Bush said that Mr. Buckley “brought conservative thought into the political mainstream, and helped lay the intellectual foundation for America’s victory in the Cold War.”
You may wish to take a look at some of our library's non-fiction holdings by William Buckley including:
The lexicon - per Library Journal, "certainly more useful, and more fun, than those word-a-day calendars"
WindFall : the end of the affair - conclusion to Buckley's sextet concerning his love of the sea with an intimate and sometimes painful introspective examination of his life.
Did you ever see a dream walking? American conservative thought in the twentieth century
- edited by Buckley.
On the firing line : the public life of our public figures - scrapbook of talks on Buckley's Firing Line television show.
You may also wish to read a selection from our library's fiction holdings by William Buckley. Of special interest are:
Last call for Blackford Oakes - the final book of the Blackford Oakes series, about a dashing CIA agent-brainy, bold, and complex.
Nuremberg : the reckoning - a riveting thriller, taking the reader through unforgettable scenes of treachery and vengeance, love and hatred, and the struggle for justice found in a hangman's noose.
Elvis in the morning - a novel about friendship, celebrity, social change, and and Elvis Presley set in the turbulent '60s.
Who's on first - story of the race between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to place a satellite in orbit. Per Kirkus Reviews, "anyone who can make conferences between Dulles and Acheson sound like vaudeville routines deserves the audience he is bound to get".
And some of our books about William F. Buckley include:
William F. Buckley, Jr., patron saint of the conservatives by John B. Judis.
The Buckleys: a family examined by Markmann, Charles Lam.