Featured Author: William F. Buckley Jr.
With News and Reviews From the Archives of The New York Times

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In This Feature

Reviews of William F. Buckley Jr.'s Earlier Books

Articles About William F. Buckley Jr.

Articles By William F. Buckley Jr.

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Erik Tarloff Reviews 'Spytime: The Undoing of James Jesus Angleton' (July 16, 2000)

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Jan Lukas/Little, Brown

William F. Buckley Jr.

REVIEWS OF WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR.'S EARLIER BOOKS:

'God and Man at Yale' (1951)
". . . a book that challenges political, religious and educational liberalism. . . . How right he is . . . to insist that man has a moral nature, that statism threatens it . . . Yet what is his alternative? Nothing more inspiring than the most sterile Old Guard brand of Republicanism, far to the right of Taft."

'McCarthy and His Enemies' (1954)
"[A] bald, dedicated apologia for 'McCarthyism' made far more adroitly than Senator McCarthy himself could make it . . . [T]he authors . . . may have, ironically, done the Senator a disservice. McCarthyism is now on the record for all to see."

'Up From Liberalism,' reviewed by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (1959)
"As usual, he takes readers on a lively and tempestuous journey. Only this time he seems to come out at a point that is likely to alarm friends and foes alike."

'Rumbles Left and Right' (1963)
"Mr. Buckley is an American exotic of the far right, who wins some sympathy for his frankness and boldness . . . But at other times he appears willfully provocative and irritating, like a man who enjoys creating a sensation."

'The Jeweler's Eye,' reviewed by Mario Puzo (1968)
"The strange thing is that at the end of the book, through some strange, charming process, you like the author."

'The Unmaking of a Mayor' (1966)
"Would Lindsay have won if Buckley had not been in the race? Mr. Buckley thinks so. . . . [T]here are occasional flashes of original and highly readable prose. But about half of the 341 pages are devoted to the reprinting of campaign documents . . . The rest is overwritten and frequently tedious . . ."

'The Governor Listeth' and 'Quotations From Chairman Bill,' reviewed by Victor S. Navasky (1970)
"In the age of Agnew, the milieu of Mitchell, Buckley politics are quasi-establishment politics. . . . This mix -- the new syntax and the old politics -- in addition to exuding literary charm, seems suited to Buckley's specialty: the essaylet."

'Cruising Speed: A Documentary' (1971)
"A week (late in 1970) in the life of Bill Buckley. It is cheery, odd sort of a book, full, maybe overfull, of casual bits of detail, National Review shoptalk, anecdotes and random musings."

'Inveighing We Will Go' (1972)
"Culled from his writings over a three-year period, and dealing with all imaginable (and some unimaginable) topics, [these essays] provide a quite revealing insight into what might be called the 'new Buckley.' To summarize, Bill Buckley has abandoned the task of trying to formulate a coherent theory of 'conservatism' and has settled for inveighing against the so-called 'liberal establishment.'"

'Four Reforms,' reviewed by Daniel P. Moynihan (1974)
"It will do neither the author nor reader any service to reconstruct his arguments in a review. The book is cheap, it is short, a delight to read: for a tired liberal a near approximation to a hard sweat and a Swedish massage. Read it."

'United Nations Journal: A Delegate's Odyssey' (1974)
"Even those for whom Buckley is ordinarily as soporific as the United Nations itself should find ample reason to bear with him this time. In the first place, he does write well. . . . He also knows how to tell a story . . . Finally, Buckley has something important to write about . . ."

'Execution Eve: And Other Contemporary Ballads' (1975)
"[Buckley] slithers venomously across the usual broad terrain of sacred and secular topics. Nobody demolishes easy targets more skillfully than he does . . . Bill Buckley certainly deserves his reputation as one of the wittiest political satirists writing today. . . . Pungent, turgid, eloquent, repetitious, sentimental, frivolous and moralistic . . ."

'Saving the Queen' (1976)
". . . a first novel, a tale of counterespionage that runs fearlessly counter to the trend of trench coat fiction . . . Despite an unrelenting archness, some strained dialogue that drips out like watered Waugh, a couple of very embarrassing Hardy-Boys-at-a-Paris-Whorehouse sequences, and a number of disharmonious rhythms, 'Saving the Queen' is a serviceable entertainment."

'Airborne' (1976)
"What I liked so very much about this book is Buckley's love and enthusiasm for his son, his friends and political enemies, for the wind, the sea and the stars, the boat, indeed, for life itself."

'A Hymnal: The Controversial Arts' (1978)
"Since he is a sworn partisan, the pleasure one finds in any of his collections must depend to a large degree on the reader's own political predilections. . . . When Mr. Buckley leaves personalities for issues, his prose fades noticeably. . . . But to get back to the charms of Mr. Buckley: Whether one is taken with or irritated by [his views,] it is still fun to watch him on the attack."

'Marco Polo, If You Can,' reviewed by Evan Hunter (1982)
"Mr. Buckley makes it all seem possible, and moreover he seems to be having a very good time pulling the wool over our eyes. Perhaps his devil-may-care attitude accounts for why I found his new novel so enjoyable."

'Atlantic High: A Celebration' (1982)
"But more than an account of that trip, this is a book about a special and precious kind of human experience -- the camaraderie of people who join together in a physical enterprise . . ."

'Overdrive: A Personal Documentary,' reviewed by Nora Ephron (1983)
". . . a reconstructed journal of eight days in Mr. Buckley's life in November 1982 . . . But Mr. Buckley's sense of entitlement is so absolute that it seems never to cross his mind that any of his remarks might be in poor taste, or his charm finite."

'The Story of Henri Tod' (1984)
"[U]ltimately, it is not social charm but moral earnestness, increasing from novel to novel, that distinguishes Oakes from James Bond types. He is confronted with questions of choice that unsettle complacency . . ."

'See You Later, Alligator' (1985)
"Very little of the deft Buckley prose style evident in his columns is present here, and even less of his sharp-edged wit. Although Mr. Buckley probably has not constructed a graceless sentence since he was in prep school, there isn't much energy here."

'Right Reason' (1986)
"It would have been exciting if Mr. Buckley's various anniversaries had been commemorated by publication of a different book from this one, which is mostly a collection of columns over the last seven years."

'High Jinx,' reviewed by Ruth Rendell (1986)
"Mr. Buckley knows a lot about London but not quite enough. . . . Mr. Buckley, nevertheless, chillingly re-creates Beria. There is no doubt he writes better about real people than about those who come out of his imagination."

'Racing Through Paradise: A Pacific Passage' (1987)
"Mr. Buckley has all his wit about him still. He writes about navigation, in this case his magical new navigation devices, with unparalleled excitement and clarity. . . . Mr. Buckley less and less gets hold of his own story, which he managed to do in earlier books, and just when he seems about to do so he is distracted by name-dropping . . ."

'Mongoose R.I.P.' (1988)
". . . a remarkably complex, compelling and literate thriller . . . his best book -- fiction or nonfiction. . . . Still, this is not history."

'On the Firing Line: The Public Life of Our Public Figures' (1989)
". . . collection of edited transcripts and a recollection of the 23 years William F. Buckley Jr. has been the host of 'Firing Line' . . . serves as a testament to its author's desire to soften his image as a firebrand."

'Gratitude: Reflections on What We Owe to Our Country,' reviewed by Theodore C. Sorensen (1990)
"[In] a long essay that he acknowledges will disturb his fellow conservatives, [Buckley] favors national service legislation summoning young Americans to 12 months of low-paid, low-grade public employment. . . . I doubt that he will succeed in convincing his fellow conservatives that his approach shuns any hint of Federal regimentation."

'Tucker's Last Stand' (1991)
"It is 1964, and Oakes has been ordered on a secret task designed to help bring about the Vietnam War. Oakes's mission succeeds. Alas, Mr. Buckley's novel does not."

'In Search of Anti-Semitism: What Christians Provoke What Jews? Why? By Doing What? -- And Vice Versa,' reviewed by Nathan Glazer (1992)
"It is fascinating reading: some of our most skillful, subtle and elegant conservative analysts of political trends can be read here, often in private correspondence with Mr. Buckley. He evokes very good letters -- in part because he is such a good writer and letter writer himself."

'Happy Days Were Here Again: Reflections of a Libertarian Journalist' (1993)
". . . a collection of more than 120 articles and addresses written between 1985 and 1993 . . . It is a pity his range is not wider. A columnist needs to be able to say something interesting on many more issues than these if he is to delight his readers . . ."

'A Very Private Plot' (1994)
"As usual with historical what-if assassination schemes, this one generates limited suspense. . . . Still, Mr. Buckley's political wisdom and lordly wit insure that 'A Very Private Plot' delivers more than mere routine spy thrills."

'Brothers No More,' reviewed by Joe Queenan (1995)
"The late summer of 1995 can be described as the Golden Age of Derivative Republican Fiction. . . . an epic saga of doomed Yalies that is easily the best Louis Auchincloss novel to come along in years. . . ."

'Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith' (1997)
". . . a book that celebrates and propounds Buckley's Christian faith and the Roman Catholic Church to which he has belonged all his life. . . . perhaps the most personal of all of Buckley's books."

'The Redhunter: A Novel Based on the Life of Senator Joe McCarthy' (1999)
". . . an honorable and, for the persevering, an absorbing book. . . . An evocative portrait of the Joseph R. McCarthy we already know . . . For all its considerable merits, [it] is far too polite."

First Chapter: 'The Redhunter'

ARTICLES ABOUT WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR.:

Buckley Drops Vidal Suite, Settles With Esquire (September 26, 1972)
Gore Vidal published an article in Esquire magazine calling Buckley a "racist, antiblack, anti-Semitic and a pro-crypto Nazi." The ensuing legal squabble ended with an out-of-court settlement that cost Esquire $115,000

Buckley's 'Firing Line' Celebrates 15 Years (1981)
Three hundred guests helped celebrate the 15th anniversary of "Firing Line," Buckley's weekly TV colloquy.

14-Year Conservative War Ends in Libel Judgment for Magazine (1985)
A jury found that Liberty Lobby's publication, Spotlight, libeled National Review by printing in the early 1970's that National Review's editor, William F. Buckley Jr., had a "close working relationship" with George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party.

Epigones Roast Buckley With Hot Air Balloons (1986)
When a group of admirers and affectionate detractors gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Firing Line," the event was a "roast" in which some who have been on the receiving end of Mr. Buckley's infamous debate techniques would get the chance to skewer him in return.

2 Buckleys Become Best Sellers (1986)
Buckley's "High Jinx" appeared on the best-seller list at the same time as his son's book "The White House Mess."

A Review of John B. Judis's 'William F. Buckley, Jr.' (1988)
". . . a solid and thoughtful biography . . . Behind the professionally odious manner, the author suggests, Mr. Buckley is both politically more serious and even personally nicer than he chooses to present himself."

Yes, Mr. Buckley, There's an Indian Lit. (1988)
In an Op-Ed piece, Gautam Adhikari takes exception to Buckely's contention, citing the philosopher Mortimer Adler, that "from Homer to the 19th century no great book has emerged from any non-European source."

National Review Losing Buckley as Chief Editor (1990)
At a celebration of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the National Review, Buckley announced that he would soon step down from his position as editor and become the editor at large.

In Search of Buckley (1992)
In an editorial comment about Buckley's essay "In Search of Anti-Semitism," A. M. Rosenthal writes that the most controversial section on Patrick Buchanan "is so genteel about him, written with such absence of real censure, with such contradiction and evasion and is so late and tortuous that politically and intellectually it destroys itself -- a pity."

Once Again, Buckley Takes On Bach (1992)
Buckley talked about his preparations for a benefit concert of Bach's Concerto for Harpsichord in D Minor with the Connecticut Grand Opera Orchestra.

Buckley and 2 Pals Hitting 70 in Stages (1995)
Buckley celebrated his 70th birthday with Warren Steibel, his longtime producer on "Firing Line," and Leon Levy, who gained fame and fortune running Oppenheimer & Company.

How 'Firing Line' Transformed the Battleground (1999)
In an assessment of the influence of "Firing Line," Laurence Zuckerman writes that "'Firing Line' was the first and the most important in widely establishing conservatism as a serious intellectual movement in America."

ARTICLES BY WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR.:

A Review of John Le Carré's 'The Little Drummer Girl' (1983)
"Mr. le Carré's novel is certainly the most mature, inventive and powerful book about terrorists-come-to-life this reader has experienced. . . . This book will permanently raise him out of the espionage league, narrowly viewed."

A Review of Graham Greene's 'The Tenth Man' (1985)
"'The Tenth Man' is melodrama, which is O.K. But Greene attempts to invest it with philosophical meaning, and, really, it does not work."

Crucial Steps in Combating the Aids Epidemic; Identify All the Carriers (1986)
In an Op-Ed piece for The Times, Buckley considers a controversial proposal to move towards universal testing for AIDS and, possibly, the eventual public identification of those with the virus.

I Am Lapidary But Not Eristic When I Use Big Words (1986)
Considering editors' decision to provide definitions to words that he had used, Buckley defends the use of unfamiliar words in newspaper columns.

Buckley, Why On Earth? . . . (1989)
In an interview with himself, Buckley explains why he decided to play a concerto with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and why they invited him.

National Debt, National Service (1990)
In an op-ed recommending a "national service," Buckley says that a spirit of volunteerism exists in America, "but it coexists with a strange and unhealthy failure by many American men and women to manifest any sense of obligation to the patrimony."

A Review of Anthony Burgess's 'You've Had Your Time' (1991)
"It helps, in reading 'You've Had Your Time,' to prepare yourself for Mr. Burgess's level of candor, which is pronounced without being exhibitionistic."

The Watergate Moment (1994)
Twenty years after Nixon's resignation, Buckley reflected on the decisions Nixon made in his last months in office.

God and Man at Dartmouth (1997)
After the president of Dartmouth quoted from anti-Semitic letters written by the college's admissions director in 1934, Buckley asked in an op-ed, "Is it meant, in welcoming students from other creeds, that a college must forswear its own traditional creed?"

Mr. Conservative (1998)
Buckley wrote a tribute to Barry Goldwater for The Times.

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