William F. Buckley Jr., was the foremost architect of the conservative
movement that swept the American political landscape from the 1960s to
the early 2000s. When Buckley launched National Review in 1955,
conservatism was a beleaguered, fringe segment of the Republican Party.
Three decades later Ronald Reagan-who credited National Review with
shaping his beliefs-was in the White House. Buckley and his allies
devised a new-model conservatism that replaced traditional ideals with a
passionate belief in the free market, religious faith, and an aggressive
stance on foreign policy.
Buckley was an eloquent writer and brilliant polemicist whose works are
still required texts for conservatives. His TV show Firing Line and
his campaign for mayor of New York City made him a celebrity; his wit
and zest for combat made conservatism fun. But Buckley was far more than
a controversialist. Deploying his uncommon charm, shrewdly building
alliances, and refusing to compromise on core principles, he almost
single-handedly transformed conservatism from a set of retrograde
attitudes into a revolutionary force. Scholar Carl T. Bogus gives us the
most authoritative biography ever published of this vital,
larger-than-life figure.