Buckley

Praise

“In novelistic detail, Tanenhaus writes of William F. Buckley Jr.’s privileged childhood and education, his founding of the influential magazine National Review, his more than 30 years hosting the weekly TV show Firing Line, and his ideas about government that changed the country.”—The Washington Post

“[A] well-written, and intelligent take, both critical and admiring, on a complicated man. . . . One relives a lot, and one learns a lot.”—The New Yorker

“Colorful, comprehensive . . . A biography not just of a prominent influencer but also of a potent movement . . . a milestone contribution to our understanding of the American Century.”—The Boston Globe

“[Tanenhaus] is a gifted writer and a diligent scholar.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Not so much a stranger to our times as a precursor to them . . . A rich chronicle.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Marvelous, decades-in-the-making . . . offers a deeply affectionate portrait of Buckley’s personal life . . . [and] also methodically surfaces the darker strains of the movement.”—The New Republic

“Fascinating, with new and startling revelations . . . It’s not just about Buckley; it’s about now, and how Buckleyism is more similar to Trumpism than I initially understood. It’s about American conservatism as a whole.”—The Weekly Dish

“An enjoyable and fascinating romp through American political and cultural life in much of the 20th century.”—The Telegraph

“A magnificent, absorbing work about a man known as the father of postwar American conservatism, and one that will lead to a lot of debate.”—Chronicles

“This book, apparently 20 years in the making, is the product of immense learning and shows a rare familiarity with its subject and his times. . . . Tanenhaus is to be congratulated for his achievement.”—The Spectator World

“A lively, balanced and deeply researched book . . . engrossing.”—The Guardian

“A chronicle of the life of a man but also a history of the era he helped to shape . . . worth the wait.”—The Washington Free Beacon

“Buckley moves fast, propelled by Tanenhaus’ prose, his jeweler’s eye for fine detail, and the frankly incredible episodes he includes.”—Unpopulist

“A grand biography . . . magnificent.”—The Washington Monthly

“William F. Buckley forever changed America, and Tanenhaus’s Buckley will forever change how we understand America.”—John Ganz, author of When the Clock Broke

“Sam Tanenhaus has done more than produce an engrossing biography of one of the most significant political and journalistic figures of the second half of the twentieth century. He has illuminated the often ugly ideological origins of our present predicament.”—Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life

“A stone-cold masterpiece . . . Buckley is a brilliant portrait of man, movement, and age.”—Geoffrey Kabaservice, author of Rule and Ruin

“Buckley is all that a biography could and should be: penetrating, deeply researched, respectful but critical.”—Beverly Gage, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of G-Man

“Writing with superb insight into celebrity culture, Tanenhaus nails Buckley for many lapses of judgment, while also revealing his countless acts of unpublicized generosity.”—Richard Wightman Fox, author of Lincoln’s Body