William F. Buckley, Jr.
William F. Buckley, Jr. (November 24, 1925 - February 27, 2008) was a writer with a wide range of accomplishment, from cultural criticism, essays, biography, political commentary, magazine editing, books on language, novels, and accounts of sailing. He hosted “Firing Line,” a television talk show, from 1966-1999, the longest-running public affairs show with a single host in U.S. television history. He founded National Review in 1955 (it is still being published). All of this activity inhabits the territory of modern conservatism, a movement established after World War II in the stress and strain and excitement of the Cold War and of the United States taking the responsibilities and risks of being a world superpower. Buckley deliberately and effectively became the public intellectual of conservatism, relishing the arena of public discourse and influence. He moved comfortably in the halls of the movers and shakers of political and cultural sway. He had famous friendships (Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, notably) and famous feuds (Gore Vidal a spectacular example). Whatever the performance, Buckley had a strong core of his love of language, his respect of words and ideas supported by thought, by argument. With an engaging variance, his books on sailing are transcendent - practical, funny, lyrical, unpretentious, adventurous.
The Rake
The Rake
A prototypical child of the sixties, Senator Reuben Castle coasted through his early life on a cloud of easy charisma, leaving behind more skeletons than Arlington: a highly questionable Vietnam record, an abandoned wife, and worse. Now, two decades later, his greatest dream is within reach. But his personal history is about to become his political epitaph—unless he takes the direst of measures to protect himself.
From William F. Buckley Jr.—nationally bestselling author and one of the keenest political minds of our time—comes an ingenious blending of satire and suspense, the riveting tale of an all-too-recognizable presidential candidate and the dark shadows cast behind him.