William F. Buckley Jr.'s Friends and Enemies

"Buckley was a man of many parts: the most famous American conservative pundit of the last century, the founder of National Review, a key figure in the right-wing takeover of the Republican Party in the 1960s, an intellectual celebrity (thanks in part to his PBS debate show Firing Line), an avid skier and yachtsman, a prolific columnist and polemicist, a best-selling spy novelist, and a onetime CIA agent who maintained relationships with agency officials throughout his life."

"Much of that life was spent in public, but Buckley's involvement in the private lives of his family and friends also gives us a special vantage point for understanding both the charm and dangers of the man. Garry Wills, who went from beloved protege to ideological foe to eventually reconciled old friend, recalled in his memoir that Buckley's desire to do things for people made him an inveterate matchmaker."

William F. Buckley Jr. combined patrician charm, intellectual ambition, and media savvy to become the most prominent American conservative of the twentieth century. He founded National Review, helped steer the Republican Party rightward in the 1960s, hosted the PBS debate program Firing Line, wrote widely as a columnist and polemicist, and produced best-selling spy fiction. He cultivated friendships across ideological lines, maintained relationships with CIA officials, and pursued active recreational lives as a skier and yachtsman. Buckley’s ardent gregariousness led him to mediate romances and intervene in private affairs, a trait that contributed to both his charisma and the controversies surrounding him.

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