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Athwart History: Half a Century of Polemics, Animadversions, and Illuminations: A William F. Buckley Jr. Omnibus

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William F Buckley Jr. is one of my heroes. I don't pretend to know anything about him outside of what I know from his books, articles, speeches, and TV appearances, but what I read, saw, and considered, I not only liked but am grateful for. How can I properly express my gratitude for the decades of "National Review" (not THE National Review) and "Firing Line".

Unfortunately, WFB died in February of 2008. And by that time he had already stepped back a bit from the public stage (but had not withdrawn completely). During his most active years he could be more often found on the road and at the podium speaking all over the country and the world as well as writing his columns three times per week (later twice weekly), editing "National Review" and providing piece for it, as well. He also had to tape weekly shows for "Firing Line", and at least once in mid-career he played his beloved harpsichord in public concert with Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. I saw him perform once on, I think, the David Letterman show. He wasn't a brilliant keyboardist, but made up for it with passion and enthusiasm. Oh, and there was also the novel writing. He wrote 11 Blackford Oakes novels and several novels not including his trademarked hero.

While you can still find his books in the used book markets, most are, most sadly, out of print. And while he had periodic collections of his columns printed in books, many never made that cut. Now we are blessed with this wonderful collection of writings. Some from books, some from columns, and some from articles. According to the editors, about half of the material has never been in print before. And, if you don't have a handy shelf full of WFB's several dozen books (did it reach 50?), you will find this one volume a great treasure. I have nearly all his books and still consider this a wonderful addition. Why? Not only because of the pieces that have not previously been bound between hard covers, but because the editors carefully selected the pieces to resonate with our present time. So much of what you will read here you will think you have wandered into a place with nearly identical political issues but with different names for the characters.

When you experience Buckley for yourself, one of the first things that hits you is his wit and humor. Far from the falsely dour image the media made of him, WFB loved life, was a friend to those many would account as enemies (think John Kenneth Galbraith), and was an adventurer (he sailed that Atlantic twice, and the Pacific once). If you think about it, how could you not navigate American culture during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, if you didn't understand how to navigate into the wind and enjoy that part of the journey as much as when you have following winds during the 80s and 90s (even if the cultural sea was still choppy). Some of his writing is laugh out loud funny. Really.

So, what kinds of pieces will you find in this treasure? You find pieces on WFB's commentary on Politics in Policy and Politics in Practice. Our dealings with Communist nations and leaders. His views on Culture and governmental policy (even a piece on Jimmy Carter's attack on deductions for business lunches). More on the effect of the Cold War on the home from including his obituaries for Alger Hiss and Howard Fast. A whole section on his opinions on his friends, his opponents, and those he considered good and evil (and usually a mixture of both). This is a very moving section, especially the pieces on John Kenneth Galbraith, his dear friend and political, and his wife, Patricia Taylor Buckley.

Another section has pieces commenting on issues troubling other nations, another on issues specifically from the 1960s (yet they resonate to our decade fairly disturbingly). I found the section on manners and morals a delight and wish there were more of these pieces and urge the editors to do a full book of them.

Anyone who knows anything about Buckley knows he was (is) a devoted Catholic and the section on "Faith and the Faithful" is warming for those of us who delight in faith, even if not identical to our own.

The end of the cold war offered new insights and dangers, which WFB analyzed with insight. Would that we had heeded him more. The last full section is full of little pieces on music, skiing, ocean racing, his friend David Niven, and so forth. The last piece is a nice selection from his book "Gratitude", which I wish more people knew and would read.

There is an index so you can find particular issues, but I urge you to just savor everything and slowly read your way from front to back and think about what he was saying even when you don't think you agree with him. You will always gain something by considering his views.

I hope this book would become a mad national best seller. Lacking that, I hope YOU buy a copy and read it with the delight I feel whenever I read his words and the sorrow I feel when there aren't any more.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Saline, MI

Well-edited and spanning the last five decades, this collection provides keen insight into the later twentieth-century political scene. William Buckley - the most intellectual of this period's conservative commentators - is brought to life in this thought-provoking book. Oh how I miss him!

As a man of tomes, a conservative, and a lover of well-turned verse, I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. I was not disappointed. All too often, conservatives - represented in popular culture as unintelligent, bigoted, narrow-minded, and uneducated or a combination thereof - shrink from argument and discourse for fear of the stereotype. Buckley gave us a firm, eloquent, erudite, and unyielding voice backed with incontrovertible facts; with this collection he still does.

Some memorable quotes:

"To be sure, a great nation can indulge its little extravagances; but a long enough series of little extravagances can add up to a stagnating if not crippling economic overhead." - This could be from a column written today about government spending but was written by Buckley in 1959.

"Stifle the economic sovereignty of the individual by spending his dollars for him, and you stifle his freedom. Socialize the individual's surplus and you socialize his spirit and creativeness, you cannot paint the Mona Lisa by assigning one dab each to a thousand painters." - Powerful statement regarding socialism.

and, the final word on Watergate:

"...and a meticulous constitutionalist could run his finger over American presidential history and come up with cogent arguments for impeaching presidents long since honorably buried whose crimes against the spirit of the constitution were far removed from the chicken-thieving of Watergate; and yet they were left alone, Jefferson to suspend the Constitution in order to purchase Louisiana, Lincoln to override the Bill of Rights in order to wage war, Roosevelt to do his best to vitiate the judiciary by packing the Supreme court."

This truly is a "best of" collection of Buckley's prodigious output. There were many essays with which I was unfamiliar. This volume deserves space on any serious reader's shelf.

I just read a chapter or 2 from the hard copy. I liked it so much I gave it to a friend and got another copy downloaded to my Kindle. Buckley's writing can improve almost anyone's vocabulary and Kindle has an automatic dictionary. 50 year old articles could have been written "last week" and still be just as poignant. He gets to the heart of the matter instantly. Refreshing read.

William F.Buckley,Jr.(God Rest his Soul)The Man Behind "Firing Line" and National Review,One of if not my Favorite Author and Intellectual and Conservative,Why he never ran For President and chose to be a Behind the scenes kingmaker I do not know,however the Man's influence there is no denying among a Who's Who's Including Reagan(The Very Best),Goldwater(prior to becoming Morally Liberal) are among my other favorites,this Book is a collection of his Best Essays from Magazines and Books.Although I disagree with his Later in life position for Legalization and perhaps his Embrace of Libertarianism(I being a Proud Right Winger,Both Morally and Fiscally not an Anarchist like Libertarians or morally devoid like Them,mind you there are Libertarians I like but please no Ron Paul.),There is no denying he had a Way with words,A Sway with anything and Everything.From His Staunch AntiCommunism(My Favorite Part Along with His Catholicism) to his Anti-NewDeal,to His Essays against Mao,Castro and Anything stinky of that nature.His Lexicon and his persuasion,The Man is a Legend and A Conservative with you know what something missing from the many today that sadly would rather gravitate towards the "Moderate" or Rockerfeller-Esque Eastern Establishment liberal.Viva Buckley!Long Live the Right and May we keep on with the struggle against these Hoodlum radicals.

More than three years have elapsed since the death of Mr. Buckley, the founder of National Review, among myriad other accomplishments. This latest compilation of his writings is a most welcome tonic for those who have missed his regular despatches on just about any subject that piqued his interest. Of particular fascination to this reviewer is the chapter devoted to obituaries, which Mr. Buckley often composed while still grappling with intense emotional loss. George Will's introduction provides necessary context for understanding Mr. Buckley's influence on the modern conservative movement, and how his efforts were instrumental in coalescing the various competing and right-leaning factions into a more coherent force that ultimately paved the way for Ronald Reagan's ascent to the presidency in 1980. Editors Roger Kimball and Linda Bridges are to be commended for their careful panning and selecting of the nuggets that comprise this delightful cache of Mr. Buckley's Brobdingnagian literary and political output.

First, I would like to thank Craig Matteson of Michigan and G. Alterton of California for their insightful reviews. They both capture the tone of what I felt about William F. Buckley, Jr.

I came upon William Buckley in the middle of my life. He impressed me from the start. Here was a man whom I could call an intellectual and mean it as sincere praise. I have to assume that he was a genius. How could one brain contain all the emotions and cognitive reasoning that he exhibited?

Buckley lived and enjoyed life to the fullest, was fearless, and equated liberty with conservative thought. He had an amazing ability to grasp the central issue, to summarize it, and to express it clearly. I, even tho an educated person, still had to occasionally use the dictionary to understand fully the summary. I forgave Bill for that slight predilection. After all, he was a Harvard man.

As other reviewers have mentioned, Buckley's older articles are still pertinent today. Illogical economic theories, the overreach of government, corrupt politicians, etc., are still with us. Was Bill a prophet, or has it just forever been the same? Maybe it is true that we don't study and learn from history. If so, this anthology could be a primer for anyone wanting a complete education.

Godspeed, Bill Buckley. I wish I had known you better. Oxford MS, 2011

Aside from the Baby Boom generation being the most self-absorbed and worthless cohort to tample the landscape of human history, there have been a few bright reasons to be glad to have been born a Boomer: watching the Apollo 11 moonlanding during our lifetime; the Beatles; the fall of the Berlin Wall; the opening of Disneyland. All momentuous events that have made living in the Boomer generation memorable. For me, I'm grateful to have been alive in the period of history where I could witness greatness and genius. One such, was to have lived at a time to see the work and influence of William F. Buckley, Jr.

As a adolescent, I cut my intellectual and political teeth on Buckley's work. As a high school student in the late 1960s, I rarely missed a telecast of "Firing Line" (on PBS, amazingly), and all through high school I had a subscription to National Review. The death of Wm. F. Buckley in 2008 was the end of an era, IMO. But now comes Athwart History: Half a Century of Polemics, Animadversions, and Illuminations -- A William F. Buckley Jr. Omnibus, a collection of the best of Buckley's writings. Editor Roger Kimball notes in the introduction to the book Buckley's many endeavors: magazine publisher and editor, television talkshow host, columnist, the writer of spy novels, lecturer, debater, traveller, adventurer, harpsichord player. "In his spare time," writes Kimball, "he ran for mayor of New York City and, along the way, rescued American conservatism from irrelevance and crack-pottery."

Every election since 1988, conservatives have wondered, "Who will be the next Reagan?" I wonder who will be the next Bill Buckley. We're a right-center nation, or so we're told (and so the election results of last week would indicate). But while conservatism has never quite gone into eclipse since Reagan left office, it's lacked much of the intellectual punch, clarity, and soaring rhetoric provided by Buckley and his colleagues at National Review from the mid-1950s onward to the close of the 20th Century. Who is the intellectual and spiritual heir of Bill Buckley? Glenn Beck? Sean Hannity? Ann Coulter? Sarah Palin? IMHO, each has their merits, but none of them, individually or collectively, measure up to the intellectual firepower and inspiration of William F. Buckley. And conservatism suffers for the lack.

Thanks to the policies of Barack Obama, there is a lot of talk about freedom and liberty in the country today, but who is explaning what liberty is, why it should be valued, and why a large and expanding government is a threat to it, beyond using the term as a cliche or in a guaranteed applause line. "The question is," writes Roger Kimball, "whether those 'uncorroded by a cynical contempt for human freedom' will command the wit, rhetoric, and moral courage to stand athwart tomorrow whispering, confiding, explaining -- sometimes even yelling Stop! -- in order that freedom might have an opportunity to prevail."

At least within the current intellectual vacuum, there's this new "Buckley Omnibus."