Customer Reviews

Flying High: Remembering Barry Goldwater

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The year was 1964 - President Kennedy had been martyred, and now-President Johnson looked unassailable. However, there was one man on the Conservative side who seemed willing to carry the flag, and seek to turn back the tide of Liberalism that was flowing out of Washington DC - Barry Goldwater, Au H2O. And there was one man who was always there, even if he wasn't the man the cameras were pointed at, Conservative author and thinker, William F. Buckley, Jr.

This is a "what I saw at the revolution" type book. In a short, but informative narrative, Mr. Buckley takes us behind the scenes, showing who did what, and when, and why. I must admit to being largely ignorant of Barry Goldwater, but I found this book to be intriguing and informative, keeping me turning the pages and watching those heady days unfold.

Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. It is short and easy to read, and yet packs quite a wallop - there is no unnecessary detail or wasted verbiage here! If you are interested in Barry Goldwater and/or where the modern Conservative movement came from, then you should get this book. I think that it is probably the perfect Goldwater Revolution book, and I give it my highest recommendations.

I have enjoyed reading William Buckley through the years, whether it was his fiction with Blackford Oakes as the protagonist or his somewhat self-indulgent mini-autobiographies. His writing style is absolutely captivating.

Flying High is a great read if you have any interest at all in the emergence of the modern day conservative movement. In light of the current political season and two candidates that are essentially trying to claim that they are moderate, or at the very least not on the extreme ends of the continuum as a liberal or a conservative, the story of conservatives not ashamed to identify themselves as such is somewhat refreshing.

I am struck by the sheer force of character and the price that is paid to be a person of character, particularly in the world of rough and tumble politics. If you have never read anything about Goldwater, this would be a good start and you will no doubt want to read The Conscience of a Conservative, actually ghost written by Brent Bozell, though released under Goldwater's name.

Taking small snapshots, William F. Buckley, Jr., delivers a wonderful portrait of a pivotal time in American politics and journalism.

From the 100 student activists who were part of the foundation to the modern conservative movement, to the oftentimes hilarious controversies caused by (wannabe) political insiders and adding new twists to key moments which may have faded from the pages of history, the 208 pages prove that richness is not only found in thick volumes.

The friendship of Senator Barry Goldwater and Buckley, Jr., are found on each page, but this is a story of two extraordinary personalities who pushed away the clouds and reached to the blue sky, due to the realization that a revolution in political culture could be had over time by flying high.

I read this entire book within 12 hours, and I am no speed reader. There were times I could not put the book down. Buckley, as usual, had me scrambling for a dictionary a few times, but these stories he puts together are unforgettable.

There was so much here I had never known, for instance the fact that Buckley played no role at all in the 1964 campaign (well, officially anyway). While I had heard the stories about Bozell writing Conscience of a Conservative, the way that book was revered in this book is also fascinating. The story about the 1964 Reagan speech on Goldwater's behalf was interesting, all the way from how it was funded to Goldwater's reaction to it to Reagan's reaction when Goldwater called him about it.

My only complaint about the book; It wasn't longer. It would have liked to have known a little more about what appeared to be the final meeting between Buckley and Goldwater. If you've read Buckley's The Reagan I Knew, you know he talks in more details of their final meeting. If you're a fan of the '64 campaign, a fan of the movement, or a fan of either Buckley or Goldwater, you've got to give this book a try. If you give it 30 minutes, you can get a decent way into it and judge the rest.

The book was a good introduction to the political life of Senator Goldwater and his ascension to the presidential campaign. A must for those who are unfamiliar with this man's political and personal beliefs.

Very well written account of Buckley's days as a Goldwater friend and supporter. Oh what could have been. This is a great trip back to the fifties through the seventies. Great inside accounts of a great friendship and the inside look into the dirty politics of liberal agendas. Read this book. And more importantly, have your children read it.

Just last evening, I happened to catch a few minutes of a Greta Van Susteren interview with Rush Limbaugh, in which Limbaugh spoke of how the 1964 Presidential election is treated as a great watershed....

Whether the late Buckley or Limbaugh care to admit it, there were excellent reasons for Goldwater's 1964 defeat - including his opposition to civil rights legislation and his too cavalierly speaking of the use of nuclear weapons....

Before any temptation to even consider Buckley's whitewashing of Goldwater's career - Buckley's attempt at secular canonization - social conservatives would do well to remember some info which has been posted by Wikepedia: "Goldwater viewed abortion as a matter of personal choice, not intended for government intervention.... In his 1980 Senate reelection campaign, Goldwater won support from religious conservatives but in his final term voted consistently to uphold legalized abortion"

I found this book written about my political hero, by one of my favorite observers of politics fun but to light. First of all large parts of the small book really don't have a lot to do with Mr Buckley's relationship with the Senator. That is probably my main take. I also feel that (many would say hoorah) that Mr.Buckley's famed sarcasm and "snobbery" were mainly missing. I certainly wouldn't want every political observer to write with his style of sarcasm (wit), namedropping elitism (lucky and talented enough to be where the action is). But watching, or reading him shred countless liberals was fun. Onto my feelings about the Senator. There has been quite a bit written about him in the last decade and much of it has brought him down to earth from his exalted place in my life. That is not to say he is not still my hero but the opportunities lost because he couldn't or wouldn't say no to the Phoenix Mafia lead me to wonder the big what if question. No he wouldn't have won in '64 but the defeat could have been much smaller and possibly set 1968 up for a change that would have been wonderful not only for the U.S. but the world instead we had to wait until 1980. Final word, at Amazon's price it's worth it and it will be an enjoyable 2 days. Next Pure Goldwater I'm hoping it's effect will be similar to Reagan's Diaries. Interesting point it's funny how the personal and political stock of both Goldwater and Reagan have risen in the eyes of all thinking liberals (that of course excludes the likes of Huffington etc).