Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Following A Dream, March 27, 2005
"Miles Gone By" is a wonderful account of the life of a conservative icon. I must admit issue by issue I do not always find myself in agreement with Mr. Buckley and his coterie of advocates. Free markets are vital, but sometimes the public interest must play a role in things..however, that being said this book centers on WFB's life and experiences.
You may judge a book on many levels, but this being more of a biography than anything else you find yourself conflicted on how to judge a life. It is clearly evident here what made Buckley, Buckley. He lived a very sheltered life in a time where America afforded that to the richest among us. He was the product of a British education and was conducted through life by those in his church who charted his values for him. Those days are long gone in today's America, and so this account will seem foreign to so many readers. But it was status quo for much of the elite in Buckley's era.
But the humanity comes through as well. The man's love of music, his interest in human events, and despite what others may say, his dedication and just genuine hard work. This man was no slacker and he did indeed accomplish much through honest difficult work. Yes he could have bought a forum for comment, but this man clearly earned what he got in life. He excelled in writing and his love of learning. In that he is not a fossil of the last century, but a role model for Americans who still believe in the American dream. Did he have advantages others did not? Yes he did. But he used his brain and his qualities of fairplay, kindness, and sometimes skepticism to attain his position of the leader of the conservative movement in the United States. His optimism is to be commended...even during the stormiest moments of his life he believed things would work out. His vision of America reflects that. If you are at all interested in the politics of the 20th century this book is for you. Regardless of your ideology and whether you love him or hate him, Buckley is an icon.
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply, a treasure - beautifully produced., October 27, 2004
I feel that I owe a great deal to William F. Buckley Jr. for all he has taught me and the pleasure he has provided me over the past several, well, decades. While I enjoy the political discourse, and have had fun with his novels, for me Mr. Buckley's writing is at its very best when he gets personal. Read his descriptions of being on watch alone at sea, or his tribute to Whittaker Chambers, or his loving obituaries to his parents and you will know what I mean.
I have been moved by his writing about his youthful adventures, his faith, his son Christopher, computers, limousines, sailing, and music. The other thing is, Mr. Buckley is also very funny. I mean laugh out loud story telling. While Christopher Buckley's written humor is different than his father's, it is clear that there is an inherited component.
This book, "Miles Gone By" is an edited collection of previous writings about his life so we get a largely chronological understanding of his life. This is a beautifully done book and I think its rich feel, the beautiful paper, the interesting pictures that capture important and changing times, and the audio CD with the famous Buckley voice reading us brief selections from the book, all contribute to the importance of this book for those of us who have been wanting WFB to tell us about his life in bound pages.
Since all of this has been printed before, why buy the book? Simply because the editing makes the story more seamless than simply reading articles here, there, and across the pond. The writing remains fresh and a delight to read at an unhurried pace. I so much enjoyed taking my time reading the work of this self-proclaimed fast writer. I enjoy enjoying the act of reading. While I can race through technical material and that which must be read, when I get to material I want to read, such as this treasure, I want to slow down and enjoy it like a special evening with a friend.
Why Mr. Buckley enrages some folks eludes me. They cannot know his writing first hand. That he has maintained lifelong friendships with his political combatants speaks volumes about his character (and theirs) and while I do not know Mr. Buckley personally, I suspect that his legendary kindness and supportiveness is absolutely true.
What a marvelous treasure that will not only sit on my Buckley shelf with dozens of his other books, it is a life story that will also live in my soul. Mr. Buckley, please accept my deepest thanks.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laughing out loud, July 13, 2004
By A Customer
William F. Buckley pulled precisely the right excerpts from his large store of material to give a vivid picture his extraordinary life, full of verve and that irrepressible twinkle in his eye. I have laughed, smiled, chuckled, or groaned at least once with every page. This is truly a delightful, entertaining, and brilliantly written account. It's an unusual way to "write" an autobiography, but then who would expect less than the unique from Bill Buckley?
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