Aside from the Founding Fathers, very few writers have contributed to the very bedrock of conservative thought and principle as significantly as William F. Buckley, Jr.
Mr. Buckley has been at it since his shakeup of the Ivy League with "God and Man at Yale". His novels of the late Cold War, featuring protagonist Blackford Oakes were hilariously entertaining. His transatlantic sailing adventures are highlighted in the nonfiction books Airborne, and Atlantic High. I'll leave it to you to find the parts about the upright piano in the main saloon of the yacht. Suffice to say, so very uniquely Buckley.
President Ronald Reagan said something to the effect of his favorite entertainment when reading involved a Buckley tome in one hand, and a dictionary in the other. Amen, and God Bless you, Mr. President!
Now though Sir William adds yet another jewel to his crown with his remarkable Dec. 17th article in the National Review Online. Read it all, but here's a jewel to pique your interest:
The very idea that Saddam Hussein needs the niceties of Blackstone's laws prescribing judicial procedure and the means of protecting the innocent is a surrender to epistemological pessimism: the notion that you can't ever really prove anything. Built into that nihilist surrender is doubt about first principles.
Reading Buckley will make you smarter. Comprehending Buckley will make you wiser. Avoiding Buckley because he might be a tough read is unimaginable. Get that dictionary and settle in for the ride.
It's worth the trip.
Well worth the trip.
Posted by: Tina | December 30, 2003 at 08:58 PM
Isn't he quite the yachtsman also? I think he designed a very early computer program about 15 years ago called "WhatStar" in which you could input your true heading, estimated position and height shot of the body and the program would identify the star, resolve your position into a highly accurate MPP (most probable position) and correct your heading (rate your compass). This program was amazing because it enabled the cloudbound celestial navigator to shoot an unknown star through a hole in the overcast and reliably use it for navigation.
If Amelia Erhart had this program, she would still be alive. Her navigator got lost shooting celestial out of the side window of her aircraft and they ran out of gas doing a search pattern for the only available emergency landing field.
Posted by: Rivrdog | December 31, 2003 at 01:26 AM
I first attempted to read "The Unmaking of a Mayor" when I was 16. Could not make it through a single page without grabbing the dictionary. And did it have an impact on my vocabulary.
If you want to get serious about writing, then I suggest Buckley's book: "Buckley: The Right Word." Amazon.com has only three copies of the book in paperback.
Happy New Year
Posted by: Yellowlegs | December 31, 2003 at 01:29 PM