16 August, 2010

William F. Buckley, by Jeremy Lott



The book, William F. Buckley by Jeremy Lott, was intriguing to us because neither of us had heard of this man before (as least not that we could recall!). As we read, we learned of a man who unabashedly stood for a conservative reawakening in the political culture of the United States, and credited his Catholic faith (with Irish-Protestant roots) as the thread which tied a resolve for the right and indeed to whatever tasks he found at hand that God had placed in his life.

Thrown into public awareness when his book God and Man at Yale was published, he rose from criticizing the lack of found religious tolerance at his Alma Mater to founding the National Review magazine in the 1950's and even being credited with founding (or perhaps the word "uniting" suits better) the Conservative Movement that many of us may be familiar with today. He was also a strong Libertarian. He was a confidant of many well known conservative leaders and sought reform in all of politics in general. He took a strong stand against Communism and any who supported it (yes, even those who were unwilling to take a critical stance against it became an object of critique, particularly those who he believed to be only taking their personal interests into consideration).

I enjoyed catching a glimpse of the personal life, family upbringing, and religious convictions that molded William F. Buckley into the impassioned political presence (and writer, of course) that he became. And even though the book honestly put me to sleep, I still consider it to be quite interesting and would give it 3 stars, particularly to those who have a keen interest in modern or historical politics.

*This book was gratefully received from Thomas Nelson at no cost in exchange for my agreement to post this review.

I review for BookSneeze

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