William F. Buckley Jr.

The Maker of a Movement

By Lee Edwards

Publisher: ISI Books

Cloth • Pages: 208
ISBN10/13: 193519173X / 9781935191735
List Price: $24.95
Internet Special: $19.96

The modern-day Renaissance man who forged the conservative movement

The polysyllabic vocabulary, the wit, the charm, the sailing adventures, the spy novels—all of these have become part of the William F. Buckley Jr. legend. But to consider only Buckley’s charisma and ceaseless energy is to miss that above all he was committed to advancing ideas.

Now, noted conservative historian Lee Edwards, who knew Bill Buckley for more than forty years, delivers a much-needed intellectual biography of the man has been called "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century." In this concise and compelling book, Edwards reveals how Buckley did more than any other person to build the conservative movement. Once derided as a set of "irritable mental gestures," conservatism became, under Buckley’s guidance, a political and intellectual force that transformed America.

As conservatives debate the ideas that should drive their movement, William F. Buckley Jr.: The Maker of a Movement reminds us of the principles that animated Buckley, as well as the thinkers who inspired him. The four most important intellectual influences on this great molder of American conservatism, Edwards shows, were libertarian author and social critic Albert Jay Nock, conservative political scientist Willmoore Kendall, former Soviet spy Whittaker Chambers, and realpolitik apostle James Burnham. Having dug deep into the voluminous Buckley papers, Edwards also illuminates the profound influence of Buckley’s close-knit family and his unwavering Catholic faith.

Edwards brilliantly captures the free spirit and unbounded energy of the conservative polymath, but he also shows that Buckley did not succeed merely on the strength of a winning personality. Rather, Buckley’s achievements were the result of a long series of quite deliberate political acts—many of them overlooked today.

William F. Buckley Jr.: The Maker of a Movement tells the incredible story of a man who could have been a playboy, sailing his yacht and skiing in Switzerland, but who chose to be the St. Paul of the conservative movement, carrying the message far and wide. Lee Edwards shows how and why it happened&$8212and the remarkable results.

What They're Saying...

"If you want to understand not only the rise of the modern conservative movement but also how conservatives can regain their footing during these perilous times, you must read William F. Buckley Jr.: The Maker of a Movement. Lee Edwards, himself a conservative icon, describes in beautiful and concise prose the brilliance that was Buckley. The book, like Buckley, is fascinating, compelling, and edifying."
— Mark Levin bestselling author of Liberty and Tyranny

"Who: William F. Buckley Jr. What: Changing American political and intellectual culture. When: 1925–2008. Where: Postwar Yale, China with Mao and Nixon, the NR conference room table. How: Lee Edwards, who knew the principles and lived the history, explains it all in this compact, complete synopsis."
— Richard Brookhiser author of Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement

Interview with Lee Edwards, author of
William F. Buckley Jr.

Why did you write this biography?

There are only two bios in print, one of them twenty years old and by a liberal, and I thought there was a place for a concise bio of the polymath who did more than any other to build the modern conservative movement. He is an endlessly fascinating individual.

Why should I read this book?

Because it shows that without Buckley there would be no conservative movement—which continues to dominate the Republican Party and much of American politics. Quite possibly there would have been no President Ronald Reagan without WFB and National Review.

What motivated Buckley and why?

He could have been a playboy, sailing his yacht and giving parties and skiing in Switzerland, but he chose to be a Saint Paul carrying the conservative message far and wide. He didn’t like what liberals were doing to America and Americans and because he wanted to give something back to the nation that had done so much for him and his family.

What role did his Catholicism play in his life and career?

It was a major influence, giving him the strength to weather any and all storms and to have faith in the final outcome. It accounted for the traditional side of his conservatism.

What were his most important and enduring books?

Nearer, My God (a spiritual autobiography), Miles Gone By (a literary autobiography), Stained Glass (his best Blackford Oakes novel), and The Unmaking of a Mayor (a brilliant witty account of run for mayor of New York City).

Who were the greatest influences in his life?

Whittaker Chambers, the Soviet spy turned anti-communist; James Burnham, the ex-Trotskyist and apostle of realpolitik; Albert Jay Nock, the radical libertarian; and Willmoore Kendall, the Yale professor and political philosopher.

Why was he for the legalization of marijuana?

Not because he was a pothead but because he believed in the individual’s right to smoke and drink what he wanted without governmental oversight.

Didn’t he once say about the Catholic Church, “Mater Si, Magistra No”?

Actually it was Garry Wills’s formulation that Catholics should consider the Church generally and the Vatican specifically as a mother and not a teacher. The wisecrack was more of a reaction to the Vatican’s policy of détente toward Cuba than a criticism of Vatican II.

What motivated Buckley above all else?

His anti-communism from his first to his last days. He protested Khrushchev’s visit to the US in 1960, Fidel Castro’s brand of caudillo communism, Nixon kowtowing to Mao in 1972, and Ronald Reagan’s summit meetings with Gorbachev in the 1980s. It explains his defense of Senator Joseph McCarthy and in part his admiration of Whittaker Chambers.

What are some of his famous one-liners?

“The attempted assassination of Sukarno had all the earmarks of a CIA plot—everyone was killed except Sukarno.”

Regarding the nuclear accident at Charnobyl: “The Soviet Union discovered at last how to give power to the people.”

“I would rather be governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than the members of the Harvard faculty.”

Asked what he would do if he won the NYC mayorality, he replied, “Demand a recount.”