Bill Buckley's Prodigal Son
Just stumbled on an enjoyable essay on Garry Wills in the New Criterion. Like the author I grew up reading the Wills Watch in NR, where I later worked.
Buckley, in Wills’s charming portrait, is “one of Wodehouse’s blithe young men—Psmith, say, or Piccadilly Jim—who act forever on impulse.” A born risk-taker, he was “hour by hour, day by day . . . just an exciting person to be around.” Wills extols Buckley’s generosity to family and friends and, along the way, punctures the myths that grew up about him, which depicted him as a social, intellectual, and/or ideological snob. And he wonderfully reveals a secret side of Buckley, “his least plausible identity, that of a working stiff”: in fact, Buckley never had nearly as much money as was commonly supposed, and he had to work hard and tirelessly to adopt his chosen lifestyle. Though it took over three decades, Wills and Buckley reconciled and resumed their friendship in 2005, thanks to Buckley’s sister Priscilla.
Most of the good things that happened in Wills’s life resulted from books. In the memoir’s last chapter, Wills recounts how books—and in part the ruse of a lost book—led him to meet his wife, Natalie, and then to their subsequent intellectual partnership in fifty years of married life.
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Oct '10
Re: Bill Buckley's Prodigal Son
Hmmmm...Judging by the title, I thought you were going to write about Chris Buckley's apology and repentance for having been a steadfast advocate for Obama. Is he still an Obama supporter? Perhaps the penchant for risk-taking explains his gamble on Obama.
Aug '10
Re: Bill Buckley's Prodigal Son
All was not sweetness and light, however. Far from it. Serious W.F.Buckley fans should read Christopher Buckley's book Losing Mum and Pup, about their family life.
I'm a fan of this flawed, very American family, and Christopher's books are laugh-out-loud funny: Thank You For Smoking, Florence of Arabia, Little Green Men, and others.
May '10
Re: Bill Buckley's Prodigal Son
I'm not sure I would ever read anything by Christopher again after his 2008 commentaries. And his books are overrated sophomoric schlock compared with good comic writers such as PJ, Max Wilk, etc.
I do well remember WFB's NR comments on "The Apostasy of Garry Wills" back in '68 or '69 when Wills shredded Nixon even before the latter had done anything much.
Nov '10
Re: Bill Buckley's Prodigal Son
It's a great review; just now read it. I'm actually a subscriber to The New Criterion, but never get around to reading it . . . . because damn Ricochet takes up all my free time! Thanks for bringing to my attention an article I would otherwise have completely missed.
I can't stand Garry Wills. I did, however, recently read his review of Hubert Dreyfus's All Things Shining. I have to say, it's a rich smack-down of a book that represents a deplorable phenomenon: analytic philosophers re-reading the Western Canon via a Heideggerian filter. Dreadful stuff indeed.
So that "oxymoron" aspect of Wills -- yes, perhaps there's something to that.
In any event, as a Harry Jaffa disciple, I'm compelled to mention that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone reading this that they have a look at Jaffa's review of Wills's Lincoln at Gettysburg. Or any of the other numerous essays critiquing Wills at the Claremont website.