Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography (with CD) (Hardcover)
by William F. Buckley Jr. (Author)
amazon.com
Review By Timothy J. Reed
My image of William F. Buckley has him in his "Firing Line" posture, tightly wound, legs crossed, arms folded, head back and pencil eraser resting on his lower lip. A visual metaphor that the "pen (or pencil) is mightier than the sword". Buckley the writer-thinker who, too many of us, resides on the pantheon of conservativism with Reagan, Friedman, and Hayek has assembled his autobiography, Miles Gone By, from roughly fifty articles he has written over a lifetime. This format provides an interesting portrait because this autobiography is not written by someone approaching eighty, but by a writer moving through life.
And what a life!
He writes at length of his love of the sea and the idiosyncrasies of his various yachts, skiing Utah with Milton Friedman or the Alps with Roger Moore. His unsuccessful run for mayor of New York City, and landmark book God and Man at Yale, that describes liberal (progressive, socialist) influence in the curriculum and the major stir it caused at Yale and among the chattering class. His founding of National Review, etiquette at cocktail parties and adventures in his jointly owned (with fellow students) two-seater airplane, his childhood as one of ten children living in Connecticut and Great Britain and relationship with his parents. His wit and sense of humor are throughout the book and makes it very enjoyable to read.
The psychoanalysis can be left to the biographers; in Miles Gone By, Buckley has assembled a mosaic that, as you stand back, allows you to truly appreciate the man, his principles, courage and contributions.
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