First published 2009
Reid Buckley opens his family memoir in Mexico, where his father William F. Buckley Sr. built an oil fortune through determination and shrewd business sense. The youngest of ten children, Reid watches his parents raise a brood destined to reshape American conservative thought. His mother Alöise, a New Orleans Southern belle, and his self-made tycoon father instill values of hard work, religious faith, and intellectual rigor in their children. The family moves through an international landscape, their unconventional upbringing marked by fierce debates around the dinner table and a household that prizes wit as much as principle. Reid observes his siblings grow into national figures: William Jr. becomes a prominent columnist and commentator, Christopher emerges as a bestselling satirist, and James wins a Senate seat. Through candid anecdotes and family stories, Reid reveals how this remarkable clan became the backbone of modern conservative politics and culture, their influence extending far beyond their Texas roots.
Genres: family, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Mexico, New Orleans, Texas
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
480 pages · Paperback · Threshold Editions