First published 2025
Sam Tanenhaus presents the complete life of William F. Buckley Jr, the architect of modern American conservatism. Buckley himself selected Tanenhaus as his biographer a decade before his 2008 death, providing unlimited access to private papers, personal interviews, and his inner circle. The biography traces Buckley's trajectory from his explosive 1951 debut with God and Man at Yale through his transformation into a cultural and political powerhouse. Tanenhaus examines Buckley's public roles as National Review founder, syndicated columnist, television host, and mentor to Ronald Reagan, alongside his private world of CIA operations, complex relationships with figures like Richard Nixon and Howard Hunt, and his final years wrestling with a fracturing conservative movement over AIDS, cultural battles, and the Iraq War. This investigation required over twenty years of research into Buckley's vast influence and the hidden mechanisms of conservative politics. The book delivers both the public champion who elevated conservative thought to mainstream prominence and the private man navigating the contradictions of his movement's evolution.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, american, politics, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: biography, historical-figures
Period: 1951, 2008
1040 pages · Hardcover · Random House