On The Firing Line; The Public Life of Our Public Figures

New York: Random House, 1989. First Trade Edition [stated]. Presumed first printing. Hardcover. Good/Good. Jan Lukas (Jacket photos). xxxix, [1], 533, [3] pages. Illustrations. An Alphabetical List of Guest on Firing Line 1966-1988. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Inscribed by author on bookplate on fep. Introduction by Alistair Cooke. "Ding" through rear DJ and into back board. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 - February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual and conservative author and commentator. In 1955, Buckley founded National Review, a magazine that stimulated the conservative movement in the late-20th century United States. Buckley hosted 1,429 episodes of the public affairs television show Firing Line (1966-1999), the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host. Buckley wrote God and Man at Yale (1951) and more than fifty other books on diverse topics, including writing, speaking, history, politics, and sailing. He also penned a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Derived from a Kirkus review: Extracts from Buckley's Firing Line program, plus much sparkling new commentary. The interview extracts, drawn from the show's 24-years of files, include joustings with such figures as Norman Mailer, Barry Goldwater, Timothy Leafy, Muhammed Ali, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, George Wallace, and George McGovern. Buckley groups the interviews into subject categories--"The Sixties," "The Impossible Guest" , "Crime and Punishment," etc., each introduced and interwoven with retrospective reflection. Buckley also shows his less astringent side by tackling cultural subjects--e.g., harpsichordist Rosalyn Tureck's thoughts on live vs. recorded performance--and his less dogmatic side, e.g., declaring that, in his fight for conscientious- objector status, Muhammed Ali was a victim of the establishment. Vintage Buckley, sure to preach to the converted and outrage the skeptical, executed with maximum charm.