Current reading: Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement, by Richard Brookhiser. Fascinating, for anyone who's had a serious interest or involvement with conservative journalism. I did not know (and don't know if it was previously public) that Buckley had tapped Brookhiser (in his early 20s, no less) to be Buckley's successor at National Review, and later rescinded the decision. It makes for an interesting what-if. It also helps explain an aspect of the book's tone -- that it reads like Brookhiser regrets not having accomplished more, although his career has been, by any reasonable standard, quite successful. Then again, being unreasonable in one's self-expectations could be the key to success.
I may have more on the book once I've finished reading it. For my own, not particularly dramatic, encounter with WFB, see here. Also, many years earlier I saw Buckley and wife in the audience of Breaking the Code, the play about the WWII genius Alan Turing, which had been advertised as a spy thriller but was primarily about Turing being persecuted as a gay man. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Buckleys' seats were empty after intermission.
