A Torch Kept Lit by William F. Buckley
Conservative commentator, founder of the National Review and talk show host of Firing Line, William F. Buckley was
above all a keen, often wry, observer, even judge, of people. In this collection of obituaries and eulogies
(edited by Fox News’s Washington correspondent James Rosen) Buckley recaps and
recounts lives of people, and the effect they had on others and others’
reactions to them, in encapsulated essays, sometimes only half a page. Divided into six sections, Presidents,
Family, Arts and Letters, Generals, Spies, and Statesmen, Friends, and Nemeses,
no one is spared. Entries range from the
[mostly] obscure, Rosalyn Tureck, Buckley’s favorite performer, a classical
pianist and harpsichordist, to some of the most famous deceased, John Lennon
and Princess Diana. The introduction
essays to each piece is as keenly observed as the eulogies themselves. One has to wonder what eulogy or obituary of
himself Buckley would have chosen for this collection.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for
this review.
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