The Reagan I Knew - Softcover

William F. Buckley Jr. (1925 2008) was one of the intellectual leaders of the right for more than fifty years. The founder and editor-in-chief of National Review and host of Firing Line, he was also the author of over fifty works of fiction and nonfiction. His syndicated column, On the Right,” began in 1962 and appeared in newspapers around the country for decades. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush in 1991.

Buckley’s final book—he died while writing it—is quite deceptive. It appears to be a slight, even inconsequential chronicle of the author’s long friendship with Ronald Reagan, told through correspondence between the two men and also between the author and Reagan’s wife, Nancy. The correspondence, which spans the period 1965–98 (with one final letter, written in 2005), seems on the surface to be concerned almost entirely with mundane matters: thank-you letters written after a get-together, apologies for missed birthdays, etc. But look beneath the surface, and you’ll find a revealing portrait of two men: Reagan, a driven political contender who never gave up his decency or his sense of family, and Buckley, a tireless Reagan booster who used his many public forums to promote Reagan’s political agenda. It is also deeply fascinating to observe these two friends disagree vehemently over issues of great political import—for example, the future of the Panama Canal treaties—but they do so with civility and respect. That may have been one of Reagan’s greatest gifts: his ability to separate political and personal matters, to disagree with someone while remaining respectful and friendly. It would be easy, if you were skimming this book, to miss most of its subtleties. But it is, in truth, a deeply subtle account, full of insights not only into Ronald Reagan but also into William Buckley, his longtime friend, supporter, and (occasional) critic. --David Pitt