William F. Buckley

Did you know?!

1. A first

   Buckley hosted the public affairs television show Firing Line from 1966 to 1999, with 1,429 episodes. No other public affairs show in U.S. television history had one host for as long.

2. Behind the camera

   Buckley started National Review in 1955, when not many publications focused on conservative commentary. He was the magazine's editor-in-chief until 1990.

3. Big break

   Buckley said the attention his book received came from its "Introduction" by John Chamberlain, and that this writer changed the course of his life. He described the Life magazine editorial writer as acting out of "reckless generosity."

4. Behind the camera

   In 1975, Buckley said Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal inspired him to try writing a spy novel, and that he would enjoy taking a crack at that kind of book.

5. Behind the camera

   Buckley's first computer, a Zenith Z-89, arrived in 1982, and he stayed devoted to the WordStar word processor, putting it on each new PC and using it for his final novel.