DESCRIPTION

"[B]efore there was Ronald Reagan, there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry Goldwater there was National Review, and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind."-George Will

William F. Buckley Jr., was the popular host of one of television’s longest-running programs, "Firing Line," and the author of more than 50 books, but "his greatest achievement was making conservatism-not just electoral Republicanism but conservatism as a system of ideas-respectable in liberal post-World War II America."

Buckley started National Review magazine in 1955, at the age of 29, and quickly became known as the standard-bearer of American conservatism, promoting the fusion of traditional conservatives and libertarians. His twice-weekly syndicated column, "On the Right," was distributed to more than 320 newspapers across the country. Buckley inspired and incited three generations of conservatives-and counting-uniting anti-Communists, traditionalists, constitutionalists, and enthusiasts for free markets under one tent.