Gleanings from an Unplanned Life: An Annotated Oral History

by James L. Buckley

United States senator, under secretary of state, federal appellate judge. James L. Buckley tells the story of his improbable transformation from a highly private businessman/lawyer into his "unplanned life" as probably the only American now alive who has served in a high office in each branch of the federal government. This thoughtful conservative provides an insider's insights into many of the critical problems that continue to face our country. His interesting, poignant, and wryly amusing memoir recalls the unusual life of this member of one of America's most remarkable families.

308 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2006

Reviews

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

One cant be interested in third party candidacies in the United States without reading about how the New York Conservative party (still exists and is the third largest party in the state) snagged a federal Senate seat in the 1970s, this wasbr repeated against until the next century with Joe Lieberman retaining his seat when having to run as an independent candidate after having lost the Dem nomination. But I digress.

I realized how much more Senator Buckley did than just having served as a Senator. He was a successful international businessman, served in World War two, was an environmentalist, served in the Reagan administration dealing with international diplomacy, oversaw Radio Free Europe for a time, and then was a federal judge on the DV circuit to boot. Each one of these can be worthy of it's own book, yet he fit all these experiences, in interview format (mostly) into one book.

[Brendan Steinhauser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best book I've read recently, but still somewhat interesting.