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Getting It Right
Getting It Right is the story of Kara and Alex, half-sisters who have never met?one the product of an abusive foster-care setting, the other of dysfunctional privilege. Haunted by crippling memories, Kara falls for the wrong men, tries to help her foster-care siblings suffering from PTSD, and longs for the father and half-sister she only knows from a photograph. Alex, meanwhile, struggles to keep her younger sisters out of trouble, her mother sane, and her marketing business afloat.
Now Alex has a new from his hospital bed, her father tasks her with finding Kara, the mixed-race child he abandoned. Alex is stunned to learn of Kara's existence but reluctantly agrees.
To make things more complicated, Kara loves a married man whom the FBI is pursuing for insider trading. When Alex eventually finds her half-sister, she becomes embroiled in Kara's dangers, which threaten to drag them both down. If Kara doesn't help the FBI, she could face prosecution and possible incarceration, and if Alex can't persuade Kara to meet their father, she will let him down during the final days of his life.
Set in Harlem, the Bronx, and the wealthy community of Bedford, New York, during two weeks in March, Getting It Right explores grit and resilience, evolving definitions of race and family, and the ultimate power of redemption and forgiveness.
Now Alex has a new from his hospital bed, her father tasks her with finding Kara, the mixed-race child he abandoned. Alex is stunned to learn of Kara's existence but reluctantly agrees.
To make things more complicated, Kara loves a married man whom the FBI is pursuing for insider trading. When Alex eventually finds her half-sister, she becomes embroiled in Kara's dangers, which threaten to drag them both down. If Kara doesn't help the FBI, she could face prosecution and possible incarceration, and if Alex can't persuade Kara to meet their father, she will let him down during the final days of his life.
Set in Harlem, the Bronx, and the wealthy community of Bedford, New York, during two weeks in March, Getting It Right explores grit and resilience, evolving definitions of race and family, and the ultimate power of redemption and forgiveness.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
William F. Buckley Jr.
183 books340 followersWilliam Frank Buckley, Jr. was an American author and conservative commentator. He founded the political magazine National Review in 1955, hosted 1,429 episodes of the television show Firing Line from 1966 until 1999, and was a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist. His writing style was famed for its erudition, wit, and use of uncommon words.
Buckley was "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century," according to George H. Nash, a historian of the modern American conservative movement. "For an entire generation he was the preeminent voice of American conservatism and its first great ecumenical figure." Buckley's primary intellectual achievement was to fuse traditional American political conservatism with economic libertarianism and anti-communism, laying the groundwork for the modern American conservatism of US Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and US President Ronald Reagan.
Buckley came on the public scene with his critical book God and Man at Yale (1951); among over fifty further books on writing, speaking, history, politics and sailing, were a series of novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. Buckley referred to himself "on and off" as either libertarian or conservative. He resided in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut, and often signed his name as "WFB." He was a practicing Catholic, regularly attending the traditional Latin Mass in Connecticut.
Buckley was "arguably the most important public intellectual in the United States in the past half century," according to George H. Nash, a historian of the modern American conservative movement. "For an entire generation he was the preeminent voice of American conservatism and its first great ecumenical figure." Buckley's primary intellectual achievement was to fuse traditional American political conservatism with economic libertarianism and anti-communism, laying the groundwork for the modern American conservatism of US Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and US President Ronald Reagan.
Buckley came on the public scene with his critical book God and Man at Yale (1951); among over fifty further books on writing, speaking, history, politics and sailing, were a series of novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. Buckley referred to himself "on and off" as either libertarian or conservative. He resided in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut, and often signed his name as "WFB." He was a practicing Catholic, regularly attending the traditional Latin Mass in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 30, 2019
I read this several years ago and my attention was brought back to it by the novel I'm currently reading. I'd say this is a good book to read if you are interested in some of the history of America's political past and paths that have brought us to the place we find ourselves today.
This of course a fictional version of history but you get a relatively accurate look at some of the basic ideas of the groups discussed and of course the people involved. Of course these are subjective looks but still worth while if you're interested. In the book I'm reading now the heavily fictionalized version of history shows more of the author's ideas that it does history. Here we get at least an attempt to show how the movements involved in the story were not as far out or strange as many view them now. They did however (especially in the case of The John Birch Society) end up the victim of their own hard line views and tendency to run off in odd directions.
So I'd say if you can open your mind and realize that this is fiction, I'd recommend it.
This of course a fictional version of history but you get a relatively accurate look at some of the basic ideas of the groups discussed and of course the people involved. Of course these are subjective looks but still worth while if you're interested. In the book I'm reading now the heavily fictionalized version of history shows more of the author's ideas that it does history. Here we get at least an attempt to show how the movements involved in the story were not as far out or strange as many view them now. They did however (especially in the case of The John Birch Society) end up the victim of their own hard line views and tendency to run off in odd directions.
So I'd say if you can open your mind and realize that this is fiction, I'd recommend it.
December 31, 2013
This novel was a clever idea. WFB portrayed two historical tangents from conventional conservatism by having the reader see them through the eyes of devotees who eventually are disillusioned by the shortcomings of these philosophies. One was a member of the John Birch Society and one was a staff member who worked for Ayn Rand and helped her in the promotion of Objectivism. Both characters were very likable and Buckley has them fall in love and grapple with each other's political and philosophical perspectives. It is anti-Communist and pro-Capitalist throughout, but shows how Robert Welch and Ayn Rand both threatened to ruin the gains being made by more mainline right-wingers like Barry Goldwater and Buckley himself. I'm sure the author had fun showing the ugly side of both of these extremists, because both had despised WFB as the embodiment of a conservatism that demanded that faith and reason both operate in unison without abandoning the other. (Which is the fault of each of these weird Uncle members of the conservative family.)
The novel begins with the failed uprising to throw off Soviet influence in Hungary and ends shortly after Goldwater's defeat. The novel was strong and was a great story that kept me captivated until the Goldwater era when the history seems to out-shout the story. If the whole book had kept the pace and interest of the first two-thirds, I would have given it the full five stars.
The novel begins with the failed uprising to throw off Soviet influence in Hungary and ends shortly after Goldwater's defeat. The novel was strong and was a great story that kept me captivated until the Goldwater era when the history seems to out-shout the story. If the whole book had kept the pace and interest of the first two-thirds, I would have given it the full five stars.
March 6, 2013
STERLING.
“My, how they loved to talk about things, the Randians.”
I absolutely (guiltily?) loved this ‘novel’ and can only wonder why it took me ten years, after its publication, to discover it.
Listening to GETTING IT RIGHT: A NOVEL, by William F. Buckley, Jr., was like listening to a highlight reel of one of the most vital and fascinating decades of my life (mid-1950s to mid-1960s). Those were ‘heady’ times, peopled by ‘bigger-than-life’ characters, and rife with ‘earth-shattering’ events. All of which, now, in retrospect, seems so vaguely quaint. Who was it that said, “We never did need to take any of it seriously, did we?”
Recommendation: Hungarian Uprising, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs, ^John Birch Society, ^Nathaniel Branden Institute, ^Objectivism, ^Libertarian Movement, Robert Welch, Edwin Walker, ^Ayn Rand, ^Nathaniel Branden, ^Barbara Branden, John Hospers, Murray Rothbard, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Madame Ngo, Barry Goldwarter, ^Karl Hess—^some of which, and with whom, I was fortunate to come into brief personal contact, during those and subsequent years—if you harbor even a tinge of nostalgia for, or fascination with, any of these, you will probably enjoy this tale. Else, maybe not; but you should.
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”—Barry M. Goldwater
MP3 Book, by Blackstone Audio, Inc. on loan from http://overdrive.colapublib.org
“My, how they loved to talk about things, the Randians.”
I absolutely (guiltily?) loved this ‘novel’ and can only wonder why it took me ten years, after its publication, to discover it.
Listening to GETTING IT RIGHT: A NOVEL, by William F. Buckley, Jr., was like listening to a highlight reel of one of the most vital and fascinating decades of my life (mid-1950s to mid-1960s). Those were ‘heady’ times, peopled by ‘bigger-than-life’ characters, and rife with ‘earth-shattering’ events. All of which, now, in retrospect, seems so vaguely quaint. Who was it that said, “We never did need to take any of it seriously, did we?”
Recommendation: Hungarian Uprising, Cuban Missile Crisis, Bay of Pigs, ^John Birch Society, ^Nathaniel Branden Institute, ^Objectivism, ^Libertarian Movement, Robert Welch, Edwin Walker, ^Ayn Rand, ^Nathaniel Branden, ^Barbara Branden, John Hospers, Murray Rothbard, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Madame Ngo, Barry Goldwarter, ^Karl Hess—^some of which, and with whom, I was fortunate to come into brief personal contact, during those and subsequent years—if you harbor even a tinge of nostalgia for, or fascination with, any of these, you will probably enjoy this tale. Else, maybe not; but you should.
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”—Barry M. Goldwater
MP3 Book, by Blackstone Audio, Inc. on loan from http://overdrive.colapublib.org
October 20, 2012
Here is William Buckley's fictionalized telling of the beginnings of the modern conservative movement, and there is no better guide than Buckley. Buckley shaped the modern conservative movement by bringing together a collection of different groups - economic libertarians, anti-big government people, anti-communists, etc. He in part did this with the creation of his magazine, the National Review. With the magazine he provided a home; often a conflict filled home, for these different ideas work work, finally developing a fusion of ideas. Further, during this historic time he also cleansed the conservative movement of two of the more radical elements of the right - the Ayn Rand and her Objectivism (The cult of Ayn Rand) and the fiercely anti-Communist John Birch Society, lead by Robert Welch. This is his telling of this process.
Though a novel, Buckley saying in his introduction..."there is no misrepresentation in this novel....These are the thoughts and declarations, the acts....of the protagonists..." I can not think of anyone else who had an upfront seat this this story. And Buckley clearly has fun telling this story.
For those interested in 20th century politics, particularly, conservative politics, this is a fun read. Buckley's wit and insight enliven the book, offering a personal perspective. At times I think he is settling old scores, further enticing the reader.
Though a novel, Buckley saying in his introduction..."there is no misrepresentation in this novel....These are the thoughts and declarations, the acts....of the protagonists..." I can not think of anyone else who had an upfront seat this this story. And Buckley clearly has fun telling this story.
For those interested in 20th century politics, particularly, conservative politics, this is a fun read. Buckley's wit and insight enliven the book, offering a personal perspective. At times I think he is settling old scores, further enticing the reader.
February 19, 2020
Buckley's Getting It Right is an intimate yet critical history of modern conservatism in which Buckley devotes special attention to two influential movements at the margins of the conservative movement, the John Birch Society (JBS) and Objectivism (i.e. Ayn Rand's moral philosophy). Interestingly, Buckley spins an engaging yarn weaving the intellectual and romantic maturation of two young adults, Woodroe Raynor and Leonora Goldstein, involved in the JBS and Objectivism, respectively, through bonafide historical events (e.g. the Hungarian Revolutions of 1956 and JFK's assassination) and actors (e.g. Ayn Rand, Robert Welch, Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, and Bill Buckley himself).
Ostensibly, Buckley uses his narrative to deliver a balanced and sophisticated critique of Birchers (whom he very publicly and vehemently criticized, dedicating a special issue of his magazine National Review to denouncing JBS) and Rand's philosophy. Buckley does not pull punches when it comes to Welch and Rand or even Eisenhower for that matter. He portray Welch and his extreme acolytes as reckless and paranoid kooks, whose reflexive and obsessive anti-communism caused more harm to the noble, intelligent anti-communist cause than communist sympathizers. Whereas Rand is satirized mercilessly as a petulant, concupiscent egoist who conducts a salon more like a cult leader than an intellectual and that her personal foibles were an outgrowth of a bankrupt moral philosophy. Via these characterizations and the events of the plot, Buckley makes his case for a mainstream and intellectually rigorous conservatism.
Although Buckley's social commentary and implicit political philosophy is persuasive and packaged entertainingly, his ultimate judgments of JBS and Objectivism should have been calibrated differently given the benefit of his historical perspective (Getting It Right was published in 2003). Buckely's novel goes a little easy some aspects of JBS's reactionary politics and errs in its especially ferocious attack on the secularism embedded in Rand's Objectivism, especially because the criticism of Objectivism often rely on obvious personal failing of Ayn Rand the human being. However, Buckley's failure to embrace Rand's moral defense of capitalism is his biggest oversight. Buckley most poignant historical and political observation are conveyed in his retelling of the Goldwater candidacy, which readers, especially those on the Left, should pay close attention to given our current political climate.
Beyond the novelty of the historical fictionalization and the implicit yet weighty commentary built into the subtext, Buckley's prose style is plain but exacting and clever. He does not draw particularly vivid or introspective characters, but he masterfully moves them throughout the landscape of American history and Republican politics. Americans need more novels like Getting It Right for past and present epochs, and America needs more intellectual like Buckley.
Ostensibly, Buckley uses his narrative to deliver a balanced and sophisticated critique of Birchers (whom he very publicly and vehemently criticized, dedicating a special issue of his magazine National Review to denouncing JBS) and Rand's philosophy. Buckley does not pull punches when it comes to Welch and Rand or even Eisenhower for that matter. He portray Welch and his extreme acolytes as reckless and paranoid kooks, whose reflexive and obsessive anti-communism caused more harm to the noble, intelligent anti-communist cause than communist sympathizers. Whereas Rand is satirized mercilessly as a petulant, concupiscent egoist who conducts a salon more like a cult leader than an intellectual and that her personal foibles were an outgrowth of a bankrupt moral philosophy. Via these characterizations and the events of the plot, Buckley makes his case for a mainstream and intellectually rigorous conservatism.
Although Buckley's social commentary and implicit political philosophy is persuasive and packaged entertainingly, his ultimate judgments of JBS and Objectivism should have been calibrated differently given the benefit of his historical perspective (Getting It Right was published in 2003). Buckely's novel goes a little easy some aspects of JBS's reactionary politics and errs in its especially ferocious attack on the secularism embedded in Rand's Objectivism, especially because the criticism of Objectivism often rely on obvious personal failing of Ayn Rand the human being. However, Buckley's failure to embrace Rand's moral defense of capitalism is his biggest oversight. Buckley most poignant historical and political observation are conveyed in his retelling of the Goldwater candidacy, which readers, especially those on the Left, should pay close attention to given our current political climate.
Beyond the novelty of the historical fictionalization and the implicit yet weighty commentary built into the subtext, Buckley's prose style is plain but exacting and clever. He does not draw particularly vivid or introspective characters, but he masterfully moves them throughout the landscape of American history and Republican politics. Americans need more novels like Getting It Right for past and present epochs, and America needs more intellectual like Buckley.
February 25, 2024
Buckley uses the fictional device of two young lovers who witness two odd branches of the Conservative movement grow, wither, and die. From his perch at The National Review, Buckley certainly was in on everyone's dirt. And while he had the good sense not to turn the Review into purely a gossip sheet, it must have been tempting. Here, he lets us in on secrets he'd kept pretty much to himself for thirty years.
One branch of this story follows a young woman into the inner circle of Ayn Rand. Rand's books make her a cult figure, and this power drives her a bit nuts. She rejects anyone who will not submit to her absolute authority, and she takes her brightest star as her lover, despite the fact they are both married and the 25-year age difference between them. When the affair dies out as she enters her late 50s. He takes a younger lover, and Rand loses it. I knew most of this from a television movie.
The young woman's boyfriend, later lover, then fiance, witnesses the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the birth of the John Birch Society, works for General Edwin Walker, and gets caught up in the Ole Miss Riot of 1962. I didn't know anything about the John Birch Society, Walker, or the Ole Miss Riot, so here the novel is very effective in teaching history. Buckley goes out of his way to make it clear he does not abide by the Birchers backdoor racism, that is, racism is OK if a particular state favors it, as that makes it a states' rights issue. No wonder the Birchers were thought of as malicious crackpots.
Buckley offers one long scene humanizing Barry Goldwater, whom Buckley knew personally. Many of the real people in this book were known by Buckley, and I would say he is evenhanded in portraying them, giving us a sense of them as real people.
Buckley reminds us that in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of JFK, the mass media, including PBS were blaming the killing on the Right Wing. There were several acts of violence against Republicans in the days following the killing. I had no idea that had happened. This sort of history is included as Buckley doesn't want us to forget.
Buckley also includes one scene in which Walker is testifying before the Warren Commission. I read this as Buckley saying he did not approve of the Commission's handling of the investigation. Three leads that deserve investigation are mentioned, and one is left with the impression they are purposely not being investigated for fear that if Oswald is tied to the Russians, it may lead to WWIII.
The book was not what I expected, and I enjoyed it very much.
Terrific narrator!
One branch of this story follows a young woman into the inner circle of Ayn Rand. Rand's books make her a cult figure, and this power drives her a bit nuts. She rejects anyone who will not submit to her absolute authority, and she takes her brightest star as her lover, despite the fact they are both married and the 25-year age difference between them. When the affair dies out as she enters her late 50s. He takes a younger lover, and Rand loses it. I knew most of this from a television movie.
The young woman's boyfriend, later lover, then fiance, witnesses the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the birth of the John Birch Society, works for General Edwin Walker, and gets caught up in the Ole Miss Riot of 1962. I didn't know anything about the John Birch Society, Walker, or the Ole Miss Riot, so here the novel is very effective in teaching history. Buckley goes out of his way to make it clear he does not abide by the Birchers backdoor racism, that is, racism is OK if a particular state favors it, as that makes it a states' rights issue. No wonder the Birchers were thought of as malicious crackpots.
Buckley offers one long scene humanizing Barry Goldwater, whom Buckley knew personally. Many of the real people in this book were known by Buckley, and I would say he is evenhanded in portraying them, giving us a sense of them as real people.
Buckley reminds us that in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of JFK, the mass media, including PBS were blaming the killing on the Right Wing. There were several acts of violence against Republicans in the days following the killing. I had no idea that had happened. This sort of history is included as Buckley doesn't want us to forget.
Buckley also includes one scene in which Walker is testifying before the Warren Commission. I read this as Buckley saying he did not approve of the Commission's handling of the investigation. Three leads that deserve investigation are mentioned, and one is left with the impression they are purposely not being investigated for fear that if Oswald is tied to the Russians, it may lead to WWIII.
The book was not what I expected, and I enjoyed it very much.
Terrific narrator!
October 23, 2018
Historic "fiction," but with enough quotes from real people, who are characters in the "novel," to have one toe over the line into history. A fascinating view of the struggle for control in the political right during the Cold War.
August 29, 2017
Not a Great Novel in the Henry James tradition, but illuminating of the times and the ideas. And WFB's portrait of Ayn Rand is hilarious. Worth a read.
June 28, 2023
Interesting history
April 26, 2017
Getting it Right is a political history disguised as a love story, both tales told amid the radically shifting political climate of America's 1960s, as Americans reacted to the growing global power of the Soviet Union and the increasing role of government in their own lives. Woodroe Raynor is an earnest young Mormon whose narrow escape from Russian soldiers invading Hungary cements his contempt for the Soviet Union, who finds similarly zealous spirits in the nascent John Birch Society. Leonora Goldstein is a bright young Jewish girl in the employ of the Objectivists, who adopts Ayn Rand as her mentor. Through the tumultous years of Kennedy and LBJ, the two test their ideas against one enough, struggling to build a relationship on their mutual conservatism despite different values. The real stars of the novel are the historical characters for whom Raynor and Leonora are mere appendages, including General Edwin Walker, Ayn Rand, JFK, and Barry Goldwater. Buckley incorporates a lot of historically-derived quotations into their dialogue, which makes some passages seem overly formal, but such casual pompousness would not be out of character for Ayn Rand. The story can't help but be personal for the late Buckley, a central figure in the movement, and one whose National Review denounced both the Birchers and Objectivists in his day. Buckley's highbrow scorn for the paranoid and self-impressed fringe is initially dampened in the novel. Both of its central characters initially find a world of meaning in their respective organizations, rising to high positions within them throughout the Kennedy administration, but by the reign of LBJ both have reconsidered as the founders reveal themselves to be utterly mental. The plot climaxes in the failed Goldwater challenge for the presidency, an election in which Johnson played on the public's fears that Goldwater's extremism would lead to global war. The famous "daisy" commercial isn't mentioned here, but the crackup of both the Birchers and Objectivists takes the wind out of the more moderate conservatives' sails. It's a quite a piece of work, an extended debate about political philosophy enmeshed in a lively retelling of the 1960s, a period which contributes action scenes in the form of assassinations and rioting. If the specter of Ayn Rand talking can be endured, most readers of a moderate bent will find this engaging.
Related:
Radicals for Capitalism, on "the Objectivist crackup".
http://thisweekatthelibrary.blogspot....
The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk
Related:
Radicals for Capitalism, on "the Objectivist crackup".
http://thisweekatthelibrary.blogspot....
The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk
August 16, 2011
GETTING IT RIGHT is historical fiction and more historical than fiction, hence, only two stars. To understand or have the determination to wade through to the end, a reader likely needs to have a significant knowledge of the time period in which the story is set.
Having lived through the 60's, I am familiar with many of the names (William Buckley, Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Robert Welch, Ayn Rand, Edwin Walker, President John Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, President Johnson, etc.), events (Cuban missile crisis, communist expansion in Europe and Asia, Vietnam War, etc.), and groups (the Warren Commission, the John Birch Society, Randists or Objectivists, Nathaniel Branden Institute, etc.)through which the two main characters are woven. There is little explanation; you, the reader, are responsible to know much.
The book describes the implosion of Ayn Rand's personal life--although not her influence--and the decline of the John Birch Society. I did not know these things. I was compelled to seek other sources to confirm what is written in the book and for further information. I believe the book is historically accurate and was interesting to me.
Having lived through the 60's, I am familiar with many of the names (William Buckley, Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Robert Welch, Ayn Rand, Edwin Walker, President John Kennedy, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, President Johnson, etc.), events (Cuban missile crisis, communist expansion in Europe and Asia, Vietnam War, etc.), and groups (the Warren Commission, the John Birch Society, Randists or Objectivists, Nathaniel Branden Institute, etc.)through which the two main characters are woven. There is little explanation; you, the reader, are responsible to know much.
The book describes the implosion of Ayn Rand's personal life--although not her influence--and the decline of the John Birch Society. I did not know these things. I was compelled to seek other sources to confirm what is written in the book and for further information. I believe the book is historically accurate and was interesting to me.
March 5, 2008
I thought I'd read something of William F. Buckley Jr's since he recently passed away. The book is a fascinating story about the beginnings of neoconservativism (written as a novel but using real happenings and people). Who knew Ayn Rand was such a crazy slut??? (That Ann Coulter woman must be channeling Ayn Rand.) I always liked Buckley though...he was a sailor, how bad could he have been?
I learned a lot about the John Birch Society -- Oswald tried to kill a Bircher before he killed Kennedy? Confusing. Conservatives are really confusing.
I learned a lot about the John Birch Society -- Oswald tried to kill a Bircher before he killed Kennedy? Confusing. Conservatives are really confusing.
April 9, 2016
Much easier read than my last one. I wanted to do a little bit more investigation into Objectivism, and I figured that reading about the clash between Ayn Rand and National Review would be a good place to go. I have to admit, however, that Buckley is not as good of a fiction writer as he is with nonfiction or essays. His characters are not developed well, and more parts of the conflict could have been covered. However, there is virtue in brevity, and I still found it entertaining and stimulating. Hoping to read more of Buckley's nonfiction work in the future!
Read
November 22, 2016A historical fictional book, exposing what a moron Ann Ryand was, with dictating to her husband and her lover's wife: We are having an affair, but you can't tell anyone, it would hurt the "objectivist" movement. The objectivist movement is code for - "Live as a selfish pig."
She seems to believe that if everyone is a selfish pig like her., the world would be grand. She despised altruism and of course, God.
It is a very good example of what a disaster our lives are when we push God away, and claim we need no one else.
She seems to believe that if everyone is a selfish pig like her., the world would be grand. She despised altruism and of course, God.
It is a very good example of what a disaster our lives are when we push God away, and claim we need no one else.
March 25, 2009
I felt like the ash tray on front of the book. I wanted to cry it was so bad.
It was like watching your favorite sports figure come out of retirement and suck.
Except Buckley never retired. Read this only if you feel you must. Then let me know if I am being a judgmental jerk.
Then ill burn you with my cig.
It was like watching your favorite sports figure come out of retirement and suck.
Except Buckley never retired. Read this only if you feel you must. Then let me know if I am being a judgmental jerk.
Then ill burn you with my cig.
September 25, 2015
"Getting it Right" is a novel, but its protagonists are living in the sixties, and the juxtaposition of the John Birch Society and Ayn Rand's Objectivist movement are very detailed. I lived in the sixties, but I was apolitical at the time, and was unaware of serious issues. Today I am feeling quite intellectual!
July 31, 2012
Historical fiction from WFB. I knew he read the Birchers and Randians out of the party when he was at top of conservative movement in 1960s but I didn't know why. This gives some of that story, albeit in a fictionalized telling.
February 21, 2009
What was the point of having a Mormon main character? Just to have a conservative? He swears, drinks, has premarital sex, and maybe even smokes, if I remember correctly.
August 15, 2009
Good look into the forming political conservative movement in the 50s, avoiding conspiracy kooks and arrogant intellectuals.
Read
June 26, 2010it's Buckley-centric, but I bet it ain't bad history.
November 24, 2012
Not one of his best.
June 13, 2013
Listened to this book: interesting example of historical fiction joinery.
February 3, 2015
ponderous, pretentious - kind of hated it but not totally
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews