Brothers No More

by William F. Buckley Jr.

Threading its way through some of the most significant events in modern american history and grappling with issues raised by the FDR legacy, William F. Buckley’s first novel without Blackford Oakes is “a moral thriller, a story of human frailty, testing, and redemption of the spirit” (Baltimore Sun) that “aspires to genuine greatness” (Washington Post).

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

William 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.

Reviews

[Geo Forman · Rating 2 out of 5]

good enough to finish, is all I can say

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was different for my usual historical fiction read. It took me a third of the book to really get into it. The character of Henry was well done.

[Noah Tiihonen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, just wish it was more focused on the war.

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

1995.
I had known William F. Buckley [b 1925] because Mom watched his news/talk show on TV. A very intelligent conservative, in contrast to the nincompoops these days...

I hadn't known he wrote fiction at all, and just picked this up at a used book sale. It reads easily.
Cliche rampant.
The main character fits a stereotype who has starred in many many novels already, and perhaps is a very real phenomenon -- the charming good-looking guy who winds everybody around his little finger and is used to getting his own way, at whatever price, by whatever means, and always getting away with it.
I'm not sure Buckley really got deep inside him.
The other main characters are total saints, so not at all believable.
So it's a black-and-white tale, and pretty good if that's what you like.
One reader thought the stuff about the Vietnam War seemed out of place, but I thought it was a pretty good description, at least of the effectiveness of the guerrilla warfare of the North.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read three or four of William F. Buckley's other novels (all Blackford Oakes, CIA stories) and really enjoyed them. They had Buckley's puckish sense of humor (particularly Saving the Queen) and were good, light thrillers.

This book didn't have the same appeal. Written in the mid-90's, it just gave me the feeling that Buckley was "cranking it out." He included some historical chapters on Vietnam and they just felt like filler, not really integral to the plot or tone of the book.

Buckley has always been on my list of those folks I'd like to sit next to at a dinner party, but his charm, erudition and sparkle were missing from this novel.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, though its last 50 pages were what made me appraise it as highly

[David Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of plot twists that are unexpected. Well written and good character development. Enjoyable. And WFB makes a cameo appearance in his own novel