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String of Pearls: On the News Beat in New York and Paris
Priscilla Buckley is probably known for her long and admired tenure as managing editor of the conservative political journal National Review , founded in the 1950s by her brother William F. Buckley Jr. But in String of Pearls we meet a different Priscilla--young Pitts Buckley, just out of Smith, eager for the next step up from the college paper to "real" journalism. There she is, in her proper wool suit, her cashmere sweater, and in her string of pearls, notebook at the ready, United Press Radio News Department's fledgling employee.
The war in Europe was winding to its close. For Buckley, the atmosphere in UP's New York offices was a heady one; the journalists worked furiously but had time to play practical jokes, stage mock battles on the newsroom floor, and treasure the funny stories that haste and tension engender. Young Priscilla fit right in; she made friends, wrote copy for the reporters to read on the air ("Keep the sentences short!"), and joined in the fun and frequent hilarity. It was a demanding, sometimes heartbreaking, and always vibrant period.
The author was pleased a few years later to be offered a job at the Paris bureau of United Press. the young writer who has spent some of her girlhood years living in prewar France with her parents and her numerous siblings found a different Paris a war's scars of the prolonged occupation were everywhere. It was a poignant time, but for Priscilla and her friends there was laughter and comic misadventures as well, and she shares them, along with varied characters gathered at United Press at the time, with us.
Buckley's stay in Paris was cut short by a summons from brother Would she be interested in working with him on the new magazine he was starting? Thus ended her UP days, and this began a new and glowing journalistic career.
String of Pearls , which includes charming illustrations by the author's niece Lee Buckley, and an Afterword by her brother William F. Buckley Jr., is a knowing and delightful look at a turbulent time in a turbulent world.
The war in Europe was winding to its close. For Buckley, the atmosphere in UP's New York offices was a heady one; the journalists worked furiously but had time to play practical jokes, stage mock battles on the newsroom floor, and treasure the funny stories that haste and tension engender. Young Priscilla fit right in; she made friends, wrote copy for the reporters to read on the air ("Keep the sentences short!"), and joined in the fun and frequent hilarity. It was a demanding, sometimes heartbreaking, and always vibrant period.
The author was pleased a few years later to be offered a job at the Paris bureau of United Press. the young writer who has spent some of her girlhood years living in prewar France with her parents and her numerous siblings found a different Paris a war's scars of the prolonged occupation were everywhere. It was a poignant time, but for Priscilla and her friends there was laughter and comic misadventures as well, and she shares them, along with varied characters gathered at United Press at the time, with us.
Buckley's stay in Paris was cut short by a summons from brother Would she be interested in working with him on the new magazine he was starting? Thus ended her UP days, and this began a new and glowing journalistic career.
String of Pearls , which includes charming illustrations by the author's niece Lee Buckley, and an Afterword by her brother William F. Buckley Jr., is a knowing and delightful look at a turbulent time in a turbulent world.
183 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Priscilla L. Buckley
6 booksPriscilla Langford Buckley was an author who was known for being a managing editor of National Review magazine and a sister of its founder William F. Buckley, Jr. Another brother was retired federal judge and former U.S. Senator James L. Buckley who named his daughter after her and dedicated his 2010 book Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics, Liberty, and the State to her.
Buckley was born to William Frank Buckley, Sr. and Aloise Josephine Antonia Steiner. She graduated from Smith College in 1943 where one of her best friends was feminist Betty Friedan. She worked for the CIA in the 1950s and worked for United Press in New York and Paris from 1953 until 1956. Whittaker Chambers was the one who suggested to William F. Buckley that he make his sister the managing editor of National Review, a position she acquired in 1959 when the original managing editor Suzanne La Follette retired. She worked as an editor of National Review for forty-three years. Some of the writers she helped train include Paul Gigot, Bill McGurn, Mona Charen, and Tony Dolan.[11] Her 2001 memoir about international journalism was entitled String of Pearls while her 2005 memoir Living It Up with National Review: A Memoir is about National Review magazine.
Buckley died on March 25, 2012, at the age of 90, at Great Elm, the house in Sharon, Connecticut, where she and her nine siblings grew up.
Buckley was born to William Frank Buckley, Sr. and Aloise Josephine Antonia Steiner. She graduated from Smith College in 1943 where one of her best friends was feminist Betty Friedan. She worked for the CIA in the 1950s and worked for United Press in New York and Paris from 1953 until 1956. Whittaker Chambers was the one who suggested to William F. Buckley that he make his sister the managing editor of National Review, a position she acquired in 1959 when the original managing editor Suzanne La Follette retired. She worked as an editor of National Review for forty-three years. Some of the writers she helped train include Paul Gigot, Bill McGurn, Mona Charen, and Tony Dolan.[11] Her 2001 memoir about international journalism was entitled String of Pearls while her 2005 memoir Living It Up with National Review: A Memoir is about National Review magazine.
Buckley died on March 25, 2012, at the age of 90, at Great Elm, the house in Sharon, Connecticut, where she and her nine siblings grew up.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 3, 2021
Life changing? No.
Interesting? Yes.
Interesting? Yes.
June 3, 2011
This book is very short -- just 178 pages with a large font -- and consists of a series of brief vignettes (rarely two pages long) arranged in chronological order from Buckley's two stints with United Press: one quarter of the book covering her New York stint from 1944 to 1948 and three-quarters covering her Paris stint from 1953 to 1956. In between she worked for the CIA in Washington, DC. I expect this book would be a hit with two kinds of people: those who love Paris and those who loved the news business pre-Watergate. I happen to belong to both camps, and I zoomed through this memoir with great enjoyment. For Paris lovers, spending a few hours with Buckley provides a chance to visit the City of Light, however briefly. For news types there is more substantial fare. She provides a full explanation of how the UP wire worked in those days, what it was like to be one of the first "collitch girls" to land a job with the news service, and the kind of hijinks that were common in the news biz in those days but simply not tolerated today. Back in the day, news people were often rascals of a sort -- bright, talented and irreverent -- and the job was a lot of fun. A bit of that still existed when I joined the business in 1976, but by the time I left in 2005 it was all so earnest and important and deadly dull. Buckley's book was a poignant reminder of what I missed.
June 26, 2011
The author was William Buckley's sister. This is an interesting account of her days as a United Press reporter in New York City in the 40s and Paris in the early 50s. It was made up of very readable anecdotes, and left me wondering more about her. (I am drawn to books about newspapers and journalists.) I wish I could remember more about it, but I read it over five years ago.
September 10, 2008
For female journalists, this gives a nice look at women who broke through the glass ceiling.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews