William F. Buckley, Jr. News Hour Interview

An author whose political views align better with my own than the authors noted below is William F. Buckley. His recently released Miles Gone By is on my bedside dresser and I have been enjoying it greatly (full report when finished). For those who enjoy WFB here is an interview with PBS News Hour’s Terence Smith. Smith and Buckley discuss Buckley’s new book, journalism, political discourse, and giving things up – among other things. Here is some insight into how Buckley writes so many books (45 so far):

TERENCE SMITH: Your 45th book? How can anyone write 45 books?

WILLIAM BUCKLEY: Well, the thing to do is to write one every year. I retreat to Switzerland every year and divest myself, to the extent possible, of other distractions, other than skiing —

TERENCE SMITH: Yeah.

WILLIAM BUCKLEY: –and then I write 1,500 words a day, and that, oddly enough, adds up to a book.

So there you have it. Get a place in Switzerland, write 1,500 a day and boom – you’ll have a book . . .

Kevin Holtsberry
I work in communications and public affairs. I try to squeeze in as much reading as I can while still spending time with my wife and two kids (and cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Michigan Wolverines during football season).