Conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. and liberal author Gore Vidal exploded onto the political scene during the presidential conventions of 1968 when they debated 11 times on ABC News as a part of the network s unconventional convention coverage. The debates were fiery and combative and they infamously blew up at each other during their penultimate debate in Chicago. The debates, the subject of the new documentary film Best of Enemies, have not been shown or transcribed in their entirety since the original airings in 1968. The Devault-GravesAgency -- the publisher that made world news in 2014 by publishing Three Early Stories, the first J.D. Salinger book in 50 years -- exclusively brings you the complete, uncensored Buckley-Vidal transcripts in all their highly readable glory. The book also features an eloquent and informative introduction by one of the directors of Best of Enemies, author Robert Gordon. This book will appeal to the legion of fans and readers of both Buckley and Vidal. Students of debate will find no better guide to the art of verbal fencing than Buckley vs. Vidal. Libraries throughout the U.S. will want Buckley vs. Vidal as the official record of the most infamous debates of the last half-century by two of the most important social arbiters of the era. Buckley vs. Vidal will be a textbook of style and substance to any aspiring debater, or those already in the fray. "

For nearly a decade, Michael Lind worked closely as a writer and editor with the intellectual leaders of American conservatism. Slowly, he came to believe that the many prominent intellectuals he worked with were not the leaders of the conservative movement but the followers and apologists for an increasingly divisive and reactionary political strategy orchestrated by the Republican party. Lind's disillusionment led to a very public break with his former colleagues on the right, as he attacked the Reverend Pat Robertson for using anti-Semitic sources in his writings. In Up From Conservatism, this former rising star of the right reveals what he believes to be the disturbing truth about the hidden economic agenda of the conservative elite. The Republican capture of the U.S. Congress in 1994 did not represent the conversion of the American public to conservative ideology. Rather, it marked the success of the thirty-year-old "southern strategy" begun by Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. From the Civil War to the civil rights revolution, the southern elite combined a low-wage, low-tax strategy for economic development with a politics of demagogy based on race-baiting and Bible-thumping. Now, Lind maintains, the economic elite that controls the Republican party is following a similar strategy on a national scale, using their power to shift the tax burden from the rich to the middle class while redistributing wealth upward. To divert attention from their favoritism toward the rich, conservatives play up the "culture war," channeling popular anger about falling real wages and living standards away from Wall Street and focusing it instead on the black poor and nonwhite immigrants. The United States, Lind concludes, could use a genuine "one-nation" conservatism that seeks to promote the interests of the middle class and the poor as well as the rich. But today's elitist conservatism poses a clear and present danger to the American middle class and the American republic.

A lively chronicle of the 1960s through the surprisingly close and incredibly contentious friendship of its two most colorful characters. Norman Mailer and William F. Buckley, Jr., were towering personalities who argued publicly and vociferously about every major issue of the 1960s: the counterculture, Vietnam, feminism, civil rights, the Cold War. Behind the scenes, the two were friends and trusted confidantes. In Buckley and Mailer, historian Kevin M. Schultz delivers a fresh and enlightening chronicle of that tumultuous decade through the rich story of what Mailer called their "difficult friendship." From their public debate before the Floyd Patterson–Sonny Liston heavyweight fight and their confrontation at Truman Capote’s Black-and-White Ball, to their involvement in cultural milestones like the antiwar rally in Berkeley and the March on the Pentagon, Buckley and Mailer explores these extraordinary figures’ contrasting visions of America.

A thought-provoking extended essay first published in National Review--along with responses by distinguished commentators--on the the ways anti-Semitism reveals itself through the work of some of America's leading journalists and intellectuals. The reactions are varied and illuminating. Most hailed the essay as the most important document relating to modern anti-Semitism published in many years.

Gordon's critically acclaimed and richly entertaining exploration of the birthplace of rock and roll is peopled with Delta bluesmen, manic deejays, matinee cowboys and Elvis.

Paperback reprint. Originally published: 2019.

“Clever...a good introduction not only to Buckley and smart conservative thought but (strange concept) a sadly disappeared politics of civility.” — Los Angeles Times “Hendershot does more than tell the history of a uniquely influential show and personality; her thorough, compelling, and very readable book provides a three-decade journey through the center of the nation’s intellectual life.” — Publishers Weekly “A thoroughly researched work replete with intelligence, admiration, balanced criticism, and even a bit of nostalgia.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Hendershot lauds Buckley for the intelligence, honesty, wit, civility, and élan with which he developed meaningful dialogues ... A cogent reminder of what political broadcasting could be.” — Booklist (starred review) “William F. Buckley and his long-running, unique show Firing Line provides a window (if sometimes a curved mirror) through which to see a turbulent and transformative time in American politics. If you want to step into a time machine for a look back, this book is your ticket.” — Ira Glasser, American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director 1978-2001 (retired), currently Board President, Drug Policy Alliance