Agree that its the unofficial history of National Review as it includes some Memorable Events in the magazines history that wont necessarily get mentioned in the official histories. Priscillas brother william f. Buckley writes in the forward to her book that after he founded National Review he reached out for an experienced editorial hand dragging priscilla from an exotic life as a reporter and editor ipparis into the indiggant billet of a struggling to be born venture in opinion journalism. Priscilla returned from paris in 1956 to work on brother bills brand new weekly magazine National Review. But first priscilla took a month off to do what she loved best, quail hunting in the morning golfing in the afternoon, and partying with good friends at night. Priscilla buckley graduated from Smith College in 1953 and worked for a year as a copy girl and Sports Writer for united pres. She spent four years as a radio rewrite staffer next she lived in paris france where she was a United Press Correspondent and she has a wonderful book of string of pearls which tells of those years in paris she also work trd the cia for a couple of years in the 1950s. Now when her brother asked her to become managing editor at National Review she writes iin her book if i agreed to be managing editor it wouldy longterm, a career at National Review agreat deal of responsibility and very little money. She decided what would make the mix palatable was plenty of time off to take the kind of vacations many of them off beat that she really enjoyed. So she told her brother she would take the job providing it was understood that she would have six weeks off every year to vabs however she liked and he wisely agreed and she shares details of some of the most fascinating vacations and trips she took during her six weeks a year and it reading them just make mise ciyakking vacations in it makes my kayaking vacations in maine seem very dull. She includes the big news stories of 50 years of National Review including things likeberry goldwaters nomination to be president in 1964 and president reagans election to the presidency in 1980 she writes about the excitement we felt when therbrother jim buckley was elected to the u. S. Senate on the conservative party line in the 1970s what was a great and rare victory that was before our side starting winning things with reagan and having rush limbow and before we had voices of fairness and balance in the media and were delighted jims wife is here with us today. Thank you so much for coming today but prisella tells of the smaller and important events today. Some many current leader of our nation, communication writers and policy started careers as interns and editorial assistance and corspoddants and National Review and she tells lovely and heart warking stories about these young people she writes of the money many wonderful leaders who work to make National Review a success and to finally turn a profit. She tells of the challenges of working with what she calls a brilliant but combustible cast of character, the intellectuals and writers and statesman who built the most formidable movement, the American Conservative Movement. The cover photo, let me hold it up for you again, shows a lovely www. Cspan. Org shows a lovely donkey that National Review that the staff sent to liberal harvard professor arthur schregs chinger junior as a prize when he predrikted most closely, they had a contest for the president ial prommary numbers and the Electoral College so they sent him this dunky took a sent him his donkey, took a picture before hand. He didnt care for the gift and sent the donkey back by return mail, but his brother jim and anne here took the donkey home to their farm where for a time the children enjoyed playing with the liberal professors jackass. [laughter] lastly, one of my favorite stories in the book is about a couch. There a certain very brilliant but difficult political philosopher who wrote and was involve would National Review for a time. Priscilla writes that his private devils kept him from producing the bodies of serious work he was capable of but he did leave a concrete mark of sorts. Somewhere in the current, bright and modern new National Review office in new york sit sits a broken down leather sofa known to the old timers as the will more kindle or alternativeal memorial couch. Suzanne had arrived in the office early one day to take care of pressing editorial matters only to find will more and the assistant copy editor engaged of a business of quite a different sort on her couch. That morning when bill buckley had just settled himself as his type writer his office dar was flung open and suzanne stormed in thundering there will be no fornication in my office. [laughter] and the assistant copy editor was fired. You get a sense that throughout the years the people in the know up there would probably come into the room where the memorial couch sat and give it a sidelong glance and smile. Rumor has it that the couch was on loan in the 1990s to the Clinton White house. I dont know if thats true. [laughter] this is a wonderful book written by a wonderful lady whose led a remarkable life and writes about the events of her life in a truly engaging and delightful way. Please join me in cellcoming a in welcoming a great conservative whos sent spent her life working for our lives and believes. Priscilla buckley. [applause] good afternoon. Its a great pleasure to be here today. And its not going to be a very serious talk. [laughter] when National Review celebrated its 50th anniversary here in washington last november, it was at a huge banquet at the National Building museum. Earlier that day, bill buckley was given a white house reception, and he and his wife pat had a private lunch with president and mrs. Bush. A couple of weeks ago, the American Society of magazine editors, the most Prestigious Organization in the field, gave bill its Lifetime Achievement award. This was a far cry, indeed, from National Reviews early reception by the then liberal intel jensia, the people George Wallace called the pointy heads. Back then in the mid1950s conservatism was considered dead, dead as the etsl. Linm trilling provided an off hand obituary of it writing that quote in the United States at this time, liberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. A dismissal of such olympian dimensions that the name of the deceased american conservatism was not mentioned so irrelevant that it did. The establishments National Review was to ignore it. With any luck, it would founder because after all, the fill osraphy was preposterous, but nr refused to go away. It was becoming an active annoyance. Thus six month or so so after its arrival on the scene in november, 1955, the liberals rolled out their big guns, a triple sell voe intended to blast the inteloper out of the water. Boom went john fisher. Editor of harpers lengthy and ponderous critique. Boom, boom, followed Dwight Mcdonald all condescension and commentary. Boom, boom, boom, went mary kempten, bringing the 18 pounders to bear in what was intended as the cue degrau. The coup de grace. They all came to the same conclusion. Conservative journal was needed, but National Review was not it. Bill summed it up in his reply in the august 1, 1956 issue of nr, all three of the jurnls harpers commentary, the progressive, seemed to represent the mere existence of National Review, not understanding as theyre intolerant of descent there is nothing they would welcome more than not genuine descent but because it pains them to be bored by it and when they are not be bored by it, they are being afraunted by its vulgaritario appalled by its insouckyance and displayed by its ignorance. Nothing absolutely nothing is more absolutely needed than a real conservative magazine but alas ours is no such thing and they must accordingly scan the heavens for it. But National Review still refused to go away or to be intimidated. In young david sling there was a weapon the liberal establishment as an establishment was incapable of handling or dismising it was in a word National Reviews inprp at any time nns its ability to hold up to ridical many things lebberals held dear. To make fun of subject as the Peace Movement and as hand maiden disarmament. When a break down in another series of disarmament talks was reported bill assigned an editorial on it oo a young staff member tim wheeler who came up with the following, quote, disarmament talks recessed at geneva after seven months of fruitless negotiations. Disarmaments is fruless after seven tauks of negotiate ass dearmed to talk less and seven after seven talks of negotiations. Everybody renewed his lease for january. Well the Kennedy Administration tried to put a good face on the deteriorating china situation, National Reviews comments comment was, having looked and looked and looked for the new frontier we finally spotted it last week when the negotiatators forgathered in geneva to seal the fate, laos 500 miles closer than the old frontiers these put downs baffled the liberal keeples and we young turks giggled at thir disaramt at their disarray. National review has of course received the attention it deserves for its major accomplishments. In providing the intellectual scaffolding for the modern American Conservative Movement that broad Ronald Reagan to the white house and with him the collapse of the soviet union and the end of the cold war. George gnash wrote a book its early years and Senior Editor jeffrey hart has just published the maker of the american conservative mind National Review and its times. Isi has also in recent years brought out two biographies of two of the most influlgs of its a two of the most influentials two of its most influential editors, James Burnham and franks. Meyer all of which is good and proper and a well deserved earning tribute to National Reviews success but im mused on it seemed to me that something very important in the nr story was missing from these official accounts and that was the spirited nature of the early enterprise, what a roller coaster ride it had been. We who ran nr back then were very young and were we ever full of beans. We relished sticking our thumbs in the big domes in the academy. That we were have agwhale of a good time had gone unreport in the officialistries and in the official histories and biographies. Which is why it occurred to me as a longtime managing editor i should write a book about what fun it was to work at National Review. It would include hijinks and jokes tell a bit about the characters who troupe under to our quarters on east 35th street in new york, the artists cartoonists and poet. The odd ball contributors sweet and unsweet disposition. The streams of young people who did tedious lifting that publishlishing a biweekly magazine requires. Many of these later went on to distinguish careers. George wheel, the columnest and pulilitieser prize winner, tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, tony doln, and head speech writer for Ronald Reagan, peter raurenson who wrote the mr. Garb who wrote the mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall speech. The conservative columnist and author. Editorial page editor of the wall street journal, david brooks New York Times columnist and mark shields is sparring partner. Richard brook husbander the distinguished historian of Founding Fathers washington hamilton, adams and marlin. And longtime ballet critic for the new yorker the list goes on and on. But i would also talk about the many others less known to the general public who ated a dash who added a added a dash of tabasco to what became the magazines trademark. As often irreverent editorial paragraphs most important among these latter were bill ricken balker Chris Simmons and joe soeb rn. Bill ricken bacher wrote two weeks after lbj became president , the editors of National Review regretfully announce that their patience with president Lyndon Johnson is exhausted. [laughter] which Time Magazine characterized as the impetuosity of the week. It was joe soburn who commented in the issue celebrating Ronald Reagans election with the election of Ronald Reagan, gnash review assumes a new importance in american life. Weve become as it were an established organ. And we feel that only appropriate to alter or demeanor accordingly. This is a therefore the last issue in which we shall indulge in levity. Connoisseurs of humor will have to get their yuckers elsewhere. We have a nation to run. This last should have been label would a j for joke because a number of more sober readers took it seriously. [laughter] perhaps my favorite of all paragraphs was tim wheelers lighthearted comment on the mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 quote, im sorry i made an ash of myself. Lava come back to me. Love, helen. I would call my book living it up with National Review so that no one would confuse it bea serious historical work and add to the title the words a memwar which would allow me to include in it a number of nonmagazine related trips and adventures that had come my way in the six weeks vacation i took every year. Some of them such as exploring of ankara walk the ruins of an kara ruins of angkor wat. Flowing down the river, landing this was landed in the middle of saulsbering in a hot air balloon and hunting in mozambique much has been written about bills sensitivity and diplomacy in managing the brilliant but combustible founding editors of National Review and of his other pulemical and intellectual skills. But in my opinion his genius as editor has been underrated as a major factor in the success of the enterprise. It was in his role as editor that i worked most closely with him and could evault his and could evaluate his effectfness. What was of paramount importance to him in editing National Review was that the writing be distinguished. It seemed to him more important that a writer write beautiful prose than thet he be a movement conservative. Indeed some of the people we publish never were conserve ative. Young john leonard later editor of the sunday New York Times book review certainly was not and is not. Some started out as conservative or perhaps nonideological and ended up as liberals gary wells, joan diddian and her husband John Gregory Dunn among them. What they had in common were all of them were prostylist and nr profited from their skills at least for a while. Finally what bill had was the courage of his editorial convictions and a spark that makes all the difference the highly competitive magazine world. He did on one occasion when he thought it important devote an entire issue of the magazine to michael novacs rebuttal of the catholics bishop policy pape bishops policy on a just war. His division to write his own set of pentagon papers to counter the danielelsberg version that the New York Times and the Washington Post had splashed all over their front pages took courage and panache. The idea came to him as he told an enraged press when ben bag diggian, editor of the waups editor of the Washington Post professed shock,er and serious lack of professor in his lack of professionalism in his pentagon papers bill buckley responded amiably. Dr. Mr. , in as much as you published 2000 words from the papers would you agree the reprint fee . I would suggest 150. [laughter] bills precision as an editor led to one of our more successful capers what came to be called the swiss edition. Bill had just left for his annual two weeks in switzerland where he wrote his annual book and in a heady moment we decided to craft two pages of editorial paragraphs containing those elements that would make bill the editor curl up inside and die. A grammatical irer a stylistic aberration, too many exclamation points aival grism an overworked clishay, an inept foreign reverence a tinge of cookery, a mention of himself. The bogus paragraphs chosen from entry by every member of the Editorial Staff were paste under two copies of the issue of march 15, 1974, by art director Jimmy O Brien and dispatched. A few days later france sis brawnson bills secretary was on the wireane state of shock. On the wire in a state of shock. Better brace yourselves she said. A memorandum had come in from bill like nothing she ha