Buckley and Mailer

One might think that Bill Buckley and Norman Mailer were not at all alike, but Kevin M. Schultz, in his very entertaining book, reminds us to think again. In fact, despite their complicated political differences, these two American originals liked each other, tried to understand each other, and discovered that that they had much in common: a passion for engagement, for literate expression, and perhaps above all the pleasure they took in playing their outsize selves. -- Jeffrey Frank, best-selling author of Ike and Dick Riveting. In this superbly written account of two of the most fascinating and important 20th-century American intellectuals, Kevin M. Schultz not only brings the spirits of William Buckley and Norman Mailer back to life, he endows us with a subtle yet profound analytical framework for understanding the massive social changes set off during the Sixties. Anyone who wants to understand contemporary American political culture needs to read this book. -- Andrew Hartman, author of A War for the Soul of America Kevin M. Schultz has written a sexy, funny, and deliriously good book about two unlikeliest of friends. It will not only change the way that you see Buckley and Mailer, which would be accomplishment enough. It'll also change the way you understand the sixties. -- David Sehat, author of The Jefferson Rule Deliciously entertaining and insightful, Buckley and Mailer uses the strange yet meaningful friendship between its combustible protagonists to illuminate its real subject: America's most tumultuous decade. This is a cracking tale about egos bursting in air, showering light on a cultural and political transformation that each understood only in part. -- Matthew Stewart, author of Nature's God