Right Time, Right Place: Coming of Age with William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Movement Book

This is a memoir of Richard Brookhiser's involvement with National Review magazine and its founder, William F. Buckley, Jr. I am a big fan of National Review, a medium fan of Rick Brookhiser, and not much of a fan of WFB (although I certainly appreciate his pivotal role in founding the modern conservative movement). The tone of the book is very "inside-baseball"--lots of name-dropping and descriptions of behind-the-scenes intramural arguments among conservative thinkers of the 60s, 70s, and 80s (Brookhiser almost invariably refers to these people by their first names which is often confusing). Because I only started paying attention to/caring about conservative politics in the mid-90s, I didn't find the earlier history terribly compelling as it described cultural attitudes and arguments that seem awfully remote from 2009 (lots of stuff on WASPs, for example--I mean, does anyone really give them much thought anymore?). More recent events such as the tribulations of the Clinton Administration and the September 11 attacks receive only cursory attention. Also, I would have appreciated more information on current conservative thinkers and pundits (Jonah Goldberg, Rich Lowry, Mark Steyn) who are now involved with the magazine as these are the guys that I enjoy reading. Brookhiser is very honest about his motivations and his ups and downs with WFB (who I really have to say doesn't come off all that well in the book), and he is without doubt a gifted writer. In many respects, the book is a celebration of good writing and good writers and of people who appreciate words used well. Recommended for anyone interested in the history of American conservatism, but there's not much appeal beyond that.