Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line

After Barry Goldwater's defeat in the 1964 presidential election, common wisdom held that conservatism was dead and only the preserve of John Birch Society members, conspiracy theorists, and other fringe elements. William F. Buckley (1925–2008), founder of the conservative National Review magazine, set out to make conservatism a respectable alternative to the dominant liberalism. In 1966, Buckley began hosting Firing Line, an hour-long TV show that aired for 33 years, with more than 1,500 episodes. Hendershot (film & media studies, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology; What's Fair on the Air??) explores what made the broadcast so special. Each week guests verbally sparred with Buckley on a range of current subjects. Far from being a conservative echo chamber, Buckley often hosted guests who were his ideological opposites, such as Black Panthers leader Eldridge Cleaver and feminist Germaine Greer. This allowed for greater exploration of a topic over a longer time frame than permitted by regular news shows. The author makes ample use of quotes from the program, which portray the high level of discourse that occurred.