William F. Buckley Jr. (1925--2008) was the author and editor of over fifty works of fiction and nonfiction. The founder and former editor-in-chief of 'National Review' and former host of "Firing Line," he was one of the intellectual leaders of the right from the 1950s until his death in 2008. His syndicated column, "On the Right," was begun in 1962. He served as a CIA agent in the early 1950s, helped found the Young Americans for Freedom in 1960, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush in 1991.

His most recent work of nonfiction, 'FlyingHigh', an appreciation of Barry Goldwater, was published by Basic Books in 2007.