‘Miles Gone By’: A Life Well Lived

A review of ‘Miles Gone By’, by William F. Buckley, Jr., Dimensions, 2004.

You have to hand it to William F. Buckley, Jr.: he lived well. He worked hard, of course (asked why he worked ‘so damn hard’, he smiled and replied, ‘There’s a lot to do.’). But he also skied, played the harpsichord, went to dinner parties, sailed, produced novels, painted a bit. I find this refreshing. For — and I think it was V.S. Naipaul who said this—successful men, let alone great men, tend to be quite dull: they do the same thing over and over, all the time. Buckley managed to make some space in his life to have fun. And if one is to have a rounded view of human life, one must know how to have a good time.

This is abundantly clear in Miles Gone By, needlessly subtitled ‘A Literary Autobiography’. It consists of a selection of essays that do not deal with the political subjects with which Buckley was known for concerning himself, but with his interests, hobbies, friendships, home life, experience of college, and more besides. It is, taken in the round, a memoir; but it is also a celebration of life, like a great big eulogy only given by the deceased. These pieces span decades, providing insight into Buckley’s childhood, faith, and fondness for unusual words and travel.

It is, taken in the round, a memoir; but it is also a celebration of life.

Although he is not writing as a political commentator, the themes that animated his conservatism come through in these essays. Concern with family, faith and flag; respect for tradition, belief in the value of community; a very American willingness to takes risks—these loom large in the backdrop, sometimes shifting to the foreground, as in essays like ‘A Pilgrimage to Lourdes’, ‘Army Life’ and ‘Ten Friends’. But what shines most brightly in Miles Gone By is Buckley’s gratitude. He really does seem to approach life as a gift, given by God; and that includes the trials and tribulations as well as the triumphs. Hope springs from this gratitude, for a grateful person knows that there is always something that has gone right, and one needs only to focus on that something to allow it to colour much else.

As I have written elsewhere, Buckley has a peculiar style, and one that is not everyone’s cup of tea, as it were. I would not call it elegant; certainly it is not concise. But it is fun, and readable, and distinct, and so we have the impression of being spoken to, which is a hallmark of good essay-writing. He is also self-effacing and amusing, though at times one misses the sharp, sardonic, sometimes laugh-out-loud humour that characterises his political and cultural writing. (He was funny in person, too: asked at an event by an audience member, ‘Why do you never stand up? Is it because you can’t think on your feet?’ he replied: ‘It’s very difficult to stand up, carrying the weight of everything I know.’)

As I have written elsewhere, Buckley has a peculiar style, and one that is not everyone’s cup of tea, as it were.

Needless to say, being an essay collection, there is not a neat narrative arc; and it can be jarring to jump from, say, Buckley’ reflections on his wartime experience to his love of skiing. Of course, the other way of looking at this is that one can open the book at any point and find something interesting and amusing that does not demand masses of context to understand or appreciate. I suppose for some, some of his essays will seem oddly specific and certainly some will find them outdated. That is the nature of reading old books, and old books written by someone deeply invested in the culture of his age.

Take it all in all, Miles Gone By is fun, because its author was fun, and applied the same intensity to life outside of work as he did to his work as a pundit and publisher. The collection offers a glimpse of the private world of a public figure, and celebrates faith, family and friendship in a way that is never cloying or mawkish or slushily sentimental. Certainly it puts to bed the silly idea that conservative types are intrinsically boring, or fearful. In Buckley, we find a man who knew who he was, was willing to assert himself on the world, and was committed to living a good life, in style.