The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

A REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOKJOHN CHAMBERLAINCruisingSpeedWILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, JR.'S CruisingSpeed: A Documentary (Putnam,$6.95) begins as a chronicleof a week in the life of America'smost engaging publicist. But time,with Bill Buckley, has a Proustiandimension, so the form becomes anexcuse for unlocking years as wellas days. A telephone call to BillBuckley takes 'us in one direction,a "Dear Sir, You cur" letter inquite another, an encounter witha friend or colleague in still athird, until after darting down ahundred avenues one has the illusionthat one is peeling off one ofthose Chinese eggs which containegg within egg, almost to thevanishing point. But then, one reflects,the Chinese egg image won'tdo at all, for the average Buckleyegg is so bursting with its ownmeat that it could contain nothingelse.Since the form is immaterial, itscarcely matters that the docu-186