Getting about Travel writings of William F. Buckley Jr
Book - 2023
"Well known as a political commentator and the author of sixteen novels, William F. Buckley Jr. was also a superb chronicler of travel. Getting About gathers over a hundred of his articles about journeys by boat, train, or plane, representing a lifetime of adventure around the world-from Annapolis to Zurich, from the Azores to the Virgin Islands. An elegant jetsetter with a flair for literary journalism, Buckley had few rivals in the art of travel writing. He took first place in the Magazine Article on Foreign Travel category in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition for eight pieces written while "Concording around the world" in 1989. A master storyteller, he adeptly wove devices of fiction together with reportage t...o craft entertaining pieces full of exuberance and authority. Being a Bach afficionado, he composed his sentences for a well-tuned ear. Buckley's talent for arranging a mise-en-scène stands out in accounts of riding the Orient Express, skiing at Alta, or vacationing at Barbuda. Though himself a central character in the story, he never dominates it. He wrote candidly about travel misadventures, as when his 60-foot schooner broke down in the Bahamas and was towed to Miami by a Coast Guard cutter, or when a malfunctioning compass landed his boat on a rocky shoal off Rhode Island and the Coast Guard said, "Sorry, we can't help you." He also took a gimlet eye to the travel industry and a discriminating palate to airline food, suggesting that airports sell "a really good box lunch" with celery rémoulade, fresh figs, and a nice Bordeaux. Getting About is pure enjoyment, but it also broadens the significance of Buckley's œuvre. Along with Bill Meehan's illuminating introduction, this delightful collection helps preserve Buckley's legacy as his centenary in 2025 approaches"--
- Subjects
- Genres
- Anecdotes
- Published
-
New York :
Encounter Books
2023.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- First American edition
- Physical Description
- xix, 438 pages ; 24 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN
- 9781641773171
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. 1958-1965
- An Amateur Skipper Talks Back Motor Boating, April 1958
- A Beginner's Tribulations Ocean Racing, 1958
- Midsummer Fare August 20, 1964
- Chapter 2. 1970-1974
- Railroad Reform January 13, 1970
- Swiss Sojourn (Rougemont, Switzerland) March 24, 1970
- A Week Aboard Cyrano Rudder, May 1970
- Path to Rome March 2.7, 1971
- The Sorry Condition of the Airlines (Seattle) November 16, 1971
- Frisking: The Social Dividend November 30, 1972
- An Aborted Cruise Yachting, January 1973
- The Searches Go On (Gstaad, Switzerland) February 27, 1973
- Midsummer Notes (Los Angeles) August 2, 1973
- Getting About in Italy (Porto Ercole, Italy) September 6, 1973
- Overweight? September 17, 1973
- Travel Notes at Christmas December 27, 1973
- Travel Notes April 16, 1974
- Airline Talk August 6, 1974
- The Pan Am Crisis August 29, 1974
- Chapter 3. 1975-1979
- A Day in Israel (Tel Aviv, Israel) May 17, 1975
- Please Don't Eat the Daisies October 14, 1975
- Sunday in Leningrad (Leningrad, USSR) December 30, 1975
- Restoration in Russia (Leningrad, USSR) January 1, 1976
- Okay on the Concorde? January 27, 1976
- Unsung Victory March 25, 1976
- Misadventures of William E Buckley Jr. Motor Boating & Sailing, October 1976
- Airline Update (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) February 8, 1977
- Keeping Cool in Cozumel Motor Boating & Sailing, March 1977
- Flying at Yale Flying, September 1977
- Better Leave Washington Alone (Washington, DC) June 22, 1978
- A Touch of Sicilian Class Saturday Review, June 24, 1978
- Bumming Around Fiji Motor Boating & Sailing, March 1979
- Chapter 4. 1980-1984
- The Folks at Western January 17, 1980
- See You Later (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) June 12, 1980
- William E Buckley Jr. Braves the High Seas in High Fashion, with Champagne and Scarlatti People, July 28, 1980
- Pan Am and Your Overweight March 19, 1981
- Buckley Rides the Orient Express New York Times, November 22, 1981
- Which Americans Are Ill-Mannered? December 3, 1981
- One Thousand Dollars a Day New York Times Sophisticated Traveler, October 9, 1983
- Riding an Atlantic High Signature, February 1984
- Ah, Solitude Frequent Flyer, December 1984
- Chapter 5. 1985-1989
- See You Later June 11, 1985
- Sailing East of Eden Signature, July 1985
- Sailing Free: A Companionable Journey Across the Pacific Life, November 1985
- Alta Signature, January 1986
- Worst Suggestion of the Year July 29, 1986
- Weed Rights August 14, 1986
- How I Spent My Aerobic Vacation New York Times Good Health Magazine, September 28, 1986
- Airline Talk November 4, 1986
- Down to the Great Ship New York Times Magazine, October 18, 1987
- How to Make Planes Run on Time June 5, 1987
- Pitcairn Lives (Pitcairn Island) November 12, 1987
- Gilt Trip Power & Motor Yacht, November 1987
- Forced Landing Cruising World, August 1988
- Marjorie's Slow Boat to Paradise Condé Nast Traveler, October 1988
- The Story at Eastern Airlines March 8, 1989
- A-Traveling We Will Go March 31, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Acapulco April 4, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Hawaii April 6, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Tahiti April 7, 1989
- Concording Around the World-New Zealand April 11, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Sydney April 13, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Sri Lanka April 18, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Kenya April 10, 1989
- Concording Around the World-Cape Town April 25, 1989
- Reflections on the Concorde April 27, 1989
- For Sail: One Writer Newsday Magazine, May 21, 1989
- Living and Working in Gstaad (Gstaad, Switzerland) Primary Color, September 1, 1989
- Chapter 6. 1990-1994
- Just Say No Cruising World, April 1990
- Moscow: Waiting for Mr. Hilton July 24, 1990
- A Place in the City Private Clubs, September-October 1991
- Haute Boat FYI, March 16, 1992
- Sailing in the Wake of Christopher Columbus Primary Color, April 1, 1992
- The Skirt of Paradise Condi Nast Traveler, May 1992
- Finale Cruising World, October 1992
- Calling American Airlines, Are You There? November 25, 1993
- Mr. James in Motion, review of Henry James: Collected Travel Writings by Henry James, Ed. Richard Howard New York Times Book Review, December 12, 1993 32-4
- All At Sea Town & Country, May 1994
- A Lifetime of Jetlag FYI, September 26, 1994
- My Alta Ski Magazine, November 1994
- Chapter 7. 1995-1999
- R.I.P.MGM FYI, March 13, 1995
- Travels with William F. Buckley National Geographic Traveler, March-April 1995
- Pity the Airlines April 14, 1995
- Definitive Vacations Private Clubs, May-June 1995
- Airplane Crosstalk March 22, 1996
- Down Amsterdam Way (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) June 14, 1996
- Barbuda Islands, August 1996
- Air War October 11, 1996
- Maritime Traveler Yachting, November 1996
- One Thousand and One Days on the Orient Express FYI, Spring 1997
- The Nth Vacation: Where to Go, What to Do? July 1, 1997
- Did You Pack Your Own Bags? April 17, 1998
- Go Away, Admiral July 17, 1998
- Full Sail on the New England Coast Hemispheres, August 1998
- The Pilots Are Really Sick April 16, 1999
- Chapter 8. 2000-2004
- Gstaad and the New Rich (Gstaad, Switzerland) March 17, 2000
- Security in the Air November 13, 2001
- Yes to the Railroads June 14, 2002
- On the Water: Destination Dalmatia Yachting, January 2003
- Tycoon Class September 12, 2003
- The Angel of Craig's Point Miles Gone By, 2004
- Aweigh Atlantic, July-August 2004
- Index