The Redhunter (63 page)

In
The Redhunter
, a wonderful blend of fact and fiction, Buckley tells the story of Harry Bontecou. Freshly graduated from Columbia, Bontecou
joins McCarthy and remains at his side for three critical years. But when McCarthy’s judgment becomes clouded by prosecutorial
zeal and reckless extravagance, Bontecou, delivers an ultimatum: McCarthy must choose between Bontecou and Roy Cohn, McCarthy’s
ruthless aide. By then we have seen at close hand HarryTruman, Dwight Eisenhower, J. Edgar Hoover, and Dean Acheson in memorable
portraits of leaders in action.

As a young man, WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. was part of a coterie of conservative intellectuals who on balance endorsed McCarthy’s
crusade. Drawing on a close-up view, Buckley now portrays the senator who provoked more headlines than any other elected official
in American history this side of the White House. Informed, surprising, and subtle,
The Redhunter
brings to life the main figures and events of a critical period, re-creating a historical drama without parallel.

An industrious writer, William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of the
National Review
and host of TV’s longest-running program,
Firing Line
, is the author of eleven novels: His most recent work is
Nearer, My God
, a religious memoir.

“A splendid novel. There are things that I would have put differently, but that does not matter. Buckley has produced a book
that will attract the attention and applause of all serious students of the period. Equally important, it’s hugely entertaining”

—THOMAS C. REEVES, AUTHOR OF
THE LIFE AND

TIMES OF JOE McCARTHY: A BIOGRAPHY

“
The Redhunter
is a riveting and complex evocation that will, fascinate even those who, like me, believe that Joe McCarthy did far more
harm than good, including to the cause of anti-Communism for which hey so ruthlessly fought. As a novel this book delights
and as history it instructs, which is to say that it shows us a two-sided William F. Buckley at his brilliant best. Indeed,
I find it hard to tell what has dazzled me more: the richness with which Buckley summons up the period dominated by the notorious
senator, or his amazing success in cutting through all the conflicting stereotypes and bringing McCarthy to life as a fully
realized flesh-and-blood character.”

—NORMAN PODHORETZ. AUTHOR OF

EX-FRIENDS: FALLING OUT WITH ALLEN GINSBERG,

LIONEL AND DIANA TRILLING, LILLIAN HELLMAN,

HANNAH ARENDT, AND NORMAN MAILER

“To redeem even by fiction the career of Joe McCarthy is a challenging task for a truly brilliant writer. So it had to be
William F. Buckley. All who marvel should read.”

—
JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH