Buckley Jr., William F.

A Very Private Plot (A Blackford Oakes Novel)

New York, NY: William Morrow & Company, 1994. First Printing. Hardcover. Inveterately prolific (just like his nemesis, Gore Vidal), William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008) cranked out an obscene amount of original literature in addition to the vast political influence he (and the magazine he founded, National Review) wielded-exerted on the American landscape. However, unlike Vidal, Buckley’s literary corpus was far more accessible to a general readership (a fact the sales figures of Vidal’s works belie). Buckley’s prose fiction is composed in a different vein than Vidal’s. There is no pretense of these works being Great, Ambitious, or Historically Important Works of Literature (persistent capitalization here necessary). Buckley’s not trying to “break any boundaries,” — he’s simply trying to write well, and to have fun doing it. As such, this (and all of Buckley’s prose fiction, really) are “fun reads,” — somewhere between Dan Brown (at his most accessible) and John Le Carre (at his most adept & literary). Yes, Buckley is an immensely important figure in American cultural history—but works like “A Very Private Plot” (and any of the man’s fiction, really) exist almost entirely apart from the political persuasions. Here, we get a side of Buckley that you don’t get anywhere else—and if you like spy novels set against a political backdrop, especially those absent of an ideological bent—you can’t go wrong with “A Very Private Plot.” [ISBN: 0-688-12795-9]. Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket: First Edition, as noted on copyright page; First Printing, as indicated by number sequence, thereon. This copy further benefits from having been signed by the legendary orator-publisher-polymath. Buckley signature, in thin black felt pen ink, reads: “For (name illegible) / WF Buckley.” Book in very fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge & lone, tiny coffee stain-like spot to bottom right-hand corner of recto board. Dust-jacket in strong near fine condition with only corresponding minute-to-moderate shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; a few tiny nick-indentations at/along same; a few tiny exhibits of rubbing at/along same; most pronounced point here [though still generally mild] is some ink bleed from (what we believe to be) the red glue inside the dust-jacket protecting sleeve, affecting some portions at/along topmost fine-edge sections of front, back cover & spine; else pristine. Very Fine / Near Fine. [Item #5404]

Price: $45.00