Conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. and liberal author Gore Vidal exploded
onto the political scene during the presidential conventions of 1968 when they d
ebated 11 times on ABC News as a part of the network s unconventional convention
coverage. The debates were fiery and combative and they infamously blew up at e
ach other during their penultimate debate in Chicago. The debates, the subject o
f the new documentary film Best of Enemies, have not been shown or transcribed i
n their entirety since the original airings in 1968. The Devault-GravesAgency --
the publisher that made world news in 2014 by publishing Three Early Stories, t
he first J.D. Salinger book in 50 years -- exclusively brings you the complete,
uncensored Buckley-Vidal transcripts in all their highly readable glory. The boo
k also features an eloquent and informative introduction by one of the directors
of Best of Enemies, author Robert Gordon. This book will appeal to the legion o
f fans and readers of both Buckley and Vidal. Students of debate will find no be
tter guide to the art of verbal fencing than Buckley vs. Vidal. Libraries throug
hout the U.S. will want Buckley vs. Vidal as the official record of the most inf
amous debates of the last half-century by two of the most important social arbit
ers of the era. Buckley vs. Vidal will be a textbook of style and substance to a
ny aspiring debater, or those already in the fray. "
