I found this book to be engrossing and thought-provoking. Setting the scene in the country and laying out the pasts and careers of Baldwin and Buckley to give context to the speeches - not only the points of view expressed, but also the manner in which each man articulated his argument and approached the subject matter. I am eager now to read more of Baldwin's works. Aspects of the current political situation have been illuminated for me by this book, as well.

Super important book about race in the 1960's. For those of us who lived through it (at tender ages I guess) it was an enlightening review of history. It is gratifying and discouraging at the same time to see how much has changed and how much has not. My only caveat with the book is I think the author writes the history through modern lenses. This is most apparent in his analysis of the debate that is the heart of the book. To Buccola, Buckley is nothing but an unrepentant self-serving white-supremacist. Fortunately for readers, the book contains the actual transcript of the debate, so you can draw your own conclusions.

The central topic of this book-- the 1965 Cambridge debate between Buckley and Baldwin-- is super interesting in itself. But the way the book is structured, researched, and written though, is mind-blowing-- such a fascinating history of these two men, their writing, and the movements they each cultivated. A must read to understand the parallel, unfortunately often antagonistic tracks of civil rights and conservatism in America.

The Baldwin parts of this book was great, but man was Buckley a piece of work and every time the book turned to him, it would take several days to be able to get through those parts. (Not on the fault of the author).

There's so much to like about this book. Both Baldwin and Buckley are fascinating, and Buccola's narrative of how they formed their ideas in parallel works really well.

Baldwin's ideas about the specific ways that racism corrupts both white and black people are profound -- I read The Fire Next Time after finishing this, and it's really powerful. Watching whatever idealism he started with be crushed is rather depressing.

Buckley is in a lot of ways the foundation of modern conservatism, both in terms of substance and style. He's really mean, and often really funny. He's also an unrepentant snob who was comfortable not only with the idea that black people weren't full citizens, but also with the idea that most white people consent to be ruled by their elites, as well. This book makes a very strong case that he knew his arguments about race were intellectually dishonest, and that he courted more overt racists because it was good for his political program. It's a damning portrait.

I also listened to the actual debate, which I highly recommend. Debate is a misnomer: they give consecutive speeches on the same topic. It was great to hear their actual voices while reading the book, even if it was also disappointing to not get to hear them actually go back and forth with one another.

really amazing and insightful look into a historic debate and its two figures.