FIRST EDITION OF A HYMNAL, INSCRIBED ON A BOOKPLATE BY WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY

BUCKLEY, William F., Jr. A Hymnal: The Controversial Arts. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, (1978). Octavo, original cloth, original dust jacket. $225.

First edition of this collection of essays, presentation copy inscribed by Buckley to noted American literary, film and television critic John Leonard and his wife Susan and signed "Bill" on a bookplate.

In this wide-ranging collection of essays Buckley discusses Jimmy Carter, Cardinal Mindszenty, Hubert Humphrey, David Niven, the CIA, the political conventions of 1976, the making of a bestseller, and the status of his controversial first book, God and Man at Yale, twenty-five years later. Recipient John Leonard (1939-2008) was given his first job in journalism by none other than William Buckley at the National Review in 1959, where he worked alongside Joan Didion, Garry Wills, Renata Adler and Arlene Croce. Leonard went on to contribute regularly to dozens of national publications, with columns at The Nation (where he was co-literary editor, 1995-98), Life and The New York Times, receiving the National Book Critics Circle's Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Book clean and about-fine; dust jacket with shallow wear to spine ends and mild toning, very good.