MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

To the editor:

The death of William F. Buckley at age 82 marks the loss of a great American and one of the foremost intellectuals of the 20th century.

Buckley was a father of modern American conservatism. His great little book, God & Man at Yale, was the first of his 55 books. He was the founder and publisher of National Review, a leading journal of informed opinion.

For more than 30 years, he hosted Firing Line on TV weekly, dealing with the most pressing national problems. For decades he gave roughly 70 speeches a year at universities and other forums. He was the master of witty comment. His arguments were works of art and his vocabulary was legendary.

William F. Buckley was an exceptionally prolific and unique American patriot.

Edward F. Ragsdale, M.D.
Alton