Rating: 
Summary: Polished and enjoyable read
Review: A fine polished work that walks the fine line between academia and spirituality. Few books manage this successfully and, like the recent "THE Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth" by Richard G. Patton, Buckley also manages to portray historical figures in a believable and contemporary light
Rating: 
Summary: A must for all Catholics and Buckley fans.
Review: Among Buckley's best and, not coincidentally, his most personal. It deals with both the personal observations of a cradle Catholic and the opinions of adult converts. Anyone contemplating becoming a Roman Catholic should definitely pick this up for insight on the changes the Church has undergone over the last fifty+ years. Even more importantly, this should be read by all life-long Catholics who simply go through the motions of their faith without really understanding their significance in the history of Christianity.
Rating: 
Summary: Faith Questioned and Affirmed in WFB's "Nearer My God"
Review: As founder, editor, and post-retirement conscience of "National Review," William F. Buckley Jr. acknowledges being described as an evangelist for conservative political and economic ideals. This world view, fueled by efforts to bring faith-based, like-minded people to the polls, helped George W. Bush's 2004 re-election.
In "Nearer, My God," written before President Bush took office (and whose title springs from the hymn,"Nearer My God To Thee") Mr. Buckley draws from Catholic liturgy, philosophy, dialogue, art and debate (reaching to Scripture itself) to describe and affirm his love for Christ and his Catholic faith.
The book is subtitled, "An Autobiography of Faith," and often reads with warm, vivid, humorous family memories and familial wit (a WFB trademark.) Mr. Buckley vividly describes his youth in strict but nurturing St. John's school in Beaumont, and recalls his parents and siblings' religious practice (closing with tender remembrances of his mother Aloise, to whom he dedicated the book). Mr. Buckley tempers memories of a nephew's ordination into a strict Benedictine order, a Sistine Chapel TV taping and audience with Pope John Paul II with humorous asides on bad wine, camcorder angles and papal misintroductions. Mr. Buckley also bemusedly describes his years at Yale, from where gradual, hard-hearted removal of Christian symbolism and ethos inspired his first best seller and a recurring theme in this book. (WFB's dismantles Millbrook College's Christmas, um, "Candlelight" service with particular humor and relish.)
But WFB also at times falls into the moderator role he often took on his flagship PBS show, "Firing Line." Early in "Nearer My God" he steps back and relays a blow-by-blow theological debate between author Arnold Lunn and Catholic priest Ronald Knox in their book "Difficulties." Lunn and Knox touch on everything from the Crusades and Inquisition to the concept of pre-destination and eternal damnation. The episode concludes ends with Lunn converting and Knox performing the ceremony.
Mr. Buckley later gathers recent Catholic converts (including former National Review colleague Jeffrey Hart) to ask their personal conversion stories (their "road to Damascus," as WFB calls it) and views on issues like married priesthood, contraception, and Christ's uniqueness to His time. But Lunn and Knox, and Mr. Buckley's panel, slowly reach the same conclusion: trust God's providence and authority given His church and shepherd to interpret the faith. To help, Mr. Buckley invokes Bishop Joseph Butler's "escape," which states if you would have created the world, you would have done so differently. (WFB effectively invokes the "escape" here describing an Turkish earthquake and more recently in National Review after Hurricane Charley struck Florida.)
For its many strengths, "Nearer, My God" is not a Catholic conversion tool. Mr. Buckley takes issue with Latin's gradual disappearance from Mass and other Vatican II-era changes, describes a wayward Protestant evangelist (who later repented) as a "cretin" while praising equally rehabilitated Watergate-era figure Charles Colson. You also leave the book wanting to understand, as best he can explain it, more of WFB's personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
But as WFB unwinds wisdom from sources as diverse as John Henry Newman, Andrew Greeley, and even Bach's "St. John's Passion," no one will finish this book without understanding Catholicism's permanence and reason to resist popular sentiment. It's what held its faithful followers to it even now, if not always to its highest teachings. (Mr. Buckley devotes part of the book to sin's concept and role in social morality). "Nearer My God," is an often moving semi-autobiography, written expertly by one of the 20th century's most influential thinkers and seekers of knowledge. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition to a Christian Library.
Review: As I am not a Catholic, I found a few more things in this book which preclude me from becoming one, namely papal infallibility and contraception. However, the non-denominational Christian parts of the book were quite excellent. The book provides a good amount of ammunition on such diverse topics as the historical character of Jesus (There is, Russel Kirk makes the point, more evidence of Him in historical facts then of other people from Antiquity whose existence we take for granted), the conection of between Christianity and American survival, and what has happened to Christianity in the old New England Boarding Schools. The other part of the book, based on Buckley's on experiences, is brief, but passionate and well written. This is a great book, but I cannot give it the full five stars, mainly for some theological quibbles, as well as Buckley's praise for that Secular Jesus, Martin Luther King. Still, a worthy addition to a Christian collection. R. A. Merryman
Rating:
Summary: Helpful for your Catholic side
Review: As someone who was raised in a nearly secular manner, later became an atheist, and recently converted to Catholicism, I can say that this volume was very helpful in understanding some of the more difficult aspects of Catholic theology. On top of that, Mr. Buckley's endless sea of references to other important religious works had helped me find a path to God that I otherwise would not have had. Despite some of the weaknesses of this book (It's not really an autobiography and a little boring) I'm still content with the purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Brillian but lacking
Review: As with any Buckley book, I relished in his command of the English language. I thoroughly enjoyed what he had/s to say. However, I find that the full title is not a sufficient, nor correct title. I refer to "An autobiography of Faith", not "Nearer, My God."This was more of an academic exposition of Catholicism in the 20th century rather than a full experience of Buckley's journey as a Catholic. Being Catholic is very much more than being an academic about it. Catholic spirituality is very much an interplay between the mind and the heart - dislocate one from the other and only half, or even less, of what Catholicism is is irretrievable. As a Catholic, I did find it very enlightening to encounter a person (or his writings) with regards the changes of Vatican II. I found much of apologetics very intriguing throughout the book. However, it really cannot touch St. Augustine's Confessions (and one can hardly expect even Mr. Buckley to attempt to). It is a good book from which to learn but it sheds only a little light on William F. Buckley Jr. the Catholic. The best example a Catholic can give is not simply what is known about the faith, but, rather, how one lives that faith. Truly, an intellectual pursuit of the faith is vital but not all there is to it.
Rating: 
Summary: an almost complete waste of time
Review: Buckley is obviously a sincere believer in Catholicism, and it is for that reason, and that reason only, that he wrote this book. ... It is not an autobiography, nor is it in any way spiritual. It deals with a few intellectual issues in Catholicism, and a few religious stories from his life. If you're looking for a way to pass the day without rousing your intellect, read this book. Or read a better book.
Rating: 
Summary: More or less a rehash of old material
Review: Except for an interesting chapter about the Catholic upbringing of his early life, it seemed like Mr. Buckley simply went to his file cabinet and strung together a series of loosely related items. You don't get the sense of a profoundly intimate spiritual autobiography.
Rating:
Summary: So far, a big disappointment
Review: First off, I like Bill Buckley because of something I saw him do one day when walking down Park Avenue in Manhattan -- a kindness he showed to a stranger -- which showed me in one simple act what a good person he is. And I will never forget that incredibly funny line he delivered during a debate of mayoralty candidates for NYC -- when asked to respond to an opponent's statement, he was in a trance and did not hear the commentator addressing him. When roused, he said, "Oh. Excuse me, I was just contemplating the eloquence of my last remark!" I had high hopes for this book when I came upon it the other day. I hoped I would get a look into this witty, nice, incredibly well-spoken intelligence as it relates to religious belief. Unfortunately, as of page 70, he has revealed little, if anything about his deeply personal encounter with the Catholic religion. So far it sounds like the ordinary garden variety of beliefs that are shoved down Catholics' throats when they get you at an early age and know that you have no chance of resisting. And by the time you are old enough to think for yourself, you've been taught not to, at least not in matters of Church doctrine -- which are carved in stone. He takes up a meaningless defence of papal authority, shows how one of his favorite converts to Catholicism made the leap of faith on the question of hell, and then waddles around in silly problems I and my elementary school classmates threw at our sweet Dominican nun just to have a laugh, such as, Can God make a square circle, and so on. And he troubles his mature mind with immature and shallow nonsense such as, If God knows the future, how can we have free will to choose what we will do in the future? These are questions a mature thinker should have dealt with a long time ago and used to step up to the next level of religious life. In short, it is not a "personal" statement at all, at least not in my opinion, but arguments that sound like somone out to prove he's learned his catechism perfectly. And Mr. Buckley has done that. I'll give him that much. Maybe he will mature in the later pages, but I tend to doubt it. And wouldn't it be nice if he were to figure out how to write clearly and not be unecessarily obfuscating with all those fancy words that represent ideas better expressed with more simple terms! Regardless, I will write a full review within the next few weeks and send it to Mr. Buckley, with a request that he write for my new commercial website a profile of Sam Vaughan, whose red suspenders and generosity of spirit I will never forget. But for now, let me ask Mr. Buckley a question posed by a cartoon in The New Yorker just after the Church changed the rule on eating meat on Fridays, which used to be a mortal sin and deserving of eternal punishment in hell (Hell, if you prefer). It showed a mean, large devil standing before the throne of Lucifer and the caption read: "What do we do with all the guys who ate meat on Friday?" A thought for Lent from a Franciscan priest's sermon, "Whatever we are is what we are in the eyes of God."
Rating:
Summary: This guy is no conservative
Review: Folks, William F. Buckley, Jr. is no conservative. He has called for such things as the legalization of drugs, prostitution, etc. Give me a break! And then to write a book like this?? Go elsewhere for a book about faith and virtues.
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