Getting It Right: A Novel

By William F. Buckley Jr.

Book Overview

Getting It Right is the story of Kara and Alex, half-sisters who have never met?one the product of an abusive foster-care setting, the other of dysfunctional privilege. Haunted by crippling memories, Kara falls for the wrong men, tries to help her foster-care siblings suffering from PTSD, and longs for the father and half-sister she only knows from a photograph. Alex, meanwhile, struggles to keep her younger sisters out of trouble, her mother sane, and her marketing business afloat.

Now Alex has a new responsibility: from his hospital bed, her father tasks her with finding Kara, the mixed-race child he abandoned. Alex is stunned to learn of Kara's existence but reluctantly agrees.

To make things more complicated, Kara loves a married man whom the FBI is pursuing for insider trading. When Alex eventually finds her half-sister, she becomes embroiled in Kara's dangers, which threaten to drag them both down. If Kara doesn't help the FBI, she could face prosecution and possible incarceration, and if Alex can't persuade Kara to meet their father, she will let him down during the final days of his life.

Set in Harlem, the Bronx, and the wealthy community of Bedford, New York, during two weeks in March, Getting It Right explores grit and resilience, evolving definitions of race and family, and the ultimate power of redemption and forgiveness.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895261383
• ISBN13: 9780895261380
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent writing, as always!

This book really had an impact on my thinking. When in graduate school I was really taken with the objectivist school of thought. I fancied myself a libertarian, and thought that I was SO sophisticated. Really I had discovered a sure fire way to get A's on public policy papers by using a simple formula for virtually every problem. The argument is simply this: the government has a monopoly on the use of force; therefore the government is exceedingly dangerous. Free-markets operate without coercion. The end. As a younger conservative, I wasn't all that familiar with the John Birch crowd. Older teachers in the faculty room often accused me of being a "Bircher" because I was a conservative. This book introduced me to the more hysterical elements of anti-communism.So where does modern conservatism come from? It seems to me that this book is an allegory, not a history. It is no mistake that the former Objectivist and the former Bircher get married in the end, and he goes off to fight in Vietnam. In a way, this is exactly what happened to the conservative movement. Philosophically speaking, the modern conservative coalition is made up of social conservatives and libertarians, among others. This book is effective as an allegory showing this philosophical development. Artfully done!

living history

This novel is in all respects delightful, in both a historical and fictional sense. Is there a better man to tell the tale of this era in OUR history?

More Great History in Fiction

This was simply a wonderful book. Buckley's history-in-fiction books have all been excellent, and this one is no exception. Having had much exposure to Randians in the late 1970s it was nice to get a clear picture of the movement and it's foundress. As also the JBS folks. One understands the animosity between the JBS folks and the NR folks a bit better. The truth hurts. I hope he writes more of these! Buy the book and have a nice dinner at Paone's in NYC.

Wonderful read

A compelling read. I particularly appreciated the characterization. Ayn Rand as Jim Jones, with just a touch of Colonel Klink, was inspired. Dead on, and don't let other reviews fool you - wonderfully perceptive vis-à-vis the Witchdoctress that was Rand and her cult.For a slim volume, there was a sprawling, across-the-years feel that delighted as well as informed. I have always enjoyed Mr. Buckley's work. This was no exception, and hats are off. Could Mr. Buckley be persuaded to apply the same dramatic instinct with knowledge of recent history to finally do justice to President Reagan? The ending, although something of a letdown, was true to the novel, and true to the era and the people it portrayed. What else could Woodroe do? Highly recommended. A great gift idea for your conservative friends - and an even better idea for your leftist ones.

A humdinger

Buckley swoops down on the early sixties where Ayn Rand is strutting her objectivist philosohy and Robert Welch thinks everybody is a Communist. Rand is a brilliant woman but her ... concerns for an aide dominate her life and shake u the movement. The story is gripping, the exposes original, the politicl action great.