Living on Fire

Reviews

“[A] lucid and compassionate biography . . . Kelly [is] a well-credentialed historian and biographer.”
—Washington Times

“Beautifully moving . . . nearly brought me to tears. . . . Kelly’s writing is clear and wonderfully fluid, and the book moves briskly. . . . We are grateful that Kelly has written this outstand­ing biography. Bozell is one of the great, unsung figures of 20th-century American history, and his passionate, merciful life is one worth knowing.”
—The American Conservative

“A sympathetic and briskly readable account that is candid about its subject’s personal torments and failure of promise.”
—National Interest

“Living on Fire would make an incredible movie.”
—The American Spectator

“A delightfully readable and analytically acute biography of a figure central to the founding of the conservative movement.”
—Rich Lowry, editor of National Review

“Poignant . . . We had to wait a long time for a biography of Brent Bozell, but Living on Fire has, beautifully and insightfully, made the wait worthwhile.”
—Chronicles

“The story of L. Brent Bozell Jr. is an American story, a big American story, and one that should be more widely known. Thanks to Dan Kelly, it will be. . . . In this absorbing and moving account, Kelly tells the full story of Brent Bozell, both the early triumphs and the heartbreaking stumbles.”
—Neal B. Freeman, from the foreword to Living on Fire

“In the latest of ISI’s rightly praised series of conservative biographies, Daniel Kelly offers a beautifully written and moving portrait of L. Brent Bozell Jr. The story of Bozell’s rise, fall, and final triumph as a ‘holy fool’ among the poor is compellingly told. Living on Fire is a must and inspiring read.”
—Lee Edwards, author of Goldwater: The Man Who Made a Revolution

“Kelly tells the remarkable story of L. Brent Bozell’s turbulent, crusading career inside and outside the American conservative movement, of the private demons that nearly destroyed him, and of the spiritual tranquility he achieved in the end. Written with discernment and empathy, this is an illuminating and deeply moving book.”
—George H. Nash, author of The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945

“A wonderful book about an extraordinary person who was essential to the founding of the modern conservative movement. Readers will find it impossible to put down.”
—Donald J. Devine, senior scholar at the Fund for American Studies, author of America’s Way Back

“Living on Fire presents L. Brent Bozell, warts and all, as a fascinating and complex personality. Kelly blends sympathy with cool judgment in describing Bozell’s impact on the lives of those he touched, and the painful ordeal of those who loved him most.”
—Patrick Allitt, professor of American history at Emory University and author of Catholic Intellectuals and Conservative Politics in America, 1950-1985

“This book should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand the place of traditionalist thought in late-twentieth-century America.”
—Christopher Shannon, assistant professor of history at Christendom College

“A good biography of L. Brent Bozell Jr. has been long needed, and our patience has been rewarded with Kelly’s heart-wrenching and inspiring book.”
—Donald T. Critchlow, Barry Goldwater Chair of American Institutions at Arizona State University and author of The Conservative Ascendancy

“Kelly recounts L. Brent Bozell Jr.’s remarkable story in clear and vivid prose. Kelly writes with great sensitivity about Bozell’s long and agonizing battle against bipolar disorder as well as his last, unexpected turn into true holiness.”
—Linda Bridges, coauthor of Strictly Right: William F. Buckley Jr.

“Kelly’s detailed, well-researched, and well-written biography smartly examines how Bozell contributed to some of conservatism’s principal strains of thought, placing him as a founding father of the movement.”
—Mark D. Popowski, author of The Rise and Fall of “Triumph”