Someday, when I open a bookstore and the big bucks roll in, I’ll display titles in narrow categories, ensuring no one finds anything and has to wander. This summer survey will be my trial run.

Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America, by Sam Tanenhaus. Penguin, 1,040 pages.

This week, the authorized biography of William F. Buckley Jr. was published: “Buckley: The Life and the Revolution that ...