The Scriptorium links to an excellent review of the young Buckley's book using the following sentence as a link: "Christopher Buckley tried to write a book about Mum and Pup but ended up writing the first draft of a religious memoir about his own unbelief."
Me: The review offers significant insight into, and the flavor of, the Buckley relationships. It concludes with this paragraph (which seems wise to me):
The
only son of two outsized individuals, Christopher vainly sought his
father's attention and approval, chafed at Bill's public role, and
nursed a secret knowledge of his limitations. Today, the world knows
that his father was no saint. Despite the occasional laughs, this
reader wishes the author had filed the manuscript away and waited for
the gift of time and perspective. It would have been a better book.