William Safire (1929–2009) was as much of an influence on me, growing up, as anyone I didn’t know, rivalled only by Carl Sagan. Sagan spurred my fascination with science and space, but didn’t move my politics, whereas Safire was a factor in my political views, writing style and career path. He was one of three conservative formative influences on me, along with William F. Buckley, Jr., and Norman Podhoretz, but in retrospect Safire figured most among these, even though I never met him (unlike Buckley... Читать дальше...