Christopher Buckley Critical Essay | Critical Review by Joseph Sobran

Critical Review by Joseph Sobran

SOURCE: Sobran, Joseph. “Screened Personnel.” National Review 34, no. 9 (14 May 1982): 571-72.

In the following review, Sobran applauds Buckley's descriptive abilities in Steaming to Bamboola, but believes the book lacks Buckley's personal glimpses and cohesive plotting.

Samuel Johnson observed that every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea. The present book assuages such regrets.

When a Buckley traverses a large body of water, the predictable result is a well-written book. That much is beyond controversy by now. Any mild doubts as to whether Steaming to Bamboola is true to form may be laid to rest by dipping in at random. Here is a description of a helicopter rescue of an injured sailor who needed to be flown ashore:

The helicopter caught up like a fat bumblebee. It came up over the poop deck very slowly. The Chief Mate...
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