Zapped!

When I heard that William F. Buckley had a new political novel coming out, I thought that it would nice to have.



When the read the book review in the latest issue of National Review (sub req):

The Rake tells the story of Reuben Hardwick Castle, a North Dakotan who rises from obscurity to the U.S. Senate and nearly wins the Democratic nomination in 1992. He has no real-life analogue (this is not a book about William Jefferson Clinton), yet his character is familiar to us all.

He begins as a charming, even likable person. But his is the fast charm of a restless man, more an involuntary emotional tic than evidence of underlying warmth. We see Castle in 1967 as a freshman at the University of North Dakota, where he is vying for a position on the college newspaper. Buckley writes, "He was by nature competitive but also adroit about the expenditure of energy....He reasoned that by a shrewd application of practical and psychological intelligence he could increase the prospects of success, while diminishing the pains of achieving it." Castle reasons correctly, and rises through the ranks of college life: editor-in-chief of the newspaper, class president, leading protester of the Vietnam War, and all-around man about campus.

I knew that I had to have it. How can you not read Buckley writing about North Dakota?

Despite the heavy passions at play, the book is full of light-heartedness. For example, Buckley pokes fun at the signature vices of the late-'60s generation--false spontaneity, selfish indulgence in loose morals--with "Zip to Zap Day," one of Castle's college schemes. Thousands of students descend on the farming town of Zap, N.D. (population: 450), to manifest their youth through beer and rock music. When after a few days food runs low and the weather turns cold, the organizers urge everyone to leave. But no one budges, and the National Guard is called in to calm "the first 'riot' ever officially recorded in North Dakota."

The Zip to Zap was a real event. When I was in college at UND, people described it to me as "North Dakota's Woodstock." Not exactly:

Students began arriving in Zap on Friday, May 9, 1969. They quickly filled the town's two taverns. The demand for beer was such that the tavern owners decided to double the price. This action upset the students, but in the long run it did not matter since all the beer was rapidly consumed. Drunken students took the streets of the small town. Vomiting and urinating on the streets by the students caused great concern among the locals, who quickly began to fear for their safety.

The temperatures fell below freezing and the drunken college students started a bonfire in the center of town, using wood that was left over from a recent demolition project. The townspeople, led by Mayor Fuchs, asked the students to leave: some complied and some did not. What had started out as a spring break get-together quickly turned into the only riot in North Dakota's history. Local security forces were overwhelmed and the cafe and one of the bars were completely destroyed.

Governor William Guy called in 500 troops from the North Dakota National Guard to quell the riot. Over 1,000 partiers were still in Zap when the guard arrived on the scene at 6:30 am, although just 200 of them were still awake. The guardsmen with fixed bayonets roused the hungover students. There was little resistance to the dispersal. This all took place in front of national media outlets that had gathered at Zap to document the occasion.

In fact, the Zip to Zap was the lead item on the CBS Evening News that day. It was also covered by Pravda, the news outlet of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Stars and Stripes of the United State Armed Forces. Damage from the riot was estimated to be greater than $25,000. These bills were ultimately paid by the student governments of North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.

I look forward to enjoying Buckley's treatment of the Zip To Zap. It should be a riot.