“Christopher Buckley.” Source of caption and image: online version of the NYT article quoted and cited below.
(p. 5) Which book has had the greatest impact on you? What book made you want to write?
H. L. Mencken’s “Prejudices.” He wrote these six volumes in the 1920s, but their zest, sinew and cut-and-thrust are undated, fresh and vital nearly a century after their ink dried. No American writer — except perhaps Twain and Bierce — could be so withering and gleeful at the same time.
For the full interview, see:
Buckley, Christopher. “By the Book: Christopher Buckley.” The New York Times Book Review (Sun., July 7, 2013): 5.
(Note: the bold in the original indicates a question to Buckley by the unidentified NYT interviewer.)
(Note: the online version of the interview has the date July 3, 2013, and has the title “Christopher Buckley: By the Book.”)
The six volumes mentioned in the interview, have been reprinted in a two volume set:
Mencken, H.L. H.L. Mencken: Prejudices: The Complete Series. New York: Library of America, 2010.