Reagan - The Life

by H.W. Brands

reviewed August 2015

Rarely do I every buy new, full-price books. There is such a plethora of great material to be purchased at a discount at so many different types of outlets and I tend to fall into the “frugal” category where reading is concerned. I made an exception for this book, and I’m not really sure why. Whatever the case, I’m very glad I did. This was a wonderfully entertaining book.

It’s always a good sign when you read a book that is almost 800 pages, yet you feel like you wanted so much more upon completion. Books of great length are not that uncommon when written about key figures in history. Example: I just finished a fourth volume of President Lyndon Johnson (the fifth hasn’t been written yet), and the man doesn’t even become president until after about 3,000 pages. So, yes, this book did give the impression of being somewhat succinct.

Fortunately, the parts detailing Reagan’s presidency fill up about 80% of the pages in this account. Having said that, you could make the argument that this book is more of a biography of Reagan the President, as opposed to Reagan the man. If you’re wanting to read about, for example, his career as an actor, his tenure as Governor of California, or his candidacy for President during the seventies, you’re likely to be severely disappointed. The book spends just enough information on these events so we can learn about the character of the man. It’s almost as if the author realizes that before we can appreciate and understand what type of president he was, he needs to give us a little background on some of the key events prior to 1980.

We learn he grew up poor with an alcoholic father, worked scale as a radio baseball announcer, became a very successful B movie actor, was a New Deal Democrat (he voted for FDR four times), was heavily involved in the actors union, was a successful governor, and hated communism. I’ll say it again – he hated communism. We also learned that he truly was a great communicator who loved the stage. Although there are some that dismiss this characteristic as unimportant as a key political figure, I would strongly disagree. Attitude and confidence can go a long way when being a leader, and Ronald Reagan had these attributes when he stepped into the office of president after a post-Watergate, “malaise” infected era of his country’s history.

Even though the majority of this book covers the presidency, there are still several examples where the reader wants more than what they are given. All of the major events are covered, and the biggest ones do get a lot of detailed attention. His greatest success (the Icelandic summit with Gorbechev) and his worst failure (Iran-Contra) get many chapters devoted to both. But some things that were memorable (good and bad) seem to only warrant a paragraph or two at most - such as the James Watt fiasco. I don’t ever remember reading the word “Reaganomics” even once, although there is some information about his efforts to get the economy back on track and changing the tax code.

I was also impressed by the author’s ability to not bog down the reader with governmental jargon. He seems to be aware that most people don’t have a strong understanding of some key events (example: most people, even back in 1983, couldn’t tell you the difference between the Contras and the Sandinistas when discussing Nicaragua). You never feel overwhelmed with information and/or people. He keeps the supporting cast manageable to where the uninformed reader doesn’t have to try to memorize and learn names they’ve never heard (this was a problem I had when I read The Reagan Diaries a few years ago).

We also learn (or are verified with what we already knew) that Reagan wasn’t a particularly good and/or emotional family man. He and wife Nancy adored one and other, but we rarely read about anything when it comes to the Reagan children and what kind of relationship there was. He could be somewhat distant when dealing with emotions, and apparently only let very few into his inner circle of feelings.

All in all most agree that he was a very successful president. Oh, sure, many on the far left hated him, but no Commander in Chief has complete harmony amongst the subjects (See also FDR and JFK). His jingoism could be too much for some, but most would argue that such characteristics were crucial during the time in the country’s history. You also learn that the man truly wanted the best for America and he was never out to hurt anybody. He truly believed that his job was to inspire confidence, encourage all to do their best, and protect the country from outside countries with conflicting ideologies.

Blameless? No. Perfect? Never. Most would argue that despite the drawbacks of some of the major events, the man brought the country back on track. Not everyone will ever fully agree to that statement, but that’s just how life is. Especially in the turbid world of politics.

Wish there could have been another volume or two.

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