Reagan: The Life, by H.W. Brands
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Reagan: The Life, by H.W. Brands
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From master storyteller and New York Times bestselling Historian H. W. Brands comes the definitive biography of a visionary and transformative president In his magisterial new biography, H. W. Brands brilliantly establishes Ronald Reagan as one of the two great presidents of the twentieth century, a true peer to Franklin Roosevelt. Reagan conveys with sweep and vigor how the confident force of Reagan’s personality and the unwavering nature of his beliefs enabled him to engineer a conservative revolution in American politics and play a crucial role in ending communism in the Soviet Union. Reagan shut down the age of liberalism, Brands shows, and ushered in the age of Reagan, whose defining principles are still powerfully felt today. Reagan follows young Ronald Reagan as his ambition for ever larger stages compelled him to leave behind small-town Illinois to become first a radio announcer and then that quintessential public figure of modern America, a movie star. When his acting career stalled, his reinvention as the voice of The General Electric Theater on television made him an unlikely spokesman for corporate America. Then began Reagan’s improbable political ascension, starting in the 1960s, when he was first elected governor of California, and culminating in his election in 1980 as president of the United States. Employing archival sources not available to previous biographers and drawing on dozens of interviews with surviving members of Reagan’s administration, Brands has crafted a richly detailed and fascinating narrative of the presidential years. He offers new insights into Reagan’s remote management style and fractious West Wing staff, his deft handling of public sentiment to transform the tax code, and his deeply misunderstood relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, on which nothing less than the fate of the world turned. Reagan is a storytelling triumph, an irresistible portrait of an underestimated politician whose pragmatic leadership and steadfast vision transformed the nation.
Reagan: The Life, by H.W. Brands- Amazon Sales Rank: #53694 in Books
- Brand: Brands, H. W.
- Published on: 2015-05-12
- Released on: 2015-05-12
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.53" h x 1.66" w x 6.42" l, 2.88 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 816 pages
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Most helpful customer reviews
98 of 110 people found the following review helpful. Excellent single volume introduction, though nothing new, despite one inexplicable omission of a crucial part of Reagan's life By J. Jensen Brands manages to present a single volume biography of Reagan with the same gripping format (short chapters and small divisions within) and quick narrative flow as his other excellent biographies. If you are new to studying Reagan, I would recommend this book as one of the best single volume introductions, with a major caveat I mention below. If you have studied Reagan more in depth, there won’t be much new here, certainly nothing major, though it is still a good read.As Brands flows through Reagan’s life, he spends more time where needed (6 chapters are devoted to the Reykjavik summit, also see "Reagan at Reykjavik" by Ken Adelman), but still manages to include brief passages concerning a myriad of other issues that were not at the fore of Reagan’s agenda, but were a part of his presidency nonetheless. The briefest inclusion is Brand’s treatment of Reagan’s views on apartheid, coming in at a mere paragraph and less than half a page. Receiving somewhat more attention are Reagan’s efforts regarding AIDS (a few pages), immigration and other peripheral issues. The major issues, of course, receive far more attention, such as Reagan’s economic agenda and his efforts to sell it to the American people and wavering Democrats. Iran-Contra also receives its fair amount of attention, even including the investigation into the 90s and the embarrassing testimony offered by a Reagan who had lost virtually all memories of that time of his presidency.Brands seemed to linger far longer than is necessary for a work of this type on the alleged ‘October Surprise’ concern during the 1980 campaign and the highly conjectural conspiracy theories that individuals tied to Reagan’s campaign exerted influence to prevent the release of the hostages in Iran. Nothing will ever be believed by every individual, but this conspiracy theory has such a small following and little basis in actual evidence that his inclusion of it felt forced and its lengthy analysis felt drawn out simply for the sake of appearing more evenhanded.Also, while Brands presents an effective narrative of Reagan’s presidency, his efforts on his governorship fall a little flat (see "Governor Reagan" by Lou Cannon), and the brevity with which he discussed the pivotal 1976 campaign is a mystery (see "Reagan's Revolution" by Craig Shirley), as is his effectively skipping the years 1977-1979 which are crucial in order to understand Reagan and try to get in his head (see "Rendezvous with Destiny" by Craig Shirley). Reagan's radio addresses during this period are one of the best insights available to truly understand the man (see "Reagan, In His Own Hand" edited by Kiron Skinner and Annelise Anderson).Brands efforts to be evenhanded are admirable, and while no author of any biography ever has nor ever will achieve this with perfection, Brands does manage to come close. This is particularly evident in Brands inclusion of statements from various members of Reagan’s administration, such as Don Regan, who became embittered towards some administration members and especially Nancy Reagan. Statements from such individuals, revealing inner workings of the presidency, present both sides of an argument in a way that at least seems to minimize the bias, and at least point out the bias when it is apparent. That said, I wish Brands had included more statements from a wider array of administration officials. He seems to focus on a select few, such as Regan.While I feel the positives outweigh the negatives in this volume, the most glaring weakness nearly tipped the scales. Ronald Reagan’s faith was vital to him, yet Brands rarely makes mention of it, and only addresses it specifically more than half way into the book, on page 404, and then he does so only briefly and, frankly, rather incorrectly. Perhaps the most outrageous statement in the book is Brand’s assertion that “casual observers and even people close to him might have wondered sometimes whether he had any religion at all.” My jaw dropped at that statement, knowing what a great man of faith Reagan was. Brands only mentions in passing that Reagan didn’t attend church due to security reasons, which is true, yet he doesn’t mention how much it pained Reagan not to attend services. Reagan’s son, Michael, tells of a flight he had with his father on Air Force One shortly before Easter in 1988. The president began counting on his fingers and when Michael asked what he was doing, Reagan responded “I’m counting the months until I’ll be out of office and able to attend church again.” Indeed, Reagan was so eager that that Easter weekend he decided to attend Easter services at a small church near his ranch (for more on Reagan’s faith, and it’s crucial important throughout his life, see “God and Ronald Reagan” by Paul Kengor, “Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan” by Mary Beth Brown, or “The Faith of Ronald Reagan”, also by Mary Beth Brown).Reagan’s faith was pivotal to understanding his crusade against Communism (see “The Crusader” by Paul Kengor and “Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons” by Paul Lettow), for its very foundations were, in Reagan’s eyes, a crusade of the faithful against Godless communism. To Reagan, religion and faith were the core driving factors of the greatest accomplishments of his presidency. No mention is made of the book that inspired Reagan as a child, “That Printer of Udell’s”, which he himself referred to throughout his life as having been a major influence on him. Furthermore, Reagan’s faith was crucial to him during his recovery from his assassination attempt (see “Rawhide Down” by Del Quentin Wilber for a gripping account of those few days in March, as well as the role of Reagan’s faith during that time).My own relative served with Reagan during his time as governor in California, and spent a significant amount of time alone with Reagan during the late 60s and early 70s. My own interviews with him have revealed the depth of Reagan’s faith, as he inquired regularly concerning my relatives faith, similar to his own, and they often discussed their bone deep convictions and prayed together to seek the Lord’s guidance. Indeed, while Brands mentions Reagan’s struggle with abortion laws as governor of California, he makes no mention that when Reagan felt driven to make sure he was on the right side of this moral issue, he spent a large amount of time in his office praying and reading his Bible. One of Reagan’s oft repeated phrases was that he valued looking up (to God) more than ahead (to those around him) for strength. He wrote to a friend in 1973 that his “faith was unshakeable” and shared with them the aforementioned axiom he had ascribed to his whole life (see “Reagan: A Life in Letters” by Kiron Skinner, p. 278).In sum, the failure of Brands to fully grasp the role of faith in Reagan’s life and convey this in his biography cost him a full star in my review, dropping it from 4 to 3. Still, I enjoyed this book thoroughly, even though I learned nothing new of any consequence. Brands has produced what I could recommend as an introductory biography to Reagan with mention of the one caveat regarding his treatment of Reagan’s faith. Overall, an enjoyable and exciting read due to its fast pace and narrative style.
63 of 71 people found the following review helpful. A clear, interesting, corrective biography. By Patrick McCormack Finally, a well written straight forward biography of one of the most interesting men of the late 20th.Like most who came of age during the Carter-Reagan years, I learned of these men through a filter of hate -- sometimes for Carter, often for Reagan. Our national media is a disgrace, moving right past the story to the vitriol, President after President.This book tells the man's story, from his youth, to his death. The writing is clear and informative, and the author shows the man, not the myth. The result is a good book about a great man.Note I did not say a perfect man, or an icon, or a saint. Those would be boring books to read. I have read Morris, and I have read Noonan, and this book betters both by far, and adds a clear eye. This is a great book to read and informative for anyone, even someone stunted by the media of the age, and their dark tellings of Presidents they hated.
50 of 57 people found the following review helpful. Getting To Know Reagan By Shane Lems I was around 10 years old when Reagan finished his two terms as President. I can still remember my parents and others saying how much they appreciated Reagan, and that they were sad to see him go. Over the years I've learned a few things about Reagan by reading or listening to his speeches. I haven't read much else, but am glad to be "schooled" by H. W. Brands in his new biography, "Reagan: The Life." While I do appreciate Reagan, it didn't seem like Brands painted too rosy a picture of him; Brands was fair in my opinion.First of all, the book is well written. There are quite a few details (names, locations, dates, etc.), but Brands writes in such a way that the details don't bog down the reading. I haven't read anything by Brands before, but having read this one, I think I'll seek out more of his work! Here and there the book slowed down a bit (in my opinion), but over all I enjoyed reading it very much. It read more like a story than a textbook. Note: it is BIG - my copy has 737 pages of the story, followed by around 50 pages of end notes. It's not a weekend read, but it is worth working through.Secondly, the book basically follows Reagan's life. The first two chapters cover the first 22 years of Reagan's life (starting in Tampico, Illinois, Feb. 6, 1911). The next section of the book (around 100 pages) talks about his years in California (1935-1962) where he worked in Hollywood, with the Screen Actors Guild, and for General Electric. His time as governor of California and his political life up to 1980 is the topic of chapters 16 through 32. Reagan's two terms as President take up pages 239-706. The last short part of the book (p. 705-737) covers the rest of his life (to his death in 2004).The only disappointment I had with this book is that it spends very little time discussing Reagan's first years and his last years. I realize it is a minor critique, but I was hoping to learn more about Reagan as a child and a young man.Aside from the minor critique, I wholeheartedly recommend this book! It was engaging enough for me that I underlined in it, took some notes, and will no doubt refer to it again in the (near!) future. Bravo to H. W. Brands for this work on one great American President.
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