Review of Reagan: A Life in Letters (Hardcover)

I'll admit off the bat that I love Ronald Reagan.I think he was a fantastic President.I really do.However, I've found that biographies of the man, and his own memoirs, have only shown us a little of who he was."An American Life", his post White House memoir, offered little in the way of great stories.It wasn't all together self-serving(that wasn't Reagan's way), but it had that same, kinda dull quality that seems to haunt all presidential memoirs.I get upset at Booth all over again when I think about what Lincoln's memoirs would have been like.Here though, in his own words, Reagan comes off as human.Flawed as any other person on this Earth, but with that absoute sense of right and wrong that galvanized his supporters and infuriated his critics.A previous reviewer who gave the book just one star obviously did not read the book, as Reagan's letters answer critics of Iran-Contra and address the Beiruit bombing.Whether you believe Reagan is up to you.That he addresses his critics in this book is a fact.

The book gives a very interesting portrait of Reagan.It starts with his earliest correspondence as a boy, and moves throughhis midwest years to his Hollywood years and into the governors mansion.It follows Reagan's travels on the campaign trail, and the sheer volume of letters is staggering.The man, who many on the left portray as an empty vessell, clearly had a lot to say, and he believed in what he talked about a wrote.The book features Reagans fair-mindedness, as he responds to letters from citizens that impune his character, his motives, and his upbringing.He treats each writer with a respect and affords them the dignity they denied him.It's clear that he was a master of the written word.

In fact, one of the prime reasons to read this is to relish what good letter writing could be.In the days of email, finely written letters are a lost art.Even if you are a critic of Reagan's politics, if you are an honest broker pick up the book.It reads quickly and lets you into Reagans thoughts in a way never before seen.Any person with an interest in the Reagan legacy needs to read this book.



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Review of Ronald Reagan (Hardcover)

D'Souza does not hesitate to note flaws in Regan's character or mistakes made during his life, governorship or presidency. Even so, one sees a very different image of Reagan than what is popularized and by now accepted by default, without question, as facts of history. I was astonished at what I assumed to be true only because pundits and the media said so.

We are frequently told that Reagan was a doting "pawn" of other more intelligent powers. But D'Souza reminds us of 1976 when Reagan challenged the incumbent president - a bold move within either party. Having lost the first five states his campaign manager unilaterally established a withdrawal meeting with Ford. But Reagan, under tremendous pressure to pull out, even from his wife, refused, stating he would take his ideas all the way to the convention, even if he lost every state. Then he started to win and Ford narrowly escaped. In `82 Reagan was vilified with media prejudice (see Bernard Goldberg's "Bias") as Paul Volker (a Carter appointee) restricted the money supply, while Reagan himself signed the biggest tax cut in history. Keynesian's - advocates of centralized government intervention - shouted for Reagan's head. These actions would produce nothing they said, as tax cuts provided money to spend while shrinking the supply took it away. Who would not have changed course given the economic downturn from already depressed levels? Reagan defied pressure again with defense spending - accepting enormous deficits, as Democrats and Republicans were not willing to exchange their social programs (and associated votes) for his defense promise. Clear about financial and political costs, to Reagan, defeating the Soviets with technological strength vs. weakness was worth the price. Finally, Reagan refused Gorbachev when he tried to trade away Star Wars at Reykjavik - a deal Reagan nearly bought with his strong desire to end the Cold War, eliminating nuclear weapons. Again Reagan took a terrible beating in the media.

We find Reagan a simple and practical man. He saw the world in uncomplicated ways that our elite emphatically state the world can no longer be seen in. To Reagan there was good and evil, right and wrong. He focused on larger pictures of his intent with little or no concern for details, infighting, insults, meetings or defections. While Billy Graham pronounced he had caviar everyday in Russia and John Kenneth Galbraith, among so many intellectuals, noted the success and permanence of the USSR, Reagan could not believe it. To him it simply violated common sense to think that the communist system would motivate, inspire and succeed with human nature better than capitalism and democracy. Even the master international diplomat, Richard Nixon, derided Reagan for not accepting the USSR as it was and always would be, writing insultingly about Reagan for years.

Actions noted do not match the definition of "pawn". Nor was Reagan simply stubborn. Reaganomics worked, reducing Carter's inflation from 12% to 3%, interest rates from 21% to 9%, leading to the greatest economic expansion since World War Two. (Unable to disconnect the economic rocket from Reagan's guidance, the next tactic, now so worn, was to snivel, "but not all Americans are doing equally well."They were supposed to be?) In ten years of Détente nine nations fell into the Soviet sphere and seventy percent of South America was communist or socialist. By the close of Reagan's administration 90% of South America was democratic and nine other countries fell out of Soviet influence with Berlin's Wall tumbling down under the hammers of freedom. Reagan and Thatcher changed the world into the global economy we see today - with all its problems they are not that of dictators, KGB and nuclear holocaust.

As we discover, contrary to fashion, Reagan was focused with a determined conviction. His ideas were no accident or implant. After years of writing, meeting people across America through his position at GE and a life experience showing how hostile big government was (is) to everyday Americans, Reagan sensed the country was ready for his message. Reganomics turned out to be a revolutionary insight, not irresponsible idiocy. Time after time he defied pressure and won the biggest prize since World War Two. The economic impacts of Reagan's defense debt, according to economist Lawrence Lindsey, has been a "fantastic payoff - the best money we ever spent".

Apparently, today's vogue position on Reagan is intended to discount him, adopting politically correct propaganda promoted by his opposition. The same opposition he kicked out of university buildings commandeered by force and violence by the hypocrisy laden 60's "peace" generation. The same opposition who rode 20th century orthodoxy, stating that government should regulate, escort and pamper its citizens. Reagan ran against the 20th century and fundamentalist movements born in the 60's. For that they never forgot him, determined to bury his success under the suffocation of revisionist history. Fortunately for some, still open enough to challenge modern dogma, D'Souza has a book to read.



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Review of Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America (Hardcover)

This selection of 670 radio commentaries Ronald Reagan wrote between 1975 and 1979 astonishes me to no end.Although I was an ardent supporter of the formerPresident, it seemed to me that Reagan's intellect left much to be desired.At best I concluded that Reagan had superb gut instincts, but was primarily the mouthpieceof those far more intelligent than himself.The first question concerning--Reagan, In His Own Hand--that came to mind was whether Reagan relied upon a ghost writer.Afterall, it is well established that some political leaders such as John F. Kennedy were credited for books they never wrote.I was therefore amazed to learn that it appearsRonald Reagan didn't even have an editorial assistant. These writings are indeed the result of Reagan's many years of intellectual inquiry in issues dominating thelast three quarters of a century.

The editors of this collection rightfully describe Reagan as "a one-man think tank."His insights on why Communism would inevitably disintegratealone justifies the purchase of this work.Reagan's detractors were upset when the President called the now defunct Soviet Union an "evil empire." Nevertheless, Reagan refused to mealy mouth the truth.In the end Reagan insisted that we stay the course in our opposition to World Communism.A weaker but still dangerous SovietUnion might still exist today had it not been for President Reagan.He was proven correct and his opponents should have the integrity to admit their errors in judgment.Thegreat leader also clearly understood the values of Democratic Capitalism.Some may legitimately nit-pick Reagan on some of the specifics, but substantially he was on target. Reagan's own words reveal a profound realization that dire poverty can only be eradicated by an essentially free economic system; government policies may be wellmeaning, but inadvertently often do more harm than good.

Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest Presidents in our nation's history.Even many professional Liberal historians are favorably reevaluating Reagan's Presidency. --Reagan, In His Own Hand--deserves a prominent place in one's library.These radio commentaries allow us to more fully comprehend how fortunate we were that RonaldReagan lead our nation during such a crucial era.



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