Customer Reviews

Exit With Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan (Right Wing in America)

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There aren't too many "fair and balanced" opinions out there on Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and GW Bush. This book on Reagan by Pemberton comes as close as most to some semblance of objectivity. No book comes close to the quality and objectivity of a recent president as does Cannon's "President Reagan: Role of a Lifetime." But Pemberton does a fine job in covering Reagan's entire life in a small number of pages (214 of text).

I used the book in an American government class and I thought it was readable for the students and told the larger story of the 20th century. Reagan's life, whether one agreed with him or not, in many ways represented the story of the 20th century. After WWII, the nation embraced FDR and his policies. In time, with the Great Society and the rise of anti-communism, the nation stepped away from the liberal label. Contrary to what many on the right believe, the nation never embraced conservatism to the same degree it embraced the New Deal, but changes did occurred. And the end of the Cold War was another huge event. The left and right will always argue over the impact Reagan had on the end of the Cold War, but Pemberton did well in presenting the many different theories. He also was quite fair in analyzing Reagan's budget and tax policies, which are also still debated today.

If you are searching for an opinionated book on Reagan, than this is not the book to read. If it is general information with a few suprising tid-bits that you seek, than this book is worth your time. Pemberton tries his best to give an objective analysis of Reagan throughout this book. His thesis is that Reagan's up-bringing, job/co-worker influences, and general attitude toward life and the American people shaped his ideas for running the nation. Pemberton covers all the stops, from Reagan's mother's influence, to his radio career, to his acting career, to his governorship, to his presidency. Pemberton gives the facts about the Iran Contra mess and leaves it to the reader to decide Reagan's involvement. If you do not know much about Reagan, and you seek information but not opinions, than this book is an excellent resource that reads well.

The book is just over 200 pages of text, so detail is obviously lacking. In addition some statements/ideas are repeated verbatim, as if I didn't get the point. If you are somewhat interested in the 80's or Reagan this is a decent starting point. Think of it as the Cliff Notes on Reagan.

The author only gives credit to Reagan for restoring America's pride. He also presents the same myth about "mortgaging our future" with the national debt. Hey historians, if we've mortgaged our future, why is the economy so strong today? If you make 50,000 with 5,000 in debt, are you better off making 500,000 with 25,000 in debt?

After reading this book, I was left to wonder: What did RR really do while president? The book is written from the middle, but with an emphasis toward the positive aspects of RR's presidency, with small amounts of negativity thrown in for balance. The book doesn't talk much about any one subject. A good quick primer on this mediocre president who will go down in history as one of the most divisive, deceptive presidents of our country.