Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan [Hardcover]

Michael K. Deaver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2004

Recounts the time the author spent with the former first lady, sharing such details as her experiences during the assassination attempt on her husband and the challenges she faces as a caregiver for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To long-time Reagan staffer Deaver, it has often seemed as if there were two Nancy Reagans, one whom the public loves to criticize and a private, gentler version. In his latest book, Deaver (A Different Drummer) writes about a Nancy Reagan most people have never gotten to know. Deaver is not blind to his subject's failings, but he argues that the public has never really understood what Nancy is about. Her involvement in political matters, her impatient and intimidating demeanor and her take-no-prisoners attitude stemmed, he says, from a genuine desire to protect and shield her husband from those who had something other than his best interests at heart. Throughout the trials that have plagued the Reagans' lives, from the assassination attempt to the president's affliction with Alzheimer's, Nancy has stood unfailingly by Reagan's side, even if he can no longer stand by hers. "It was always about him," Deaver explains. This is not a comprehensive biography, nor does it seek to push a political agenda. More than anything, it is deeply personal, a moving tribute to the Nancy Reagan he got to know over the many years in their personal and professional relationship. His poignant writing portrays a determined and courageous woman who throughout her life has been motivated by one thing: love. Politics was just noise in the background. 8 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW.
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From Booklist

Deaver is an old, dear friend of Nancy Reagan, as well as having been an aide for many years to former president Reagan. So while he has had enough of a bird's-eye view to justify that word intimate in the subtitle, this is essentially a puff piece, singing the praises of Nancy (although, at times, Deaver is quite hard on himself). It's not that he shies away from the controversies that surrounded Nancy Reagan when her husband was in office. Deaver brings up everything from the negative way in which she was perceived by the press (and, occasionally, by her own people) to the admission that an astrologer helped plan the president's schedule. But Deaver seems to see his writerly role as that of an advocate rather than a biographer. Since many of the incidents about which he writes are well known--for example, Nancy's appearance at a press-club dinner singing "Second-Hand Rose"--his portrait comes across mostly as stale rehash. Only in the last chapters, which make liberal use of Mrs. Reagan's own comments to detail her heartrending role as her husband's caretaker, does the book seem most real and "intimate." - Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060087390
• ISBN-13: 978-0060087395
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,373,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Touching Love Story, July 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan (Hardcover)

Mike Deaver was able to explain the relationship that Nancy and Ronald Reagan had from an insiders view. So little was ever written about the private side of Nancy Reagan, and he captures some of those moments very well. It was a pleasure to read also about their relationship then and even now. The public knew that they stood by each other no matter what, but I think Mike took care of both of them. He was as concerned about the President as he was the First Lady. I'm so glad to have read this book about a truly beautiful married couple, written by someone who has known them for 30 some years.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She Stood By Her Man!, April 29, 2004

By 

David L. Stapleford "LOVES MOVIES" (Greenville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan (Hardcover)

Although too young to vote for him in either election Ronald Reagon was one of the best presidents this nation ever had. The book "Nancy" opened my eyes in so many ways. No matter what she was always right by his side every step of the way! They had the kind of marriage and relationship that was and still is an example to us all. I remember it like it was yesterday....the day Ronald Reagon almost left us due to John Hinkley's bullet. This book shows just how much she loved the man and would do anything for her and he for her. I thank God for people like Ronald and Nancy Reagon. Although the book is called "Nancy" you'll learn quite a bit about the "gipper" as well!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best portrait of Nancy Reagan in print, March 10, 2004

By 

Annelise Anderson (Portola Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan (Hardcover)

If you want to understand a president--and Ronald Reagan is a president worth understanding--you have to know something about the people really close to him. Including his wife, his First Lady. And long-time aide Michael Deaver.

From the time Deaver went to work for Reagan in 1966--when Reagan stunned the political world with his election as governor of California--one of Deaver's major duties, in connection with overseeing Reagan's schedule, was liaison with Nancy Reagan. It was a task that terrified most of the staff.

When Reagan's two terms as governor ended, Deaver and Peter Hannaford created a public relations firm with Ronald Reagan as their main client, travelling with him (and Nancy) around the country from 1975 through his election to the presidency in 1980. Again Deaver was Nancy's major contact and confidante, as he was in the White House.

Michael Deaver knows Nancy Reagan better, perhaps, than anyone. He knows things no one else knows, and in this book he provides the best portrait we yet have of the challenges she has faced as the wife of Ronald Reagan during his political career--and afterward--and how she dealt with these challenges.

It is a portrait far different from the impression many people probably have. And, true to his public relations skills, Deaver tells it all through stories about people and events, including all the difficult ones--the governor's mansion, the clothes, the ranch, the shooting, astrology, the long good-bye.

Deaver does less footnoting (in fact, none at all) than most authors, and there's no index. But it's a good read and has its own importance as a memoir of Deaver's long association with the Reagans.