Customer Reviews

Reagan : A Life in Letters

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I sincerely doubt the bloggers who post that this is a poor book have ever even read it (certainly not with an unjaundiced eye) but are responding to their own political bias. I am not. I decided to give this book a look with some trepidation, expecting childish prose and awkward proselytizing. What I got was a series of lovely, gentle snippets from the pen of a man who was clearly more than he seemed. His surprising notes about tolerance and meaning in sexual relations were quite beautifully written and I am truly impressed with his simple and elegant prose style. This is really a very gentlemanly book. I would not hesitate to give this as a gift. Even naysayers (except those who are hard-hearted ideologues) will be unable to keep their hearts forzen in the face of this work.

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.

No one can read this book and be honest and then continue the myth that Ronald Reagan was not brilliant and insightful.

Certainly, President Reagan was not only the most personally insightful person on the national stage about the world around him of any of our presidents in the last 100 years, but clearly he is the best writer since Abraham Lincoln. Read this book and you will understand why President Reagan was re-elected by the largest margin since Franklin Roosevelt.

Whatever one's opinions of Reagan's domestic and foriegn policy may be, it is hard to overestimate the effect of Ronald Reagan on the world around him. This outstanding book is not narrative, nor is it a history. Rather, it is simply a collection of his letters to constituents, fellow policy makers, critics, and friends. It is quite possible that Ronald Reagan will be the last president to leave us this amount of correspondence. As the art of letter writing dies, replaced with e-mail and with the telephone, this traditionally rich source for historians will likely diminish in importance.

Not so for Reagan. He was a product of his generation; and he wrote. Letter after letter reveals the real Ronald Reagan on these pages. This book and its counterpart "Reagan in His Own Hand," which focuses on the develpment of his philosophy and resulting policy positions, are both indespensible in helping us understand his legacy. Highly recommended.

The 40th President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan, died today June 5, 2004. I remember buying and reading this book some time ago and felt I needed to submit a review in honor of President Reagan. Kiron K. Skinner did an excellent job profiling Reagan through his written works. This book provides excellent insight into this very interesting man --a man so different from the man the leftist media would have you believe him to be.

I was in high school when he was elected to his first term. As a radical Libertarian I was never a huge Reagan fan because I thought he was too soft on domestic policy and government spending. Also, I was fed a constant diet of leftist pablum from the major media. However, books like this and personal growth helped me realize the error of my ways and I have since developed a great appreciation for the man.

Faced with tremendous government failure during the seventies --especially during the Carter administration, Reagan tried to make the Goldwater dream a reality. I much admire his eight year effort even if it was tainted by issues like Iran-Contra and the wacky antics associated with his astrology obsession.

Nevertheless, Reagan gave us a purpose again --to fight the ultimate evil, Communism. He was one of the few in Government to realize that the red scare was just a paper tiger so he called the Soviet bluff and won. For this alone he will go down in history as one of the great Presidents.

I now realize that Reagan was the closest to a Libertarian president we will ever have and I credit him for turning the cost cutting machine on even if it is very slow to show return. His accomplishments were unequaled by any modern president. History will prove to be very kind to this great leader. RIP President Reagan.

Many Americans will agree that letter writing is truly a lost art. With chat rooms and emails and instant messages, who has the time to sit down and write a letter? Reagan, who has been called the "Great Communicator," reminds us just how great letter writing can be.

Anyone can write a boring biography of a president, but this book is different. Through Reagan's own words - with his letters to everyone from prolific world leaders to entertainers such as Sammy Davis Jr.- we become privy to a side of our 40th president that many of us did not know. It is truly a great read - not the kind of book you will want to sit down and read cover to cover in one sitting - but the kind of read that you will pick up off the book shelf from time to time and be glad every time you did.

Prof. Skinner et al. does a thorough and professional job of cataloging an interesting range of writings from letters to speeches. This includes entertaining radio addresses from before the presidency and samples of hand-written letters to such characters as Hugh Heffner. Fun at a glance, serious scholarly work for those so inclined.

With the recent news of President Reagan's passing, I immediately wanted to rush to the library and check out this book again. When I read it originally, I found it to be a fascinating look into a man we really know little about.

Reagan's image is forever romanticized by the conservatives in this country and tarnished by the liberals. We are left with two totally opposite images of a man, and both are probably inaccurate. This book allows the reader to see him for who he really was, in his own letters written to a broad spectrum of correspondents.

A level of understanding for someone is formed when reading their own, honest words. The letters include political rivals, Hollywood contemporaries, pop culture icons and even the average American who had the unique fortune of corresponding with the leader of the free world. I was most touched by a letter he wrote to his son on the eve of seeing him married. Mr. Reagan speaks tenderly of the new level of love gained when two people give themselves totally to one another and must accept the good and the bad.

I can not begin to describe who Ronald Reagan really was. Many will try in the coming days. But they will all be corrupted by their own likes or dislikes of the man . With this book, you won't have to rely on any opinions about who this man really was...he will show you himself.

There is something so special about someone who knows how to right letters or keeping a journal and does so for decades. Guess this is why I have loved this book and an earlier one I Love You, Ronnie. The man simply knew how to write with feeling and in a manner that makes the reader feel like they are important.

And how fortunate we are that someone had the common sense to save his writings, however profound or however plain. I can tell a lot about a person by what they write. It often gives me an insight that those writing about the person just seem to miss.

I admit I respect both Ronald and Nancy Reagan. The man was human which means he was flawed like the rest of us. But his positives far out weight the negatives which is the bottom line.

One of the things that caught me today as the funeral at the Cathedral in DC continued was the profound respect that world leaders had for Mr. Reagan. A life like his touched the lives of so many others. I was poor when he took office, and his vision gave us all new hope and my life improved tremendously by the time he left office.

His life, over 10,000 letters written, shows that he was a man of great personal depth and conviction for his family, his friends, his nation and the world we live in. I would imagine that if those who have written things about him on these and other pages were to express their anger to him for his failings, he would sincerely express his apologies for the shortcomings he had. We cannot blame him for the AIDs epidemic, he did not start it, nor could he do anything to finish it.

When he started his presidency he was surrounded on all sides with one crisis after another. We had double digit inflation, a flagging economy, we almost lost one of the big three automakers and hundreds of thousands of jobs. He gave us hope, and he touched all Americans collectively as he touched the lives of the many individually through what he wrote to them.

His dignity was beyond any of the negative any could say about him. What we all need to ask is, what have we done individually to aid the poor, to help those with AIDS, to help promote peace and share our prosperity with the world? Could we write to encourage and inspire as he did?

"A Life In Letters" is a wonderful tribute to a man who embodied faith, love and friendship. He gave us a hope and a vision, and he shared that with us collectively as he did with those he wrote to individually over the years.