Reagan: The Man and His Presidency [Hardcover]

Gerald Strober (Author), Deborah Hart Strober (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1998

The Islamic revolution. The Star Wars initiative. The Achille Lauro hijacking. The rise of the Moral Majority. The bombing of Libya. The Reykjavik summit. The hostages in Lebanon. The funding of the contras. These are some of the major news stories of the American 1980s, all of them part of an overarching story, the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the man whose character and conservative ideology defined the decade. Now these stories are told by the men and women who lived them in an unprecedented oral history of the era, from Reagan's first run on Washington in 1976 to his legacy today. Deborah and Gerald Strober have interviewed more than one hundred key players of the Reagan years, not only the president's closest friends and advisers but also some of his most vocal detractors. The testimony of these witnesses -- always candid and detailed and sometimes contradictory -- is woven into a single rich narrative, at once a chronicle of national and international politics of the period and a fascinating composite portrait of the man at the center of events. No other book takes us farther inside the Reagan White House or brings us closer to Reagan himself. Here are the members of the president's inner circle -- James Baker, Michael Deaver, Edwin Meese, and Don Regan -- speaking frankly about their influence on his political decision-making, and about Nancy Reagan's far greater influence. Here are leaders of the contras and the Sandinistas, of Israel and its adversaries, examining Reagan's policies in Central America and the Middle East. Here are C. Everett Koop on Reagan's attitude toward AIDS, Jerry Falwell on his fear of Armageddon, and Manuel Noriega on his use and abuse of Panama. And here, in a tour de force of research and reporting, is the most complete account yet of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, in the words of all the key politicians, strategists, and military personnel on both sides of the incident. The final years of the Reagan presidency were dominated by Iran-contra, and the Strobers' reconstruction of the scandal is masterly. The intricate web of events, from the first arms-for-hostages deal to the special investigation and its political aftermath, is traced clearly by those who wove it -- the arms brokers, the CIA, Oliver North, Fawn Hall, Lawrence Walsh, even the hostages themselves. "How do the Strobers do it?" asks Sidney Zion. "They manage to talk to all the untouchables . . . and the result is terrific -- history on the hoof." Reagan: The Man and His Presidency is oral history at its best -- an immediate and important historical document that brings the makers of history alive in their own voices.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Reagan: The Man and His Presidency, a sympathetic oral history of the Republican president who revitalized American conservatism, follows a pair of similar books by the Strobers on JFK and Nixon. For this volume, the authors interviewed 108 political insiders and others who knew their subject well, with everybody's insider perspective--from George Bush and Jordan's King Hussein down to the family astrologer, Joan Quigley--taken at face value. While the book does offer important insights on the 40th president's character and management style, and juicy first-person accounts such as Gerald Ford's take on the failed negotiations to have him join Reagan's ticket as a virtual "co-president," it is by no means a comprehensive history of the Reagan administration. In fact, this probably isn't the first volume on Reagan to own or read--for that, check out Dutch by Edmund Morris or Ronald Reagan by Dinesh D'Souza--but it certainly provides a nice addition to the libraries of Reagan devotees. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Following the format of their oral histories of the Kennedy and Nixon presidencies, the authors of this sympathetic, composite portrait of Ronald Reagan have spliced together interviews with 108 administration insiders, friends and political associates, among them Gerald Ford, Edwin Meese, George Bush, Colin Powell, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Oliver North, Fawn Hall, Yitzhak Shamir and King Hussein of Jordan. Organized thematically, the interview snippets range from Reagan's selections for his Cabinets to the arms-for-hostage deal with Iran, U.S. support for Nicaragua's contras and Reagan's current struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Both self-serving and revealing, the comments add new details to our knowledge of the Reagan presidency. Although this compilation often reads like a glowing tribute, even Reagan detractors will find pertinent material, for example, the wide influence of astrologer Joan Quigley, the first lady's informal adviser, on White House decisions, and the constant internecine infighting among top Reagan appointees. There are many memorable quotes, e.g., this from Reagan's press secretary Lyn Nofziger: "[Secretary of the Treasury James] Baker is one of the great leakers of our time. He spends a lot of time with the press..
- Baker is one of the great leakers of our time. He spends a lot of time with the press."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1St Edition edition (June 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395771935
• ISBN-13: 978-0395771938
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #63 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Reagan, Ronald

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great summary of the President by those who knew him best, October 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Reagan: The Man and His Presidency (Hardcover)

Outstanding review of the President by those who knew him best. Detailed interviews with members of the cabinet, advisors and family members. The interviews are broken down into categories (such as Alexander Haig, Domestic policy, etc.) and it is fascinating to hear what those closest to the situation had to say. For Reagan fans, it will confirm his position as the greatest leader of the 20th Century (although it is not biased in any way).

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Testimonials, October 10, 2000

By 

Lou (Skillman, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reagan: The Man and His Presidency (Hardcover)

Do you REALLY want to know about the Reagan presidency? Then read this book. No fluff, no guff. Just verbatim testimonials from dozens of prominent figures of the Reagan era. Ignore the imbecilic prattle of the anti-Reagan Marxists who despised the man. One helpful hint: take some notes. The authors and editors give the job titles of the interviewee only when they are first introduced. Later in the book it is impossible to remember everones's job titles, and you'll be turning back to earlier text. This is the only reason I docked it a star.

6 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Our most Treasonous president..., December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reagan: The Man and His Presidency (Hardcover)

This lopsided book won't change the minds of most Americans who agree that ronald reagan was one of the decietful presidents this century. He makes Nixon and Clinton look GOOD. He subverted the Constitution and lied to both Congress and the American People over the Iran Contra scandal--one of the most embarassing and shameful incidents in American History.