Customer Reviews

The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage

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This book takes a look at the lives of Nancy and Ronald Reagan both while in and out of political life with emphasis on the Reagans, themselves, rather than on the political events of which they were a part. The book clearly reflects the time and effort expended by the author in researching and writing it and appears to contain a great deal of authoritative information concerning the Reagans. Much of it is in the form of quotes from those who worked with or for the Reagans or otherwise interacted with them. These are woven into a fairly comprehensive and persuasive story.

Even so, the book seems to fall short of its title. It is not so much a "portrait" of the Reagans' "marriage" as it is a "connect the dots picture" of the Reagans life together as seen by those outside the marriage. Unfortunately, there are many missing dots and those are the ones which would reveal the more human side of the Reagans and the personal relationships and interactions between them. Clearly, there are enough dots (observations of Nancy or Ron, made by those who knew or worked with either one or both of them) but most bear little or no relationship to their marriage. Only in the final chapter does one finally get to see the true depth of their feelings for one another. In my view, rather than being a "team" comprised of:1) a husband who because of his Christian upbringing and his mother's teachings is desperately trying to hold onto his second wife, and 2) a cold calculating wife willing to do anything to advance herself through her husband's achievements; theirs was one of America's great love stories.

However, with all the information presented to the reader, each reader can easily form his or her own mental image of what the Reagan's married life may have been like. The problem is that from all accounts Nancy was an entirely different person in the eyes of Ronald Reagan than she was to virtually everyone else. And the opposite, in many cases, is also true. So if this is all there is, we may never be able to get a true portrait of the Reagan marriage. Nice try though.

First, let me start off by saying that Anne Edwards "Early Reagan" is one of my favorite books about Reagan. Her latest, The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage" is a good read but there really isn't much new information Reagan fans and scholars don't already know about these remarkable people. My biggest criticism of this book is that I believe Edwards overdoes the old stereotype that Nancy wore the pants and was the brains behind the man and his rise to power and what a dragon lady she was. Parts of the book are very unfair, in my opinion, to Nancy and come pretty close to doing a hack job. In that regard, it's disappointing. Still, Edwards knows her subjects very well and the book is very easy to read and uncluttered. The last chapter does bring the story of Reagan's life up to date with his struggle with Alzheimers. Overall, a good read about two fascinating people and their loving relationship.

Obvious bias against the Reagans. Compliments wives of FDR and Wilson for their strong support of their husbands, but then criticizes Nancy Reagan for exactly the same thing. Compliments Jackie Kennedy for her refurbishment of the White House (on government money), but then criticizes Nancy Reagan for her desire to restore the White House after the Carters and Nixons. She did it through private donations just as she procured the infamous china set. Also with private donations.

Author needs to lookup the real reason Reagan was sworn in as CA's Govenor. It was done to stop Pat Brown's rushing through of last minute judicial appts and not from the advice of an astrologer. Book borders on tabloid journalism complete with interviews with unnamed people.

Do not recommend this book.

The title of this book should be, "Nancy Gets Her Man and the White House Too." It's a chick-book chocked full of minutia such as, "She loved the peach-and-white, totally feminine boudoir...", and, "Nancy dressed in a comfortable Adolfo wool ensemble...".

The author, Ms. Edwards, scolds Nancy for being a bad mother, and tells us that Ronald was not a bright man. Yet Ronald Reagan rose from poverty to President, writing and delivering stunning public speeches, ended the cold war and protected us from communists and terrorist who knew he meant business when he told them to back off. And as Cyrano might say, he was a poet.

The book is filled with ambiguous antecedents which make speed reading difficult. However, if you like this sort of drivel, I have seen copies of the book on sale here for a penny!