65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerful, October 30, 2002
It's a pretty unusual book that sports praise from Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walesa and Caspar Weinberger on its dust jacket, but then Ronald Reagan was a pretty unusual man.
_Reagan's War_ isn't a biography. It starts with the adult Reagan already married to Jane Wyman and in Hollywood, beginning his "forty-year struggle" against communism, and it ends with the end of Reagan's Presidency. In between Schweizer recounts the tale of how Ronald Reagan -- often alone and against public opinion and advice -- won the Cold War.
_Reagan's War_ is an important reminder of many truths about the Cold War: that Soviet communism was aggressively imperialist, determined to rule the world; that the Soviets crushed their own citizens and mangled their own economy; that the Soviets were aided and abetted by many agents and useful idiots in the West; that a generation of American politicians allowed the Soviets to expand and dominate by constantly giving ground and putting faith in the mirage of detente; and that Reagan beat the Soviets, precisely by being a warmongering cowboy who would not accept compromise or defeat. Reagan challenged the Soviets on all fronts, supporting the Solidarity movement in Poland, broadcasting Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America into Soviet territory, arming and training insurgents fighting Soviet occupation, and most especially, by committing to an arms race that he knew the lumbering Soviet economy could not win.
_Reagan's War_ is well-written, often entertaining and sometimes quite moving. In addition to being important history, the tale of Reagan's war against communism is a great moral example of the difference that an individual can make and a powerful illustration of the force of freedom.
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41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling account of Reagan's crusade against Communism, November 16, 2002
REAGAN'S WAR begins with a terse retelling of the "Battle of Hollywood," a violent 1946 strike by a Communist-controlled labor union against the Warner Brothers studio. The strike fizzled, as did the Communist attempt to take over a studio. From the perspective of the Kremlin, it must have seemed like a small defeat at the time. But the unintended consequence of that strike was that an actor on the Warner lot, Ronald Reagan, began to realize that Communism posed a serious threat to American liberty.
REAGAN'S WAR tells the story of how Reagan developed his commitment to rolling back Communism and how his policies resulted in a fatal blow to the evil Soviet empire.
REAGAN'S WAR is not a biography, but a reexamination of Reagan's life through the narrowing prism of anti-Communism. Loyal Reaganites will find little emphasis on Reagan's tax-cutting fervor, or the resulting economic expansion. Critics of the Reagan Administration may be disappointed that Iran-Contra is mentioned only briefly (and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North only once). But the readers who will be the most dissatisfied --- if they read the book at all --- will be the former Communist elite in the former Soviet Union.
For them, REAGAN'S WAR will bring back only painful memories of tyranny past.
The part of the book that will most educate readers deals with Reagan's formative experiences in anti-Communism, placing his evolving worldview in counterpoint with the aggressive tactics of the Kremlin. While Communist satellite governments were consolidating their hold on Eastern Europe, Reagan recorded fundraising appeals for what would become Radio Free Europe and helped build Democratic support for Dwight Eisenhower. While Communism was toppling dominoes in Southeast Asia, Governor Reagan was confronting student protesters at Berkeley. While Nixon and Kissinger were laying the groundwork for detente, Reagan was advocating a more confrontational strategy, and preparing for a run at the Presidency.
REAGAN'S WAR provides an in-depth analysis of Reagan's economic and political maneuvers that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Author Peter Schweizer describes how Reagan coupled his legendary ability to communicate with his principled leadership and his unwavering faith, and shows how these characteristics were essential in his efforts to roll back Communism. Although his critics constantly accused Reagan of being a warmonger, Schweizer shows that his greatest victories were not in the battlefield but at the conference table. The last chapter of the book summarizes the efforts to cause the economic collapse of the Soviet Empire, showing billions of dollars lost by the Soviet economy due to military spending, Western economic sanctions, and aid to Cuba and Eastern Europe.
Schweizer's conclusions are buttressed significantly by his research in newly opened secret archives. We learn, unsurprisingly, that the peace movement in West Germany was supported and controlled by the East German secret police. We hear the complaints of Soviet leadership that the Reagan Administration would not shift its policies for political advantage, and worries that Reagan's spread of "anti-Soviet ideas" would prove decisive. There is even a too-brief mention of a North Korean threat to assassinate Reagan during a visit to South Korea. Schweizer also adds the Soviet perspective of summit meetings in Geneva and Reykjavik, and details the effect of Reagan speeches on the Russian dissident community.
REAGAN'S WAR is a popular, rather than a scholarly treatment of its subject. There is less detail than some readers would like about particulars, such as Reagan's relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, and the decision to pursue missile defense. The book's positive, aggressive defense of the Reagan record causes it to overlook some important issues. For example, the invasion of Grenada is presented without reference to the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, which immediately preceded it. The recounting of the arming of the Afghan resistance fails to take
into account the unintended consequences of that decision, which are still ongoing as of this writing.
However, the purpose of REAGAN'S WAR is not to criticize, but to celebrate a great victory and the great leader who is responsible for that victory. It accomplishes that purpose brilliantly, compiling Reagan's efforts against Communism into a unified whole, and further burnishing the Reagan legacy in the process. It is a valuable and important book for students of the era or students of leadership.
--- Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds (curtis@txreviews.com) writes movie reviews at http://www.txreviews.com/
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