Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History [Hardcover]

John Patrick Diggins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Affirming Reagan's position as one of America's greatest presidents, this is a bold and philosophical reevaluation.

Following his departure from office, Ronald Reagan was marginalized thanks to liberal biases that dominate the teaching of American history, says John Patrick Diggins. Yet Reagan, like Lincoln (who was also attacked for decades after his death), deserves to be regarded as one of our three or four greatest presidents. Reagan was far more active a president and far more sophisticated than we ever knew. His negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev and his opposition to foreign interventions demonstrate that he was not a rigid hawk. And in his pursuit of Emersonian ideals in his distrust of big government, he was the most open-minded libertarian president the country has ever had; combining a reverence for America's hallowed historical traditions with an implacable faith in the limitless opportunities of the future. This is a revealing portrait of great character, a book that reveals the fortieth president to be an exemplar of the truest conservative values. 13 photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A professor of history at the City University of New York Graduate Center, Diggins (The Rise and Fall of the American Left) provides an original reappraisal of Ronald Reagan from the conservative perspective. Throughout, Diggins discovers nuances that have heretofore escaped notice by most other Reagan scholars. For example: in appraising Reagan's reaction as California governor to '60s radicals, Diggins is the first writer to acknowledge the extent to which the onetime movie star shared common ground with rebels on campuses nationwide. Reagan, with his reverence for Thomas Paine and passion for limiting the reach of government, was—on at least one level—more than sympathetic when Berkeley protesters chanted, "Two, Four, Six, Eight, Organize to Smash the State!" Although a fan of Reagan's, Diggins doesn't hesitate to be critical—as when he discusses Reagan's attitude as president toward environmental issues, which Diggins characterizes as "puzzling" and "disastrous." (Diggins notes that Reagan's record as governor of California, where he allied himself with old guard Republican conservationists, was far more environmentally-friendly.) Overall, Diggins does a superb job of tracing Reagan's intellectual development from old school New Dealer to thoughtful, Emersonian libertarian, and also firmly establishes Reagan's credentials as a major architect of communism's final collapse. 13 photos. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Because Reagan has been misinterpreted by both the Right and the Left, his legacy in American political history has been distorted and undervalued, according to Diggins, author of The Rise and Fall of the American Left (1992). Contrary to liberal opinions, Reagan was no philosophical lightweight, nor was he the moral absolutist lauded by conservatives. He was a man of consistent beliefs, forged during the cold war. In his efforts to end the cold war, he was closer to liberals who always thought it possible than to conservatives who didn't believe it could ever be done. Reagan was "the only president in American history to have resolved a sustained, deadly international confrontation without going to war," defying liberal expectations of him personally and conservative expectations of the value of diplomacy. Reagan rejected the authority of religion as much as government. By convincing Americans to believe in themselves, Reagan demonstrated the duality of American political culture, that it is both liberal and conservative. This is a thoughtful book for both Reagan admirers and critics. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393060225
• ISBN-13: 978-0393060225
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please, Professor Diggins . . ., March 21, 2007

By 

Marvin D. Pipher (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History (Hardcover)

In this book, a distinguished professor of history examines the education and fundamental beliefs of Ronald Reagan; the liberalism and conservatism of his time; and his goals, objectives, accomplishments, failures, and triumphs as President of the United States of America. In the process, he makes some profound observations and comes to some rather surprising conclusions.

Three such observations stand out: 1) Reagan's formal education and religious upbringing pre-dated the radical liberalism of his time in office, i.e., he wasn't an "intellectual"; 2) his brand of Conservatism was remarkably close to the Liberalism of an earlier time; and 3) Reagan won the battle with the student activists in the 1960s but may also have lost the war, since those radicals went on to become the university professors who were, and are, his most vocal political critics.

The author contends that Reagan's major flaw, as president, was that, as a result of his early encounters with communism in the 1950s, he became obsessed with communism, which he perceived as truly evil, and came to interpret every action of the Soviet Union in that light. This, the author contends, caused him to misjudge and misunderstand much of what was happening in South America and in the Middle East. For example, he failed to realize that those fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan weren't "freedom fighters," but were, in fact, the zealots who would go on to become today's Islamic terrorists.

The author further contends that it wasn't until Reagan came to the profound conclusion that the greatest threat to America and to the world at large was nuclear annihilation, for at that time both the United States and the Soviet Union had the capability to destroy the world. This was a threat which had hung over the world like the sword of Damocles for almost forty years. It was then that Reagan saw the folly of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) and made the elimination of nuclear weapons his highest priority. That realization led him to become an enlightened statesman and a leader unique in world history. In the author's opinion, not only did he succeed in bringing an end to the "cold war," in eliminating the threat of nuclear annihilation, and in facilitating the break-up of the Soviet Empire, but he did something unprecedented in world history. He ended a long-standing confrontation with an avowed enemy state without resorting to war and for the first time in world history an empire collapsed without war or revolution.

I don't agree with everything Professor Diggins contends in this book and sensed an underlying theme of radical liberalism throughout much of it. But all things considered, this may well be the most important book about Ronald Reagan, and his life and times, that has been written to date. As a minimum, it is the most complete and comprehensive study of Reagan's political life that the reader is likely to find. It makes the reader think and makes him wonder, and may change his mind a time or two. But what makes the book truly remarkable is that the author, an admitted liberal (of unknown persuasion) freely admits that he misjudged Ronald Reagan during his presidency and now, after studying his subject, ranks him alongside Abraham Lincoln as one of America's greatest presidents.

(But please, Professor Diggins, Vince Lombardi wasn't the coach of Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish.")

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reagan and his Quest for Liberty. Well-Researched and Important, March 6, 2007

By 

T. Carlsen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History (Hardcover)

In this illuminating book "Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History," John Patrick Diggins shows clearly that Ronald Reagan was a believer in the American dream and Emersonian in his optimistic belief in self-reliance and emphasis on individual freedom. Reagan worried about the danger of government as strong as totalitarianism. Reagan was ideological for libertarianism (often called liberalism in the old sense of that word). Reagan was not a social order conservative like Edmund Burke, who believed government was needed to restrain the dark side of people or impose an unfair social order. Instead, Reagan was optimistic about human freedom, like Jefferson, and not pessimistic like Alexander Hamilton. This split in ideology between liberty and order goes back to the early days of the American republic and way before that. Reagan was for liberty.

The history of Reagan's time in California is engrossing. Reagan adored FDR and was a staunch New Dealer. Then communists tried to infiltrate Hollywood and used lie after lie to do so. Reagan felt he was defending American became an anti-communist crusader, still as a FDR-loving Democrat, and then registered one day as a Republican and he never turned back. He then advocated free markets, freedom and the danger of government making bad mistakes with too much power. The story of Reagan's life before he became president is very important for understanding Reagan as a person and what he really believed. Reagan's extensive writings, speeches and political career show Reagan to be a thoughtful advocate of individual freedom. Therefore, he was a staunch enemy of communism or any form of totalitarianism. Indeed, the author argues that Reagan was in some ways anti-establishment in his optimistic belief in individual freedom. This may go back to his early years growing up with an alcoholic father. Reagan was leery of freedom being subjected to a fallible power.

Reagan's spirit was deeply shaped by his mother, a member of the Disciples of Christ faith (related to Unitarianism), which espoused an optimistic view of nature and personal responsibility.

Reagan's proactive optimism helped bring liberty to Eastern Europe. Reagan and his Secretary of State George Schulz reached out to USSR leaders and negotiated arms reductions and a peaceful end to the cold war. Reagan believed in other people. He saw institutions and government as the problem -- not people. Very few people, other than Reagan, believed that Communism would collapse. Yet Reagan saw it coming, because he viewed communism as an unnatural system. Contrary to what neo-cons falsely claim, Reagan's charm and sincere diplomacy with Gorbachev achieved the end of the Cold War peacefully. (Read Reagan's autobiography to hear it from Reagan himself.) Reagan pivoted from confrontation to a peaceful unraveling of USSR due to Perestroika and the fatal flaws of communism, with a push from Reagan. This is an important book about the Cold War.

The book says that Reagan (the Cold War), Abraham Lincoln (American Civil War) and Franklin Roosevelt (World War Two) were the three greatest liberators, and that Reagan deserves to be recognized as a great president. Reagan's can-do optimism led him to negotiate a peaceful end to the Cold War.

I would like to add that Reagan's burial site is inscribed with these optimistic words: "I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life." Reagan spoke these optimistic words at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and these optimistic words express what Reagan wanted to be remembered by. They express his optimistic belief in individual liberty. Reagan optimistically wrote in his autobiography "An American Life" that "every individual is unique, but we all want freedom and liberty, peace, love and security, a good home, and a chance to worship God in our own way; we all want the chance to get ahead and make our children's lives better than our own." He wrote that "my mother always taught us: 'Treat thy neighbor as you would want your neighbor to treat you,' and 'Judge everyone by how they act, not what they are.'" Reagan believed in individual freedom. Reagan optimistically told Americans to believe in themselves and reach to an optimistic future.

This book is great at accurately explaining Reagan's outlook, but I think this book should be supplemented further with An American Life, Reagan's Autobiography and The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.

This book is one of the maybe five or ten essential books about Ronald Reagan.

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Uninformed by recent events, August 8, 2007

By 

Jonny T "Jonny T" (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History (Hardcover)

Dr. Diggins seems to be an erudite, intelligent man who put some serious time into researching his book. The other reviewers have rightly praised his efforts to look at Reagan through the lense of history and not idealogy, and for his ranking of Reagan with Roosevelt and Lincoln among our greatest presidents.

At the same time, I must confess that having recently read the Reagan Diaries as well as other books dealing with the Reagan legacy like Victory, Bill Bennett's recent second history volume, Reagan "In His Own Hand" etc., I must find that some of the conclusions drawn in this book diverge from the facts and tread familiar academic paths of thought about our great President.

The final negotiations that ended the Cold War occured PRECISELY because Reagan worked on every front to thwart the Soviets. This included Bill Casey flying all over the world covertly, actions to stop Soviet technology acquisition, efforts to make them spend money they didn't have on defense, and a lot more. Reagan mentions anti-communist efforts on a daily basis in the diaries. Also, the preposterous comment that Reagan did nothing to support Solidarity is false on its face - not making speeches about something (even though he did) does not mean inaction. Again, his diaries reveal many efforts on behalf of Solidarity, and Walesa himself gives Reagan great credit for his support. The fact remains that Reagan didn't alter or change his demands on the Soviets when Gorbachev came to power - the final agreement reached was the US STARTING POSITION on disarmement years earlier. His strong stance in negotiations and the arms build up (laughably described as starting under the Carter administration in the book - are you kidding?) drove the Soviets to the table because they literally could not afford to fight anymore. Fighting them on every front was intended from the beginning to realize this result. It is as Reagan described before he became President - his view of the cold war was "we win and they lose".

On a philosophical point, Diggins rightly remarks that Reagan often acted against the conservatives of his time's wishes. This does not make him somehow "less" conservative - just proven right in the argument. All idealogies are constantly in these debates, and Reagan comments on his reviews on the right constantly in his diaries as well, since he was such an avid reader of their writings. Just because the greatest conservative of the last fifty years didn't agree with every midget wonk at National Review or in congress is a comment on the midgets, not him. The line between "classical" and contemporary liberalism also seems to blur in his discussions. Yes, many current conservative thoughts on freedom and liberty are classicly liberal views (as many liberal statist views are classicly conservative), the modern distinctions are all that really matter in current discussion.

I started to read this book with great enthusiasm, as its take on Reagan seemed fresh and interesting, but as I saw conclusion after conclusion follow other tired academic views on Reagan and contradict what I had read him say in his own hand were his views and thoughts, I found it ultimately unhelpful.