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Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches

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This is the first book dedicated specifically to Ronald Reagan I've read, and I'm glad it was one Mr. Reagan himself put together. I freely admit I admire Mr. Reagan very much for not only his political principles, but also his wit and his way with words.

Here in "Speaking My Mind" we get to see how Mr. Reagan wants us to remember him. He is truly "The Great Communicator". The speeches he includes show his sense of self-deprecating humor, his ability to good-naturedly rip his opponents to shreds, his compassion, and his unwavering dedication to conservative economic principles, not to mention democracy and individual liberty.

Naturally such an autobiographical work may tend to be one-sided, but Mr. Reagan doesn't shy away from the politically devastating Iran-Contra scandal; He included his address to the American people taking responsibility for the wrongdoings of his administration.

I recommend "Speaking My Mind" to those interested in learning about Ronald Reagan as only the man himself can teach.

These were Ronald Reagan's best speeches. He selected them himself, not those a revisionist would impose. They are his most important speeches: his first inaugural when he warned that "Government isn't the solution...government is the problem!" His CPAC speeches including the landmark, March 1981 address. The Evil Empire address and his farewell address from the Oval Office. This is vintage Ronald Reagan.

Out of all of the Reaganalia in print, this one is the Reagan Bible. If you are curious about what he thought, where he stood, or why every Republican candidate since 2004 has claimed his mantle, then get this book.

All of the beloved speeches--which sometimes feel like motivational sermons, celebrations of the American Spirit--are here:

* "The Speech" aka "A Time For Choosing" This is the speech for Barry Goldwater that launched Reagan's political career.
* Selected radio addresses.
* Both inaugural addresses, plus his farewell address.
* "The Evil Empire" speech.
* The D-Day/Rangers Monument Speeches.
* The Challenger Speech.
* The rededication of the Statue of Liberty.
* The Q and A session at Moscow State University.
* A selection of witty and wise quotes.

This book's strength is that it was selected by the Gipper himself, so this is essentially "Reagan on Reagan," or what he thought was important. In this aspect, "Speaking My Mind" outstrips its only rival Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America. To be sure, I recommend both books, but the former has an edge over the latter.

In addition to providing the key intellectual cornerstones of his though, I found this book helpful for establishing a Reagan chronology. Lou Cannon's quasi-official biographies Ronald Reagan: A Life in Politics has chapters that revolves around (and therefore emphasizes) Reagan's shortcomings. This book, on the other hand, highlights the high points of his life. Between the two, you get a depth perception that each one lacks. "By proving contraries, the truth is made manifest."

Take this book, then, as the main standard work on both Reagan and Reaganism. In Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan, Edmund Morris passes Reagan off as an enigma. Not so!--he was an open book. Open this book, and see what I mean.

This book is an amazing collection of the classic speeches of the founder of modern Conservatism, Ronald Reagan. One of the great things about this book is each speech is proceeded by his own words in hindsight and after the fact. One of my favorite prologue statements of his points to how amazing a man he really was when he says, "People often found it odd that an actor would be concerned with such things [politics]. I guess they forgot I was also a citizen." Too often the media, intellectuals, and academics forget that "citizens" like Ronald Reagan are the heart and soul of this country, and to be a great leader and public official you do not need a law degree from Harvard University.

The book also contains my favorite speech titled, "Time for Choosing". This book is worth the price for the transcript of this speech alone. This speech is the rallying cry against big government waste and spending. Reagan states, "We have so many people who can't see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion that the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one! So they are going to solve all the problems of human misery through government and government planning." Remember this speech was given in 1964, and its words still holds true today! The last two pages of this speech are so powerful that it makes you want to jump up in your seat. "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."

The second best speech in this book is his Inaugural Address in 1981. Reagan says it best when he states in the prologue to the speech, "You have to keep pounding away with your message, year after year, because that's the only way it will sink into the collective consciousness." I am afraid since he left office very few were able to do this, which brings us into the state of affairs this country currently finds itself in. Remember this was written in 1981! "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time, we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price."

The third best speech in terms of power is his remarks at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, June 12, 1987. This speech points to the power of strong leadership; we forget how close this country was to all out nuclear war with the Soviet Union. How terrorism today is nothing compared to the threat of nuclear holocaust, yet one man - one man - was able to bring the Soviet Union to its knees. That man was Ronald Reagan, and it was with words like these, "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbechev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" Many times whenever you hear this speech it ends there, but the greatness of this speech continues when Reagan says, "Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table. And because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth." It is amazing to be able to look into the future and see how amazing this statement would become.

This book is so amazing; it gives insights into how Ronald Reagan viewed the world from abortion, to national security, to the economy. The only issue he does not speak of in the book is health care; however, he does go into detail about the destruction of government entitlements. His words on abortion are classic and point to things that I have never heard anywhere else in reference to the subject. He states, "the unborn have property rights protected by law. A man can will his estate to his wife and children and any children yet to be born of his marriage. Yet the proposed abortion law would deny the unborn the protection of the law in preserving its life." He also states, "an abortion is justified when done in self-defense. My belief is that a woman has the right to protect her own life and health against even her own unborn child. I believe also that just as she has the right to defend herself against rape, she should not be made to bear child resulting from the violation of her person and therefore abortion is an act of self-defense." He goes on to say, "I can find no evidence whatsoever that a fetus is not a living human being with human rights." I have never heard anyone make these points before, very enlightening.

I would suggest that anyone claiming to be a Conservative or anyone that loves freedom and liberty needs to OWN this book. Keep it with you as a weapon against anyone that tries to say freedom and liberty are old and failed policies of the past, Ronald Reagan proved this is false and continues to prove it even in his death. His words live on in our hearts and on the pages of this book! God Bless him and God Bless America!

This book is a selection of speeches that Ronald W. Reagan did since the fifties until he finished leadering the United States of America in 1989.
Here you can see how America was in the eighties and the challenges that americans had to face.
I think Ronald Reagan is one of the most importart people in the 20th century.

Es una pena que no se dinponga de ninguna biografía ni de ninguna selección de discursos de Ronald Reagan en español.