Customer Reviews

When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan

5 star:		(115)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

If the Reagan Presidency is one that you have strong negative feelings about, this book is not for you. If you feel unconditional admiration for the man and his time in office, again this particular book is not for you. In my opinion the book is more favorable to the man than negative, however the author devotes a substantial portion of the book to comments from those who opposed President Reagan while in office. Author Peggy Noonan is clearly an admirer of her subject, although this was not always the case as she herself had written and published comments that are normal for politics but would make the average person feel anger at the very least.

This is only my thought, however I think that presenting a book that was a condemnation of the man and his service to the country would be a questionable decision at present. President Reagan in October became the longest living President in the nation's history, and with that age he has become one of the millions who suffer from Alzheimer's. There is also public opinion, which was expressed via a Gallup Poll commissioned by CNN during the spring of 2001. Polls are not perfect, but this one showed that together with Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, President Regan is one of, if not the most, admired of all Presidents.

Ms. Noonan has access to many of the Reagan Family and she clearly has their trust. This includes the former First Lady who is well known to be what many would feel is hyper protective of her husband. After I completed this book I felt that the degree to which she was concerned was very understandable. The relationship between this couple has been documented elsewhere and it clearly is a special one.

This book covers much familiar ground for those who have read President Reagan's Autobiography, so the first half of the book is review for those who have passed those parts before. There are two elements of the book that were of great interest, one added a great deal of information to the attempt upon his life, and the other section was devoted to recollections of many who served during his Presidency albeit from the opposing party. Iran-Contra is also covered in detail and in no way apologizes for what President Reagan allowed either directly or tacitly. Ms. Noonan places the blame on President Reagan. Her coverage of the issue is done in detail and dispassionately. This is a man she clearly admires and was disappointed and angry when the controversy came to light. Her insights into his views on what happened and why are interesting as well.

She adds to her words those of other familiar figures like Tip O'Neal, Dan Rastinkowski, and others. Some of these people clearly did not agree with Reagan on the methods to achieve a variety of goals, however amongst any criticism, it is clear they respected him as a man and a President with integrity. She also puts to rest claims made by detractors that may gain notice but are based on the imagination of those that spread the stories. One of the more notable stories surrounded the accusation he lied about being present when concentration camps were liberated. This and other falsehoods are remedied.

President Reagan makes a great target for actions that seem corny to many. Twenty years have passed and history is remembering the President with great affection. If it's to be branded as corny a President who would not remove his suit coat or blazer in The Oval Office out of respect for what that room represents, I'll take such a President.

Just over a generation has passed since he first took office as president, and history appears to be remembering, as he was, a flawed but remarkable president.

Miss Noonan writes in a clear style about a subject that is clearly personal to her. This book goes into the mans core of what he believed & why. That is no small feat since President Reagan was an intensely private man. His character grew out of his own experiences & observations.

The book starts with his humble origins, the problems his family faced moving from town to town because, his dad was an alcoholic. From there she takes the reader through his College years where he developed the habit of staying in shape, & then into his radio & acting days. Not surprisingly, after a time doing films for the military during WW2 he found his promising acting career had gone adrift.

However, it was during this uncertain time that his interest in politics began. While President of the Screen Actors Guild, he learned how to negotiate with the tough studio heads, & saw some of his peers lured to Communism. Their secretive & subversive methods gave Mr.Reagan plenty of reason to pause. He spoke out, making numerous enemies in the process. Soon we go into his moving from films to television, which would lead him into Politics. This was when his core beliefs of less government, lower taxes, & his crusade against the spread of "world communism' came together. Once during a speech for Barry Goldwater he spoke of a "rendezvous with destiny" for those who would fight for our freedom: he asserted that the most important words in the Constitution are the ones that begin it: "WE THE PEOPLE..." It is soon clear that he felt strongly about states rights. He stated: "The Constitution they{the founding fathers} wrote established sovereign states, not mere administrative districts for the federal government. They believed in keeping government as close as possible to the people..."

Miss Noonan then goes somewhat into his time in office, first as governor of California & then President. But, he was more than a politician. She delves into his self-deprecating humor{the "I forgot to duck, honey." reply he gave wife Nancy after he was shot by Hinckley} & the affection & high regard he had for the Secret Service agents who guarded him. All in all a very pleasant & informative read.

What is the real reason Peggy Noonan wrote this book? I pondered and pondered that question until I came upon one of the reviews on Amazon.com. I agree with "West Point" author Norman Thomas Remick's November 27, 2001 review of "When Character Was King" (I've now read both books) that said, as his book used West Point as a paradigm for teaching the philosophy of character and leadership, the real story behind "When Character Was King" is how Peggy Noonan pours out Ronald Reagan's life as a beautiful tutorial for teaching character and leadership, anecdotally. She uses many wonderful, and heretofore, little-known stories. I recommend reading both books. Many may believe Peggy Noonan's book is merely written to assure a positive spin on Reagan's legacy. Perhaps a positive spin is inevitable, if one is to be completely objective. Although Reagan is not perfect, and he himself had cautioned against casting the first stone, his contributions to our civilization are so profound, he is worth studying as a character role model for the sons and daughters of America. And remember this, Mr. and Mrs. America. The road to the sons and daughters of America goes through YOU. You really must read this book. Then give it to your kids.

As a teacher, I am interested in the "character counts" initiative in New Jersey. We urge students to read two types of books, one on the basic philosophy behind "character counts", the other on the practical aspects of "character counts". I have been passing around Norman Thomas Remick's book, "West Point", to my students as the one for the basic understanding of what character is. After reading Ms. Noonan's wonderful book, "When Character Was King", I intend to obtain several to pass around to our students as a good one to read as a practical example of character in action. Who better to have our children mimic than a President of the United States? As the Remick book is surprisingly easy to understand, Ms. Noonan has done a similar service by writing in plain (though eloquent), clear language that everyone can understand. No matter what one's political leanings are, I'm sure they want to help our children. I believe "When Character Was King" is a book that will help to do that.

In Reykjavik Iceland in 1986, President Ronald Reagan walked away from a Soviet offer to eliminate ballistic missiles and other nuclear delivery systems coupled with strict verification processes because the USSR insisted on one thing: that Reagan give up his plans to research the Strategic Defense Initiative.

During the 1970's and 1980's Reagan was the preeminent champion of the idea of looking into a system that would protect the United States missile attacks. The opposition was furious from both the Soviets and his domestic critics even though Reagan offered publicly to share the technology throughout the world. In the 1984 election, the Democrats ran commercials accusing Reagan of taking the arms race to space. In 1986, old and at the end of his career, he could have made a deal that would have been hailed the next day as historic, probably ensuring him a Nobel Peace Prize. He rejected the offer because he did not feel that it was in the best interests of the United States.

He walked away from the table and both the USA and the USSR went on as before. Well, actually that's only half-right. The USSR was unable to keep up the military costs that it was trying to get out of at Reykjavik and quite literally went out of business in five years, throwing-off seventy years of totalitarianism. (In the decades ahead another former President, Jimmy Carter, got a Nobel Peace Prize for, among other initiatives, persuading the North Koreans to give up nuclear weapons development. Sure glad that worked out.)

"When Character was King" by Peggy Noonan is a fine book that describes Reagan's personal development so typified at Reykjavik. Consider:

1. Reagan's family of origin was the poorest of any modern American President. (Page 17)

2. Reagan had the mind and background of an artist. His writings are only now being discovered in that his articles and radio-show scripts appear in his own handwriting. (Pages 38-39) (This got me to thinking. Much of President John F. Kennedy's reputation as an intellectual was based on his published writings. Maybe someday the Kennedy Library will show early drafts of "When England Slept" or "Profiles in Courage" in JFK's own hand. However, I doubt it.)

3. Reagan's political skills, were honed at the bargaining table and in union meetings. (Pages 54 - 62)

4. His turn toward conservatism was not opportunistic, but came at a time when the society was going in the opposite direction. (Page 85)

5. In his professional life before politics, Reagan was much more of an entrepreneur than any modern President. (Page 164)

6. The assassination attempt was a harrowing near-miss that changed his life. (Pages 167-181)

There is honest criticism or Reagan in this book. Reagan's family problems and his role in Iran-Contra are not glossed over. But there is also the testimony of history. Just two examples:

Natan Sharansky, a prisoner of the Soviets during the 1980's, and now a cabinet officer in Israel, refers to hearing about Reagan in the Gulag from the guards. (Page 200)

In 2002, President George W. Bush said, "I watched him a lot.... Look, obviously I love my dad, but...I do think Ronald Reagan was one of the great presidents and for a lot of reasons...." (Page 302-303)

Reagan is known for his soaring rhetoric. One simple statement, however, that also typifies him and all he did for the world should be recalled from Reykjavik in 1986 when he walked away from a great deal in order to get something better. He told the Communist Party boss, "This meeting is over." (Page 295).

These four words sealed the Soviets' fate.

. . .which does not fit -- and should not be fit -- into the typical biography category.

No particularly new details about the 40th President of the United States are revealed here which would be of interest to an historian. That is not the purpose of the book. Rather, Ms. Noonan sets forth a portrait of an ordinary man who rose to the challenge and did great things.

In the tradition of the classic Irish storyteller, Ms. Noonan tries (and for the most part, succeeds) in expressing the humanity of the man who, along with Pope John Paul II, did more to bring about the destruction of communism than any other.

One hundred years from now, historians will still be arguing the "issues" of the Reagan Presidency. However, as Ms. Noonan clearly suggests, they will not be arguing about the "stamp" this larger-than-life man placed on the second half of the 20th century.

Whether one agrees with Reagan's policies or not, only the most die-hard cynic will fail to be warmed by this tale of humanity and courage.

For devout Reaganites, Peggy Noonan's new book covers familiar ground. We're well acquainted with this quintessentially American success story, and with the deeply patriotic and moralistic ideals which underpinned RR's policies, particularly in the foreign policy sphere.

Yet, what makes this book so special is Ms. Noonan's extraordinary gifts for storytelling. A measure of her formidable talents is her ability to take well-chronicled events -- the hardscrabble Illinois childhood, the SAG and GE years, the 1976 near miss, the PATCO strike, the assassination ordeal, Iran-Contra, the Iceland Summit, etc, etc -- and infuse them with fresh energy and perspective.

As Ms. Noonan recounted RR's clear-eyed, strong-willed, visionary posture vis-a-vis the Soviets, I could not help but reflect on how those qualities have been sorely absent from U.S. foreign policy over the past decade -- and how urgently important they are right now. Indeed, the book's penultimate chapter is devoted to the lessons George W. Bush absorbed from nearly a decade of watching RR.

"When Character is King" advances Peggy Noonan's reputation as one of the finest political writers of her generation. A worthy successor to the memoir of her years in the Reagan White House: "What I Saw at the Revolution."

Peggy Noonan wrote what I think is the greatest book about working for and around politicians, "What I Saw at the Revolution." This time Noonan mixes her own memories of Ronald Reagan with research about the rest of Reagan's life, and she never strikes a bad note. Noonan's style is the usual graceful and insightful and with Reagan she picks her perfect subject. I wasn't a big fan of Peggy Noonan's anti-Hilary written in 2000, because her style seems all wrong for a hatchet job. Barbara Olsen was much better at attacking the Clintons. With Reagan, Noonan is back to her strength.

Noonan starts way back with Reagan's Tampico, Illinois upbringing, but she doesn't get stranded in a childhood like so many other biographers tend to do. She makes her points and moves on. This she does all through the book. She gracefully takes us through his Hollywood Period to his TV Period to his Political Period with perfect anecdotes and clever jokes. Her description of Reagan's assassination was the best account I have ever read. I think that this book is the most seminal short biography of Ronald Reagan. If you have never read a book on Reagan, this is your best first choice.

I just recently finished this book. This book was so much more than I initially thought it would be. The title sounds like it will be a blind love letter to Ronald Reagan, with a book full of "he's so great," "I love him." Blind Reagan haters see the title and go into venom-spewing convulsions. If I had to describe this book in a nutshell, I would say this book describes Ronald Reagan, what shaped him, what changed him, and how fighting communism and big government became his missions in life.

Reagan was a "New Deal" liberal democrat in the 1930s and 40s. He spoke against neofascism and all its evils. (Hitler was a fascist) One evening, after speaking to another group, a minister told him he should also say something against communism. Reagan had never had a concern about communism. That was across the ocean in the Soviet Union, not in the United States. And Reagan was a Democrat. He thought anti-communism was something Republicans worried about. At his next speaking engagement he got rounds of applause throughout, until the end. To quote the book: "He said that though there is a continuing threat of fascism in the new world following the war, there is "another ism." It is communism, and "if I ever find evidence that communism represents a threat to all that we believe in and stand for, I'll speak out just as harshly against communism as I have fascism." He walked off the stage to something he wasn't used to hearing: silence. He remembered it as shattering, an actual shock."

Thus began Reagan's awakening to the sinister, under-the-radar movement of the Communist Party. Olivia de Havilland, William Holden, Jimmy Roosevelt (FDR's son) and others set out to expose and disable the communist plot to take over the movie industry. Leading the charge was Ronald Reagan. I found this part of the book one of the most interesting to read. Ms. Noonan could have written a book about Reagan's successful effort to thwart the communist take-over of Hollywood. I think it would be a best-seller and a real page-turner (Peggy, think about it). Ms. Noonan writes that the actor Sterling Hayden, who had joined the Communist Party, only to renounce it shortly afterwards, said the reason the communists did not take over the industry was because of Reagan. From the book: "Hayden said they ran into 'a one-man battalion of opposition' named Ronald Reagan."

The other part that especially interested me was the so-called "arms for hostages" deal. I had never completely understood what went on during this period, and Ms. Noonan describes it in detail and with great clarity. Considering what happened to us on Sept 11, 2001, this section carried even more weight with me, and showed we were being duped and back-stabbed even then. Trust me, this section alone makes the book worth reading.

Ms. Noonan also lists promises Reagan made and kept: Cut the inflation rate, cut taxes, get the economy going again, decontrol oil prices, reduce unemployment, lower interest rates, cut the budget, name the first woman to the US Supreme Court, and promised he would not knuckle under to the Soviet Union, "and vowed to speak truthfully both of it and to it."

The only criticism I have of the book is the way it begins. The coming together of old Reagan White House staff and workers for the christening of the aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan," was like reading about someone's boring family reunion. This should have been mentioned, but towards the end, and spare us the boring details. I couldn't wait to get past this part and get into the meat of Ronald Reagan's life. Reagan wasn't there, so do I need to know that Don Regan considers himself a great painter now, and that he and Nancy spoke? Who cares. Thankfully, this section passes quickly and we're off to the races.

No matter how you feel about Ronald Reagan, Peggy Noonan does write very well. But, is "When Character Was King" a book about character? Some readers have said it is. Others think it is merely a paean to glorify Ronald Reagan. I think neither is correct. And, if you're interested in a book on character that is instructive and informative, I suggest you take a pass on this book and read "West Point: Character Leadership Education.." by Remick.