Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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56 of 63 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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31 of 36 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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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bombing Starts In Five Minutes, December 4, 2002
The above is one of Reagan's best quotes. Before a planned speech , Reagan had once joked, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Soviet Union has been declared an outlaw nation. The bombing starts in five minutes."
Much of Reagan's outlook can be inferred from this quote.
This a book on Reagan's long struggle against Communism. It goes back to his Hollywood days, when he fought against the heavy handed and illegal activities of some Communist union members who were even on Soviet Union's payroll.
It would be a mistake to think that Reagan was simpleminded in his anti-Communism. He was a shrewd and subtle thinker. He gave encouragement to union memebers who were thinking of leaving Communism but were afraid of backlash.
Concerning Senator Jospeh McCarthy, while Reagan agreed with his goal--rooting secret Communist influence from government--AND THERE WERE SPIES--he disagreed with his tactics and felt that McCarthy's tactics was hurting the cause of anti-Communism.
An interesting comparison is made between Nixon and Reagan. Nixon had made a career of being anti-Communist. He was one of the top anti-Communist politicians in the 50s and 60s. But when Nixon was President, he pursued a policy of detente with the Soviets and made an overture to Communist China. How did Reagan feel about this? Reagan disagreed with Nixon's policy of detente. Reagan was proved correct in this, for during the detente period from Nixon to Carter, the Soviet Union proceeded with an expansionist policy and countries in developing world fell to Communism. As to the overture to China, I learned that Reagan agreed with this. Reagan is quoted, "Russia is still enemy number one...so the president, knowing the disaffection between China and Russia, visits China, butters up the warlords, and lets them be...Russia, therefore, has to keep its 140 divisions on the Chinese border...we buy a little time and elbowroom in a plain, simple strategic move..." (page 67)
Nixon is not generaly remembered as having a sense of humor. Reagan however, was the "happy warrior" as the quote at the top of the review shows.
Many times Reagan stood alone, even from his usual allies. He proceed with an arms buildup, which even allies in the Republican Party disagreed with. But the arms build up was only one part of a general orchestrated plan to change the Soviet Union. Other things that he did was to give material support to freedom fighters such as in Afghanistan; imposed sanctions after the delaration of martial law in Poland; engaged in the propangada war by radio broadcasts and leaflets; and got Saudi Arabia to glut the oil market, dramatically reducing the price of oil, which hurt the Soviet Union, for it derived hard currency from the sale of oil; proposed a new technology, SDI, to defend against Soviet missles and thus forced the Soviet Union to compete in technology.
This orchestrated campaign put a great strain on the Soviet economy, which spent a great amount of its GNP on armaments. So
Mikhail Gorbachev was made General Secretary in order to reform the system.
I was an adolescent and young adult during the Gorbachev period. My impression of Gorbachev was that he was basically trying to "square the circle", that is, to do something that cannot be done--mix freedom with Communism. Gorbachev reforms led to one thing to another which eventually led to the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and Russia. Unfortunately, Communism still exists in some areas, like in North Korea and the American university.
There are some things I wish the author would have gone into more detail one--Reagan's relationships with other anti-Communist forces. Pope John Paul II played a role in the collapse of Communism, with his support of the Solidarity movement in his home country of Poland. John Paul II obtained information from priests and the Solidarity movement, and shared it with Reagan. I would have liked to see even more detail on this--WHAT exactly was shared? HOW did they get this information? How was this information used? Telling this story could have been just as good as any John LaCarre spy thriller.
One of the major lessons to be learned from this book is that there ARE causes worth fighting for--there are today, and there will be in the future--and one person who has courage, faith, a general strategy, and good spirits can make a difference.
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