Reagan: The Man and His Presidency, a sympathetic oral history of the Republican president who revitalized American conservatism, follows a pair of similar books by the Strobers on JFK and Nixon. For this volume, the authors interviewed 108 political insiders and others who knew their subject well, with everybody's insider perspective--from George Bush and Jordan's King Hussein down to the family astrologer, Joan Quigley--taken at face value. While the book does offer important insights on the 40th president's character and management style, and juicy first-person accounts such as Gerald Ford's take on the failed negotiations to have him join Reagan's ticket as a virtual "co-president," it is by no means a comprehensive history of the Reagan administration. In fact, this probably isn't the first volume on Reagan to own or read--for that, check out Dutch by Edmund Morris or Ronald Reagan by Dinesh D'Souza--but it certainly provides a nice addition to the libraries of Reagan devotees. --John J. Miller
From Publishers Weekly
Following the format of their oral histories of the Kennedy and Nixon presidencies, the authors of this sympathetic, composite portrait of Ronald Reagan have spliced together interviews with 108 administration insiders, friends and political associates, among them Gerald Ford, Edwin Meese, George Bush, Colin Powell, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Oliver North, Fawn Hall, Yitzhak Shamir and King Hussein of Jordan. Organized thematically, the interview snippets range from Reagan's selections for his Cabinets to the arms-for-hostage deal with Iran, U.S. support for Nicaragua's contras and Reagan's current struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Both self-serving and revealing, the comments add new details to our knowledge of the Reagan presidency. Although this compilation often reads like a glowing tribute, even Reagan detractors will find pertinent material, for example, the wide influence of astrologer Joan Quigley, the first lady's informal adviser, on White House decisions, and the constant internecine infighting among top Reagan appointees. There are many memorable quotes, e.g., this from Reagan's press secretary Lyn Nofziger: "[Secretary of the Treasury James] Baker is one of the great leakers of our time. He spends a lot of time with the press..
- Baker is one of the great leakers of our time. He spends a lot of time with the press."
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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