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Rating:  -
D'Souza does a decent job in his biography on the character of Reagan. My biggest complaint with this book is that it does not actually tell us anything about Reagan and his presidency. So much times is spent on the character that by the time you are done understanding Reagan's moral values the book is over and I felt I learned nothing about what Reagan did and how these values played out. For those who have really studied Reagan it is a great addition but if you are looking for only one book try Richard Reeves.
Rating:  -
I cannot say whether the author's descriptions are true, or not true. I can say that he writes well, tells the story intelligently, and that he backs his assertions with logical reasons, accompanied by quotes and footnotes. The author's fondness for Reagan doesn't prevent him from pointing out Reagan's faults. I disagree with the detractors of this book who would like to make the case that since the author is a conservative and Reagan was a conservative that this book must therefore be biased in favor of Reagan. It seems to me that the negative reviewers fail to evaluate the book on its merits. Instead, they seem to be motivated by their hatred of Ronald Reagan.
Rating: -
Mr. D'Souza has written the most honest assesment of the Reagan era to date. Not only does he recall the wounded national spirit of America during the late 70's through the election of 1980, but he also points the finger at himself as being one of the staffers that was in the forest and could not see the trees. But unlike some of President reagan's other staff members, he never tried to profit by taking easy shots at him, rather he took the time after the Reagan era to reflect, and analyze why so many positive things were accomplished between 1981 and 1991.
As an economic student during the mid to late eighties and having gone back for my MBA in the late 1990's, I can attest to the fact that revisionist (especially the University professors teaching our kids) have tried to blame Reagan for far too many things that he inherited from the Carter administration. The Inflation rate was 12 percent in 1980 and mortgage rates were 21 percent. Is it really a mystery to anyone why we were in a recession for 1981 and 1982?
D'Souza touches on much more than the economy, he gets into our weakend military condition, his vision to leave communism on the ash heep of history, and how the nation understood him even while his most trusted advisors turned their backs on him.
I think people owe it to themselves to read this book. No serious work on Reagan can be completed going forward without referance to this body of work!!!
Rating: -
Three of Dinesh D'Souza's books occupy space on my shelf. I have been fascinated with this conservative's intelligence, his ability to state his hypotheses in clear terms, and organize his supporting facts with ease and facility. His writing style is matter-of-fact, passionate, but not shrill. He never debases himself by name-calling that is so characteristic of other conservative writers.
As for calling Ronald Reagan one of the very best presidents the US has ever seen, I find that a bit over the top. Americans love an aggressive, almost war-like president, and Ronald Reagan fit that bill perfectly after Jimmy Carter appeared to be impotent in protecting Americans abroad. Riding on a recovering economy and renewed sense of pride, Ronald Reagan seemed to be the man to restore that pride. At this juncture, I control my enthusiasm.
Let's not forget some of the things Ronald Reagan was unsuccessful at, which D'Souza virtually ignores. We pulled out of Beirut shortly after our marine barracks were bombed. He ran up the biggest budget deficit in history. To his credit even he recognized that he had to tax after that--something Mr. Bush has yet to figure out. Ronald Reagan also broke the law by trading arms for hostages. This was enough to bring charges of impeachment. All of these things are given short shrift by the author.
D'Souza's toughest argument for me to accept is his thesis that the growing economy under President Clinton was due to the policies of President Reagan--that economic policies take eight years to kick in. H'uh? President Clinton's taxation in 1993 actually fueled the economy to its greatest growth in ways that congressional republicans screamed would cause a recession. Guess what? It didn't.
The author has a great writing style, but the substance did not make the case for me. Ronald Reagan was a strong president, but not a great one.
This New Yorker is from Missouri on that one.
Rating: -
After scanning the preceding 109 book reviews, I wasn't quite sure that another review was warranted. However, since I found this book to be so remarkable, I couldn't help but add my two cents worth.
Having read upwards of thirty books by and about Ronald Reagan, I had almost concluded that no one would ever be able to capture the essence of Reagan as a man, as a political figure, as the president, as a human being, or simply as the man I watched, admired, and came to respect throughout his political career - and put it down on paper. Virtually every other book which I had read seemed to concentrate on a single aspect of his life or career; for example, his strained relationships with his various family members, his efforts to undermine and bring down the Soviet Empire, or the relationships between him and his various cabinet and staff members. I found some of these books, such as "Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy that Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union" by Peter Schweizer and "Revolution: The Reagan Legacy" by Martin Anderson to be extraordinary and insightful, but none of the books seemed to capture the fundamental nature of Ronald Reagan.
This book fills that void. Although, by necessity, it skips lightly over some of the lesser aspects of his life and career, some good and some bad, it covers the span of his political career with a breathtaking depth of insight into not only Ronald Reagan, the man, but also into his political allies and enemies, and, in a broader sense, his political life and times, In reading the book, I once again was able to sense the Ronald Reagan that I and the rest of America came to know, love and admire during the 1980s and yet again was able to marvel at the scope and magnitude of his achievements.
So, if you admire Ronald Reagan, you will certainly enjoy reading this book and reliving those heady times. And, if you are a member of the younger generation and don't know much about Reagan, the "Cold War," or the 1980s, this book will set you straight. But, if you are one of those close-minded liberals, who despised and opposed Reagan and his policies, you had better stand clear; for D'Souza has made a valuable contribution to those who honestly seek to understand Ronald Reagan and his legacy by setting the record straight.
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