Rating: 
Summary: Sober, fair, intelligent work.
Review: Remember all the commotion when DUTCH, the biography of
Ronald Reagan written by Edmund Morris, was released?
Morris had played an unforgiveable trick on his readers by
fictionalizing large sections of his book, arguing that
it was the only way he could come to grips with or partially
explain certain aspects of Reagan's life and psyche.By so doing, Morris may have made a ton of money just from the
publicity such an unusual approach generated, but he made
his work utterly worthless, and in no small way, damaged forever
his reputation as a historian (I, for one, will never read
another book by him simply because I would find it hard to
know what is real and what Morris has made up). Lou Cannon, on the other hand, who has been following Reagan
since his California days, is a student in the old, honored
traditional school of political biography. His research is
copious, his writing compelling (I actually think he becomes
a better writer with each book), and his judgements are
fair; so fair, in fact, that this book will probably
anger those who idolized Reagan as well as those who detested
him. For everyone else, Cannon's book is an instructive
exploration of how one of the most successul American politicians of the American Century worked. It is hard to come away from this book without the impression
that some political leaders just have sharper political
instincts than others; that it is an art, not a science, and
perhaps cannot be taught. It is also hard, upon reaching the end of Cannon's latest,
to not feel that the writer represents the best of political
journalism, the kind once defined by Theodore White in his
famous "Making of the President" series, and, today, perhaps
only by David Broder. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand
how effective political leadership in a democratic republic works, and why Reagan (hint: he was often underestimated by
his foes) thrived so well in our particular form of
celebrity-driven politics.
Rating:
Summary: A fine biography of Reagan's political career
Review: Ronald Reagan was a middle-aged movie actor and former TV host in 1964 when he gave a televised speech for nominee Barry Goldwater which was to change the course of his career. The fallout from that speech: a newfound buildup of political alliances and influences which was to take him from political amateurism to the Presidency. A fine biography of the progress of Reagan's political career.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better
Review: This doesn't inspire me the way it should. I want to see how Reagan became the greatest president that ever ruled the earth. There should be more details on how his way of thinking was formed, so that we can teach our children in the same way.
Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: This doesn't inspire me the way it should. I want to see how Reagan became the greatest president that ever ruled the earth. There should be more details on how his way of thinking was formed, so that we can teach our children in the same way.
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