The Reagan Diaries: November 1985-January 1989 PDF Download

Author: Ronald Reagan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Presidents
Languages : en
Pages : 1173

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Author: Bob Spitz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143110594
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 913

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From New York Times bestselling biographer Bob Spitz, a full and rich biography of an epic American life, capturing what made Ronald Reagan both so beloved and so transformational. More than five years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews and access to previously unavailable documents, and infused with irresistible storytelling charm, Bob Spitz's REAGAN stands fair to be the first truly post-partisan biography of our 40th President, and thus a balm for our own bitterly divided times. It is the quintessential American triumph, brought to life with cinematic vividness: a young man is born into poverty and raised in a series of flyspeck towns in the Midwest by a pious mother and a reckless, alcoholic, largely absent father. Severely near-sighted, the boy lives in his own world, a world of the popular books of the day, and finds his first brush with popularity, even fame, as a young lifeguard. Thanks to his first great love, he imagines a way out, and makes the extraordinary leap to go to college, a modest school by national standards, but an audacious presumption in the context of his family's station. From there, the path is only very dimly lit, but it leads him, thanks to his great charm and greater luck, to a solid career as a radio sportscaster, and then, astonishingly, fatefully, to Hollywood. And the rest, as they say, is history. Bob Spitz's REAGAN is an absorbing, richly detailed, even revelatory chronicle of the full arc of Ronald Reagan's epic life - giving full weight to the Hollywood years, his transition to politics and rocky but ultimately successful run as California governor, and ultimately, of course, his iconic presidency, filled with storm and stress but climaxing with his peace talks with the Soviet Union that would serve as his greatest legacy. It is filled with fresh assessments and shrewd judgments, and doesn't flinch from a full reckoning with the man's strengths and limitations. This is no hagiography: Reagan was never a brilliant student, of anything, and his disinterest in hard-nosed political scheming, while admirable, meant that this side of things was left to the other people in his orbit, not least his wife Nancy; sometimes this delegation could lead to chaos, and worse. But what emerges as a powerful signal through all the noise is an honest inherent sweetness, a gentleness of nature and willingness to see the good in people and in this country, that proved to be a tonic for America in his time, and still is in ours. It was famously said that FDR had a first-rate disposition and a second-rate intellect. Perhaps it is no accident that only FDR had as high a public approval rating leaving office as Reagan did, or that in the years since Reagan has been closing in on FDR on rankings of Presidential greatness. Written with love and irony, which in a great biography is arguably the same thing, Bob Spitz's masterpiece will give no comfort to partisans at either extreme; for the rest of us, it is cause for celebration.

Author: Martin Anderson
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
ISBN: 0817918361
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Ronald Reagan's Cold War strategy was well established in his first year in office and did not change throughout his presidency. It was to make absolutely sure in the minds of the Soviets that they too would be destroyed in a nuclear war—even as Reagan sought an alternative through strategic defense to make nuclear missiles obsolete and thus eliminate the possibility of an all-out nuclear war. This book offers new perspectives on Ronald Reagan's primary accomplishment as president—persuading the Soviets to reduce their nuclear arsenals and end the Cold War. It details how he achieved this success and in the process explains why Americans consider Reagan one of our greatest presidents. The authors examine the decisions Reagan made during his presidency that made his success possible and review Reagan's critical negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev—ending with the 1988 Moscow Summit that effectively ended the Cold War. They present Gorbachev's thoughts on Reagan as a great man and a great president 20 years after he left office. But ultimately, they reveal the depth of Reagan's vision of a world safe from nuclear weapons, painting a clear portrait of a Cold Warrior who saw the possibility of moving beyond that war.

Author: Ken Khachigian
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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A compelling insider’s account by the trusted adviser and confidante to America’s presidential giants and political legends as he draws the curtains back on his most private moments with Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon during revolutionary changes in our economy, politics, communications, foreign policy, and culture. Ken Khachigian has written the most lucid, most important work about the postwar period. For an inside look at how ugly politics can be--and how noble--you cannot miss this book. I still love Ken after fifty years and you will, too, when you read this jewel of a memoir. —Ben Stein, Economist, law professor, multi Emmy awarded actor, speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford, novelist, and screenwriter This is essential reading for anyone wanting to know how Ronald Reagan shaped his crusading message of economic growth through tax cuts and limited government. Khachigian’s is a fascinating account by one who takes you into the rooms where the decisions were made. —Larry Kudlow, Host of Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” and Former Director, National Economic Council To understand Nixon and Reagan, the two crucial Presidents and coalition builders of the last third of the 20th century, the insights of Ken Khachigian, the confidant who advised them both, seem indispensable. —Pat Buchanan, White House Aide to Presidents Nixon and Reagan Ken Khachigian is a great conservative and patriot, and his book will give you the inside view of a presidency that will go down in history as one of greatness and strength. —Ed Rollins, Ronald Reagan’s White House Political Director Ken Khachigian offers a riveting account of his thrilling journey through American history at the sides of two monumental Presidents. If you care about where America has been, and where it’s going, this is a must-read! —Monica Crowley, Ph.D., Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, News Analyst and Bestselling Author Ken Khachigian will draw you inside a generation of White House leadership and details how Reagan revived the American economy and lit a prairie fire of patriotism across America. —K.T. McFarland, American political candidate, former government official, and political commentator Mr. Khachigian, now 79 and retired (and an occasional contributor to this newspaper’s opinion pages), concludes his anecdote-rich book with an expression of gratitude to both Nixon and Reagan, saying that it was “wonderful good fortune for me to have been at their service, and, for the country, for each of them to have served. —Wall Street Journal Behind Closed Doors is a rich repository of hitherto unknown but highly significant stories about two leaders who many of us thought we knew everything about but obviously didn't. —NewsMax

Author: Ronald Reagan
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061751944
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 788

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#1 New York Times Bestseller “Reading these diaries, Americans will find it easier to understand how Reagan did what he did for so long . . . They paint a portrait of a president who was engaged by his job and had a healthy perspective on power.” —Jon Meacham, Newsweek During his two terms as the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine occurrences of his presidency. To read these diaries—now compiled into one volume by noted historian Douglas Brinkley and filled with Reagan’s trademark wit, sharp intelligence, and humor—is to gain a unique understanding of one of our nation’s most fascinating leaders.

Author: Michael Schaller
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199751749
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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In this era of polarized politics, the image of President Ronald Reagan stands as a litmus test for party loyalty. To the conservative right, Reagan is the Great Communicator, a venerated icon of independent American spirit who restored national pride and power. To those on the left, he is an amiable dunce who distracted voters with anecdotes while dismantling the government to serve corporate interests. But as Michael Schaller reveals in his eye-opening biography, both extremes fall short of capturing the true essence of this captivating and contradictory man. This succinct, eloquent narrative reveals the dramatic force of the man behind the image. Schaller provides a poignant account of Reagan's struggles and achievements, from his small-town upbringing in rural Illinois, the son of an itinerant alcoholic, to his cinematic success in Hollywood, entry into California politics, and meteoric rise to the White House. Following the path of his life, Schaller illuminates Reagan's appeal to Americans of all regions and backgrounds, highlights his momentous impact on American politics, and describes his determination, once in power, to live up to his firm, long-established beliefs and ideals. A fast-paced, compact narrative filled with fascinating and often surprising details, Ronald Reagan sheds light on Reagan's real accomplishments at home and abroad and what they mean for America today.

Author: Archie Brown
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190614919
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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In this penetrating analysis of the role of political leadership in the Cold War's ending, Archie Brown shows why the popular view that Western economic and military strength left the Soviet Union with no alternative but to admit defeat is wrong. To understand the significance of the parts played by Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in East-West relations in the second half of the 1980s, Brown addresses several specific questions: What were the values and assumptions of these leaders, and how did their perceptions evolve? What were the major influences on them? To what extent were they reflecting the views of their own political establishment or challenging them? How important for ending the East-West standoff were their interrelations? Would any of the realistically alternative leaders of their countries at that time have pursued approximately the same policies? The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with most of the dividing lines - including the division of Europe - removed. Engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part of that process of change. More surprising was Thatcher's role. Regarded by Reagan as his ideological and political soulmate, she formed also a strong and supportive relationship with Gorbachev (beginning three months before he came to power). Promoting Gorbachev in Washington as 'a man to do business with', she became, in the words of her foreign policy adviser Sir Percy Cradock, 'an agent of influence in both directions'.

Author: Del Quentin Wilber
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1429919310
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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A Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book for 2011 A Richmond Times Dispatch Top Book for 2011 A minute-by-minute account of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was just seventy days into his first term of office when John Hinckley Jr. opened fire outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, wounding the president, press secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and a D.C. police officer. For years, few people knew the truth about how close the president came to dying, and no one has ever written a detailed narrative of that harrowing day. Now, drawing on exclusive new interviews and never-before-seen documents, photos, and videos, Del Quentin Wilber tells the electrifying story of a moment when the nation faced a terrifying crisis that it had experienced less than twenty years before, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. With cinematic clarity, we see Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, whose fast reflexes saved the president's life; the brilliant surgeons who operated on Reagan as he was losing half his blood; and the small group of White House officials frantically trying to determine whether the country was under attack. Most especially, we encounter the man code-named "Rawhide," a leader of uncommon grace who inspired affection and awe in everyone who worked with him. Ronald Reagan was the only serving U.S. president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt.* Rawhide Down is the first true record of the day and events that literally shaped Reagan's presidency and sealed his image in the modern American political firmament. *There have been many assassination attempts on U.S. presidents, four of which were successful: Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. President Theodore Roosevelt was injured in an assassination attempt after leaving office.

Author: Larry Schweikart
Publisher: Post Hill Press
ISBN: 1642930830
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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New York Times #1 bestselling author Larry Schweikart, armed with previously unseen sources from Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library, uncovers the most important president of the 20th century and details the life and policies of a man who still remains dear to the hearts of Americans. From his time as a lifeguard in Illinois to a sports announcer to a rising actor to a labor union leader, then finally governor of California in the tumultuous 1960s and ultimately President, Reagan’s life is told as it has never been before.

Author: Adam Higginbotham
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1501134639
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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A New York Times Best Book of the Year A Time Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year 2020 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence Winner From journalist Adam Higginbotham, the New York Times bestselling “account that reads almost like the script for a movie” (The Wall Street Journal)—a powerful investigation into Chernobyl and how propaganda, secrecy, and myth have obscured the true story of one of the history’s worst nuclear disasters. Early in the morning of April 26, 1986, Reactor Number Four of the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station exploded, triggering one of the twentieth century’s greatest disasters. In the thirty years since then, Chernobyl has become lodged in the collective nightmares of the world: shorthand for the spectral horrors of radiation poisoning, for a dangerous technology slipping its leash, for ecological fragility, and for what can happen when a dishonest and careless state endangers its citizens and the entire world. But the real story of the accident, clouded from the beginning by secrecy, propaganda, and misinformation, has long remained in dispute. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews conducted over the course of more than ten years, as well as letters, unpublished memoirs, and documents from recently-declassified archives, Adam Higginbotham brings the disaster to life through the eyes of the men and women who witnessed it firsthand. The result is a “riveting, deeply reported reconstruction” (Los Angeles Times) and a definitive account of an event that changed history: a story that is more complex, more human, and more terrifying than the Soviet myth. “The most complete and compelling history yet” (The Christian Science Monitor), Higginbotham’s “superb, enthralling, and necessarily terrifying...extraordinary” (The New York Times) book is an indelible portrait of the lessons learned when mankind seeks to bend the natural world to his will—lessons which, in the face of climate change and other threats, remain not just vital but necessary.