1 of 1 copy available
The story begins not in star-studded Hollywood but in the cradle of the Midwest, smalltown Illinois, where Reagan was born in 1911 to Nelle Clyde Wilson, a devoted Disciples of Christ believer, and Jack Reagan, a struggling, alcoholic salesman. Boot vividly creates a portrait of a handsome young man, indeed a much-vaunted lifeguard, whose early successes mirrored those of Horatio Alger.
And contextualizing Reagan's life against American history, Boot re-creates the world in which Reagan transitioned from local Iowa sportscaster to budding screen actor.
The world of Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1950s would prove significant, not only in Reagan's coming-of-age in such classics as Knute Rockne and Kings Row but during the twilight of his film career, when he played opposite a chimpanzee in Bedtime for Bonzo, and then his eventual emergence as a television host of General Electric Theater, which established his bona fides as one of the leading conservative voices of the time. Indeed, the leap to California governor in 1966 seemed almost preordained, in which Reagan became a bellwether for a nation in the throes of a generational shift.
Reagan's 1980 presidential election augured a shift that continues into this century. Boot writes not as a partisan but as a historian seeking to set the story straight. He explains how Reagan was not only an ideologue but also a supreme pragmatist who signed pro-abortion and gun control bills as governor, cut deals with Democrats in both Sacramento and Washington, and befriended Mikhail Gorbachev to help end the Cold War. A master communicator, Reagan revived America's spirits after the traumas of Vietnam and Watergate. But Boot also shows how Reagan was armored in obliviousness. He traces Reagan's opposition to civil rights over forty years, reveals how he neglected the exploding AIDS epidemic, and details how America experienced a level of income inequality not seen since the Gilded Age.
With its revelatory insights, Reagan: His Life and Legend is no apologia, depicting a man with a good-versus-evil worldview derived from his moralistic upbringing and Hollywood westerns. Providing fresh examinations of "trickle-down economics," the Cold War's end, the Iran-Contra affair, as well as a nuanced portrait of Reagan's family, this definitive biography is as compelling a presidential biography as any in recent decades.
"This is a timely and fascinating book, just what we need to understand, and perhaps transcend, our current age of political paralysis and polarization. Understanding Reagan is key to understanding our politics today."—Walter Isaacson, author of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Awards
-
Release date
September 10, 2024 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9798892747240
- File size: 925205 KB
- Duration: 32:07:29
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
July 22, 2024
Ronald Reagan embodied an ideologically unmoored but effective blend of hard-line conservatism and pragmatism, according to this sprawling biography. Washington Post columnist Boot (The Road Not Taken) traces Reagan’s journey from movie star and New Deal liberal to staunch right-winger who extolled capitalism, anathematized big government, and clothed ugly prejudices—he privately called Africans “monkeys”—in a sunny, charismatic persona. But his extremism, Boot notes, coexisted with practical flexibility; for example, when his signature tax cuts ballooned government budget deficits, he backtracked and accepted new taxes, and he pursued negotiations with the Soviet Union even as he was calling it “an evil empire.” Boot strongly criticizes Reagan’s moral failings, including his habitual resort to racist dog whistles, the inequity of his economic policies, and his support for murderous right-wing dictatorships in Latin America. But he’s also alive to Reagan’s political strengths, which included cutting deals (he oversaw groundbreaking nuclear arms reduction treaties with the Soviets) and communicating an appealing, if simplistic, political vision. Boot’s effort to paint Reagan as basically a moderate at heart—or at least in practice, by way of balancing his excesses against his moments of judiciousness—leaves the man himself somewhat inscrutable, casting him instead as an avatar of American democracy’s complicated mix of earnest dogma and muddled consensus. It makes for an unusually middle-of-the-road and not very revealing portrait. -
Graham Winton is the perfect narrator to deliver this biography of Ronald Reagan, the Midwesterner who became a Hollywood actor, governor of California, and the fortieth president of the United States. Immediately engaging, Winton sounds consistently interested and earnest as he brings political analyst and historian Max Boot's deeply impressive work to life. In a tone of authority, Winton enlivens Boot's discussions of the conservative values that drove Reagan's leadership and life. Winton also captures the pragmatic attitude and tone Reagan frequently employed to achieve his legislative and life goals. A talented narrator, Winton implies more than one "wink" when explaining Reagan's pervasive optimism and often self-deprecating humor. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
-