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Ronald Reagan’s autobiography is a work of major historical importance. Here, in his own words, is the storyline of his life—public and private—told in a book both frank and compellingly readable.
Few presidents have accomplished more, or been so effective in changing the direction of government with techniques that are both fundamental and lasting, than Ronald Reagan. Certainly no president has more drastically raised the American spirit, or done so much to revive national strength and self-confidence.
Here, then, is a truly American success story—a great and inspiring one. From modest beginnings as the son of an shoe salesman in Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Reagan achieved first a distinguished career in Hollywood and then, as governor of California and since president of the very most powerful nation in the world, a career of public service unique in our history.
Ronald Reagan’s account of that rise is told here with all the current uncompromising candor, modesty, and wit that made him perhaps the most able communicator ever to occupy the White House, and also with the sense of drama of an gifted natural storyteller.
He tells us, with warmth and pride, of his early years and of the elements that made him, in later life, a leader of such stubborn integrity, courage, and clear-minded optimism. Reading the account of the childhood, we understand how his parents, struggling to make ends meet despite family problems and the rigors of the Depression, shaped his belief in the virtues of American life—the need to help others, the desire to get ahead also to get things done, the deep trust in the essential goodness, values, and sense of justice of the American people—virtues that few presidents have expressed more eloquently than Ronald Reagan.
With absolute authority and an enthusiastic eye for the facts and the anecdotes that humanize history, Ronald Reagan takes the reader behind the scenes of his extraordinary career, from his first political experiences as president of the Screen Actors Guild (including his first ending up in a lovely young actress who was later to become Nancy Reagan) to such high points of his presidency as the November 1985 Geneva ending up in Mikhail Gorbachev, during which Reagan invited the Soviet leader outside for a breath of oxygen and then took him off for a walk and a man-to-man chat, without aides, that set the course for arms reduction and charted the end of the Cold War.
Here he reveals what went on behind his decision to enter politics and run for the governorship of California, the speech nominating Barry Goldwater that first made Reagan a national political figure, his race for the presidency, his relations with the members of his own cabinet, and his frustrations with Congress.
He gives us the facts of the great themes and dramatic crises of his eight years in office, from Lebanon to Grenada, from the struggle to achieve arms control to tax reform, from Iran-Contra to the visits abroad that did so much to reestablish america in the eyes of the world as an agreeable and peaceful power. His narrative is filled with insights, from the unseen dangers of Gorbachev’s first stop by at america to Reagan’s own private correspondence with major foreign leaders, as well as his innermost feelings about life in the White House, the assassination attempt, his family—and the enduring love between himself and Mrs. Reagan.
An American Life is a warm, richly detailed, and deeply human book, an excellent self-portrait, a substantial work of history.
