by Ron Reagan
First published 2011
Ron Reagan opens his examination of his father on February 6, 2011, the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth. The younger Reagan possessed a unique vantage point as the fortieth president's son, witnessing qualities that would later define a popular political leader. He recalls shared moments of horseback riding and touch football, yet recognizes gaps in his understanding of the man who became his father. Ron Reagan investigates Ronald Reagan's early struggles and their transformation into political triumph. He traces how his father's initial hardships shaped the values that would later resonate with Americans seeking connection to traditional ideals. The author explores the enigmatic nature of a parent who remained partially unknowable despite their close relationship. Since Ronald Reagan's death in 2004, he has embodied an earlier American era for many citizens. Ron Reagan connects his father's formative experiences to the principles that defined his presidency. The book delivers personal recollections of a president whom the author simply called Dad, revealing both the public figure and private man.
Genres: 20th-century, american, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Period: 2011, World War II
228 pages · Hardcover · Viking