First published 2015
H.W. Brands positions Ronald Reagan as one of the twentieth century's two great presidents, ranking him alongside Franklin Roosevelt. The historian chronicles Reagan's journey from small-town Illinois through his careers as radio announcer, movie star, and television host for The General Electric Theater before his political rise. Brands argues that Reagan's confident personality and unwavering beliefs allowed him to create a conservative revolution in American politics while helping end Soviet communism. Drawing on previously unavailable archival materials and interviews with Reagan administration survivors, Brands examines the presidential years in rich detail. He explores Reagan's distant management approach, his conflicted West Wing staff, his skillful use of public opinion to reshape tax policy, and his complex relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev. Brands contends that Reagan closed the liberal era and opened the Reagan age, whose core principles continue shaping American politics today. The biography reveals an underestimated politician whose practical leadership and consistent vision transformed the nation.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, political-science, american-history
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: biographical-fiction
Setting: Illinois, Soviet Union
Period: 20th Century
816 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday