First published 2002
Ronald Reagan sits in the Oval Office, mapping out an unprecedented campaign to bankrupt the Soviet Union through economic and political warfare. The president who critics dismiss as an "amiable dunce" personally directs covert operations that will determine the fate of the Cold War. Reagan secretly funds Solidarity in Poland while Soviet officials maintain a KGB file on him dating back to his California governorship. The man they view as their most dangerous adversary proves them right. Drawing from private diaries spanning Reagan's career from Hollywood actor to president, Peter Schweizer reveals how Reagan's fervent anticommunism drove every major policy decision. The book exposes Reagan's role as an FBI informant, his outspoken opposition to détente, and his systematic strategy to overthrow the USSR. Schweizer uncovers previously unknown Cold War secrets from Russian, German, Polish, Hungarian, and American archives, including a North Korean plot to assassinate Reagan and Soviet backing of Western peace movements.
Genres: biography, history, 20th-century, political-science, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers
Setting: Oval Office, Soviet Union
Period: Cold War
352 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday