Reviews for The Reagan I Knew

The average rating for The Reagan I Knew based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-10-19 00:00:00 Joe Snowaen I suppose any of you who have read much of what I've said in other reviews will not be surprised to learn that I hold Ronald Reagan in the highest regard. I was raising a family in the 1970s and observed, survived, and worked in the period of Nixon, Ford, and Jimmy Carter. I was in a state that had up to 50% unemployment in some areas during the Carter "malaise". I spent years...that's years, able to get only either part time or temporary jobs. Then I lived through the 80s. There have been and still are huge attempts to either paint Mr. Reagan as a doddering old man who just happened to be there when the economy boomed and the Soviet Union fell, or to portray his presidency and the entire period of time as something they weren't. It's popular now to use the phrase the "me decade". George Orwell commented on this sort of thing often. He pointed out that "Those who control the past control the future, and those who control the present control the past." If you'd like to know what went on listen to and read those who were there...but in an argument, try both sides. I plan that this book will stay on my shelf and I will (if it is within my power) hand it down to my own children. I would hope it gets read. It is not only about a man I respect deeply but was written by another man I respect deeply. Through personal experience and correspondence WFB tells the story of the Ronald Reagan he knew. There is insight here to both Mr. Reagan and his wife...and not a little to the author. I would think you'll find of interest things said and thought during some of the events that took place then and still effect all of us to this day. Mr. Reagan's Presidency (I believe) pulled the US out of a terrible slide into a hole, a pit (one which the country has now been/is being shoved/ed back into). This is an important book and a good addenda to any other volume on the president. So, if like me you look up to Mr. Reagan and wish we could find a successor to him, then this book will appeal to you. If on the other hand you're one of those who grind their teeth, fume, and feel the bile rise at the mention of his name, well then there's a lot here for you to continue to get angry about. Might be worth your time to.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-02-04 00:00:00 Gilbert Lozano A special, but not belabored, look at WFB's friendship with "RR" (and Nancy Reagan). Reagan was notably reluctant to form intimate friendship, but Buckley and Reagan's sincere esteem for each other and their gratitude for each other's impact on the other's life is well presented in this book, as well as just their joy for each other as friends. (Sad that we are no longer a society of letters.) The book's narration is padded with delightful letters to and from the author and both Reagans. National Review was very critical at times of some of Reagan's policy, and this books remind me of the ability for friends to agree and disagree, respectfully. This book is less sesquipedalian than most other Buckley writing which makes it more enjoyable. Some have criticized this book as not revealing enough about their policy differences and personal discussions, but then again Buckley loathed such books.