J's Pages

I wasn't looking forward to reading this. As I've been reading through presidential biographies, I knew I would eventually get to Ronald Reagan, the man holding the office when I reached adulthood and started thinking (and voting) for myself. Suffice it to say, I wasn't a fan of the man. I wondered if the story of his life would reveal that he was worse than I thought or--even more frightening--that he was better. 

All in all, however, the man portrayed in Mr. Spitz's biography jibe with my recollections. Ronald Reagan is not presented as a great man. Oh, he was charming, athletic, and had a good memory. But he also was a mediocre student and an actor of limited talent. Where he excelled was in dreaming big and convincing others to go along with him. He truly earned the title of "Great Communicator". His administrations as governor and president are portrayed as collaborations of competent men and women following his general direction. 

Unlike other biographies I've read, Reagan is not overly political. It focuses more on Reagan himself and his personal life than the political details of his administrations. I suppose that works better here than, say, a biography of Lyndon Johnson or FDR. And in the end, I'm glad I checked it out.

LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList

// posted by John @ 2:16 PM