When Character Was King

Rating:
Summary: Partisan sniping aside, this is a very good book.
Review: Reviews of this book below seem to divide neatly between the 5-star, "Reagan is the greatest" view and the 1 star, "Reagan was a horrible criminal who caused homelessness and poverty" view. The objective fact of the matter is, however, that this is an excellent profile of President Reagan, and though it is laudatory in its praise, it is filled with great, behind-the-scenes stories and keen observations of Reagan's character and accomplishments. Along the way, Ms. Noonan, a wonderful writer, makes small but insightful comments on aging, memory, national pride, and the way our children will come to view our leaders, and ourselves. (And by "our children," I include the servicemen and women of the newly-commissioned aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, many of whom were born after he took office.)

In particular, the two chapters on the 1981 assassination attempt are absolutely compelling, and the entire book, at a breezy 320 or so pages, gives a much more complete and meaningful picture of Reagan than the overblown and artificial official biography by Edmund Morris, "Dutch."

Democrats won't like Noonan's views of Reagan, but they should appreciate Noonan's head-on view of the Iran Contra scandal (where she acknowledges that Reagan could have and should have put a stop to the arms-for-hostages initiative, but didn't); and they will delight in the catalog of cheap shots directed at Reagan by the media elite (he was dumb, vacant, senile, uninterested, etc.). And Noonan, perhaps surprisingly in light of her last book ("The Case Against Hillary Clinton"), largely resists the urge to use Reagan's character to blast former President Clinton.

Small criticisms: the book appears to be hastily edited, with minor typos here and there (George Scultz?); and though I appreciate Ms. Noonan's word-pictures, a few actual photographs would have helped remind the reader of particular events. All in all, however, the best profile (so far) of President Reagan, a quick and very enjoyable read, and a view of Reagan that I expect will hold up well as history increasingly smiles on his presidency.

Rating:
Summary: An Insider's Portrait
Review: One interesting aspect of this book is Noonan's increased respect and appreciation for Ronald Reagan since she penned her previous title, What I Saw at the Revolution. Noonan's evolution mirrors that of America and, indeed, the world, especially affirming for those of us who knew all along what a great man Reagan is. This latest book is fascinating; I've bought and read more than fifty hardcover books on Reagan and this still held my interest. Part is Noonan's superbly intimate writing, part is her unique perspective, part is the recent conversations with former Reagan insiders where Noonan elicits some really interesting and novel responses (including from President George W. Bush). The book is at once a hard-to-put-down page turner, but also one you'll want to savor, turning back pages to re-read sections that draw out happy memories or emotional responses. Thanks for this book Peggy, and also, thanks for telling our Forever President that we love him still.

Rating:
Summary: "...like an angel..."
Review: The praise on the back cover says that Peggy Noonan writes like an angel, and it couldn't be more true.

And so fitting, as she writes on America's Great Communicator. God Bless you, Peggy.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read!
Review: Don't go looking under the cover of this book for a biography of Reagan. Though of course, the book follows the contours of his life, it is not a biography in the truest sense of the word, but -- as the subtitle reveals -- it is a story of Reagan, and even more so, a story of human character using Reagan as its model.

It is, obviously, biased. The only real fault Noonan attributes to Reagan is his mixup in the Iran-Contra scandal, though even there she does her best to give him the patriotic benefit of the doubt. I forgive her for this, for it is not her intention to brush over his life with a fine-toothed comb. Her intention is to write a flowing narative of a life lived for purpose, patriotism and personal pride. No life of character or integrity is without blemish, Reagan's especially. For Noonan to have camped on his faults would have detracted from her message and would have strayed from the point of the book.

This is classic Noonan prose. Her writing is graceful, eloquent, and yet at the very same time quite conversational. The reader has a sense that she is sitting across the room on the sofa telling stories. The book has much the same style as her weekly columns in the Wall Street Journal. The anecdotes she pulls from Reagan's life are appropriate and well-told. Her placement of Reagan in the context of Clinton and Bush is also insiteful.

This is a good book. Don't look for balance, its not there but neither was it intended to be there. Fans of Reagan and Noonan will not go away disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Work!
Review: I was thouroughly enjoying the final chapters of Peggy's assessment of Ronald Reagan, the man and the President when, on page 280, she asks the reader to look up at the sky from wherever they may be.

I was on the beach at Polihale State Park, under an azure blue sky, occasionally looking out to sea in search of whales, with the Sandia National Labs, Kauai Test Facility directly over my shoulder. Peggy then proceeded to educate me on the history behind President Reagan's vision of the future and the SDI program (I was in the military overseas at the time and received information through the filter of the "Stars and Stripes"). As I sat up and looked around, I thanked God for giving us Ronald Reagan as our President for eight years, a man for the times.

This book should be required reading for modern history classes at the high school and college level. Peggy brings a clarity to history lacking in so many schools today, and highlights the inner-workings of institutions and relationships, all without so much as a photo! A wonderful read that will become part of my workplace library. When people come to my office and ask why we do what we do, I can hand them the book and say, start on page 280 if you are pressed for time, otherwise read every word!

Rating:
Summary: Best of the bunch
Review: Having read almost all of the accounts and biographies of President Reagan, I rate this this book as the best of the bunch. Armed with her extraordinary writing skills, Noonan exposes the essential essence of this great man. In contrast to the often tedious style of many biographers, this account (story, as she calls it) is exceedingly easy to read, consistently holds the reader's interest and successfully strikes at the heart of the matter.

Rating:
Summary: Being a character doesn't mean having character
Review: I find no surprise that a book extolling Reagan has absolutely *no* mention of his visit to the SS graveyard in Bitburg, Germany. It was an event that showed Reagan at his most characterless, refusing to budge and having to be embarrassed into visiting a Nazi concentration camp. This book, like the idea of Reagan being a virtuous, upstanding and honest leader, is a poorly realized lie.

Rating:
Summary: The Biography you'll be apt to remember
Review: Truly this is a wonderful book. Even the familiar anecdotes are presented in a historical framework made possible by the passage of years. Much of the book is based on recent interviews and will be new. Patti Davis appears to have finally grown up. In one context, the author herself writes "I was wrong". There's a lot more to Reagan than winning the Cold War or bringing about the biggest economic boom in history, as anyone young or old should be capable of perceiving, especially with this book. The book contains a few diversions, even a reference to the current President's September 20 speech, which are of interest.

We can look forward to more books from this author, even if just a compilation of her best Wall Street Journal commentaries, and we can hope that she will have a more competent editor. This book has spellings such as "fourty", "challange", and "envelopes" for "envelops". "... one day after the shooting" Reagan is at his ranch. Eight weeks elapse between March 30 and May 13. Perhaps worst of all, Reagan's famous identification of the Soviet Union as the "focus of evil" becomes the "locus of evil", not once but twice.

Particularly moving are the chapter on the day of the assassination attempt and the account of the author's 1998 encounter with the ailing President. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An education for the next generation....
Review: At nearly every conservative political event I attend, I am always amazed by the number of young people who are completely enthralled by Ronald Wilson Reagan. Not that Reagan was not a great president, but I am surprised by the number of young people who idolize a President who they often know very little about.

They are in love with the lore, the legend and the promise that Reagan gave to America, a full generation after he first took office in 1981 when many of them were in grade school or diapers. Very few are aware of the specifics that made his presidency great and Peggy Noonan's latest offering not only paints the picture to match the lore, it provides them with the ammo to defend one of our greatest Presidents against any liberal attack.

Peggy Noonan's latest book is a moving tribute to Reagan that is bound to make any liberal sick. In as much as they love Clinton, we conservatives hold the same love (twenty times over) for our beloved "Ronnie."

Noonan's book is balanced and offers criticism of the Reagan era, which may be a surprise to some who expect her novel to be an idol-worshiping tribute. Instead, Noonan offers her unique insights, those of her peers in the White House and of Nancy Reagan herself. In the process gives credit where credit is due and points out mistakes that were made, including the Iran-Contra affair.

Unlike the self-promoting and often confusing "Dutch" by Edmund Morris, Noonan is able to recall the highlights, both good and bad, that formed Reagan's career while remaining both readable and endearing. She paints Reagan as a man of true character, a loving husband and a distracted father who is married to his principles. Virtues that were certainly absent in the "black" years between Bushes.

Her book is a touching and poignant tribute that accurately portrays why Reagan is consistently ranked as one of our most beloved Presidents. You can rest assured that I will be asking every young Reagan neophyte that I encounter at events in the future if they truly know about the great man that they profess to love and admire. Regardless of their answer, I will encourage them to pick up Peggy's new book.

And in the words of Mrs. Noonan, "We love you Mr. President."

Rating:
Summary: Exploring President Reagan's Philosophy and Psychology
Review: When Character Was King is a most unusual book. Let me start by saying what it is not. Although there are many biographical details here, it is definitely not a biography. Although the book explores political ideas, it is not a book about political theory or ideology. Although the book has much history in it, it is not a history. Although the book has many personal observations about President Reagan, it is not a memoir. As close as I can describe it, the book attempts to simultaneously capture what it was like to spend time with President Reagan, explain why he did what he did, and show how his communications affected others. The exposition is mostly by anecdote, rather than by argument. As a result, I found that I improved my understanding of President Reagan quite a bit. That surprised me, because I have read quite a few books about President Reagan, and followed his actions very closely while he was president.

The new insights come mostly from two sources: new interviews with people who met President Reagan over the past five decades, and Ms. Noonan's own recollections and reflections on what it was like to work with President Reagan. Ms. Noonan is a talented writer, and brings the material together well.

The book is highly complimentary of President Reagan, so those who did not like him or what he did will find the book sadly out of balance. Iran-Contra is about the only negative area mentioned, and President Reagan is criticized . . . but in a mild way. Other areas where reasonable people could and do differ (like abortion, women's and minority rights, SDI, the Federal deficit, and the broad military build-up) are described as complete triumphs.

Those who are great admirers of President Reagan will probably find this book to be the most appealing and emotionally rewarding profile that has been done to date. The book has the extra appeal of taking you into the private places and times where only insiders had everyday access, such as the California ranch, the hospital after the assassination attempt, visits with President Reagan after he was out of office, and the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan by Mrs. Reagan while she was attended by a large group of former White House staffers.

There are a lot of speeches reported in the book. Realizing that Ms. Noonan may have helped write some of them made me feel like the speeches should have been pared back, or her role described fully in their development.

Integrity is defined by most people as acting in ways that are consistent with your beliefs. That is a high standard that all people wish they could match. Whether a critic or an admirer, you will come away from this book with a better understanding of why and how President Reagan behaved with an extraordinary degree of integrity, representing values that the majority of Americans hold.

Here are a few examples of President Reagan's beliefs as described in the book:

"Tell the truth, announce the facts, explain what to do about them and pledge to do it."

"So he took his mother's assumptions -- we must do good -- and added them to his own ambitions."

" . . . I'm going off to war, still true to my precepts: (a) to love what you are doing with all your heart and soul and (b) to believe what you are doing is important."

"He was humble. He had no sense of entitlement."

"Skeptic . . . not a cynic."

After the assassination attempt, "Whatever time he had left was God's, would go to God."

"He saw it [history] as something you could change."

"He thought women were better than men."

"I never thought of myself as a great man, just a man committed to great ideas."

His legacy: "He tried to expand the frontiers of freedom, in a world at peace with itself."

Near the end of the book, President George W. Bush describes his first meeting with Russian President Putin, and you can clearly hear echoes of the Reagan-Gorbachev summits. So the influence of these beliefs continues, at least in the current administration. If you are like me, you will be deeply affected by stories of how reports of President Reagan's speeches helped inspire Soviet dissidents stuck in the Siberian gulags.

Be sure you know what you believe . . . and act like that's what you believe! Encourage others to do the same . . . whether or not they agree with you. But do look out for their interests too, and point them out.