Rating: 
Summary: Working with the Gipper
Review: Michael Deaver served as the White House Chief of Staff during most of the Reagan White House years. During that time, and during the previous decade, he came to know and love the man who served first as California governor and later as U.S. President during the 1980's, Mr. Ronald Reagan. In this book, he talks about his relationship with the former president, including how they first met, how they formed a friendship, and how their bond remained strong through Reagan's presidency and beyond. Deaver first met Ronald Reagan in 1966 when he was about to run for the governorship of California. It was here that Deaver first got to know Reagan from a political standpoint. Before long, however, the friendship grew beyond politics and Deaver and Reagan became friends for life. They didn't always agree on everything, but they were still able to separate the disputes from the fact that they were still friends. Deaver points out that the Reagan he got to know personally was very different from the image that the public was used to. Reagan was popular with the people and was known for his good looks and sense of humor. He was also perceived as very outgoing, but Deaver indicates that this was not really the case at all. Ronald Reagan was actually rather shy and would prefer to talk with only one or two people at a party rather than work the crowd, like a more gregarious type of personality would do. These facts might surprise some readers who always assumed that Ronald Reagan was the life of the party in any social situation. One thing about this book that makes it a little different from other political books is the fact that it keeps a positive attitude from beginning to end. Unlike other politically influenced books that devote a large number of pages to negative criticism and outright bashing of opponents, "A Different Drummer" remains optimistic. There is really nothing negative in this book, so don't read it if you are expecting to hear Deaver lash out at Reagan's many enemies or talk openly about Iran Contra or other scandals. It isn't that type of book at all. Deaver focuses on Ronald Reagan as a person, and he remains upbeat and optimistic throughout. Deaver speaks very affectionately about Ronald Reagan, and this fact will turn some people off right away, particularly those who are liberal in their thinking and cannot handle hearing anything positive about Reagan or any other Republican. I admit that Deaver's words can go a little overboard, and they often overflow with excessive admiration. But before a potential reader writes this book off for political reasons, he or she should reconsider. It's true that the book is written about an important political figure, but it isn't really a political book, in the purest sense. It is really a personal book about one man's relationship with a man he admired to the extreme. I didn't necessarily learn a lot more about Ronald Reagan when I read this book. What I learned instead was the power of friendship. Micheal Deaver has known Reagan for more than 30 years. He has been with the president during his highest achievements (like winning the governor's race and the two election victories for the White House) and during his lowest and most difficult personal crises (like his battle with Alzheimer's disease- a very touching part of the book). And through it all, Deaver has remained a friend. "A Different Drummer" is a nice tribute from Deaver to Reagan, showing how two men can remain loyal and steadfast to the very end. It's not the best book about Ronald Reagan as a whole, since it doesn't cover very much about the president's early life or achievements. But it's a good book about the relationship that formed between these two political allies and how the friendship blossomed and grew over the 30- year period that they worked together. It's full of charm and sincerity, and it makes for a good read regardless of your political affiliation.
Rating: 
Summary: Both comfortable and comforting
Review: No review of this book would be complete without addressing the first point to be made by the author -- a description of what this book is not. It is not an exhaustive biography, an apology for Reagan's policies, or a criticism of his opponents. It is simply an accounting of Mike Deaver's time with Ronald Wilson Reagan. This is a comfortable book, because it is written with an ease and familiarity born of friendship. It is comforting, because it shows that behind the scenes and out of the spotlight, Ronald Reagan was as genuine as he appeared to be. His integrity and conviction was not an act. Deaver could easily have used this book for self-promotion, but he wrote it in the same way he served Reagan -- with wholehearted committment to his friend and boss. Reagan's person and policy has been, and will continue to be studied, criticized, and defended. Biographies and collections of works will tell much of the story. But none of them will offer such a simple glimpse into the public and private nature of the 40th President as does this recounting of memories shared by a loyal friend and advisor.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Insights into President Reagan's Character
Review: To historians, President Reagan remains an enigma in many ways. No one failed to be moved by President Reagan. His magic touched us all. How much was the man? How much was carefully constructed image? In this detailed memoir of thirty years of working with President Reagan, Michael Deaver addresses many of the hypotheses and reports that bear on those questions. In doing so, he paints a compelling portrait of a genuinely principled man with enormous talent for inspirational leadership. President Reagan's devotion to ending the cold war was a pole star that undoubtedly helped all of humanity to gradually emerge from that conflict. In the foreword by Mrs. Reagan, she notes that "there are only a handful of people who could write about the private Ronald Reagan." One of the "most qualified is our friend Mike Deaver." She praises Mr. Deaver for working behind the scenes rather than trying to grab glory for himself. Mr. Deaver makes modest claims for the book. "I would never pretend to solve the riddle of Reagan . . . ." This book is "not a biography . . . [it is] a book of memories." The book begins with the first time Mr. Deaver saw Mr. Reagan in person in the 1960s, and ends with the last time they saw one another before the book was written. The painful portrait of a talented man with Alzheimer's Disease will grip you, in a way that you cannot imagine. The book's main theme is that President Reagan "was guided by a source of inspiration that only he could understand." The quickest way to lose a point was to argue that taking a stand would hurt politically. President Reagan saw it as his duty to persuade people to take the right point of view. Polls determined what he had to communicate about, not what his decisions should be. Mr. Deaver's durability was related to both his sense of place and his sense of mission. Both Mrs. Reagan and he report that they shared a common objective of helping President Reagan be his most effective. Mr. Reagan was once asked if Mr. Deaver was like a son to him. He replied, "Son, no. Brother, maybe." Only once in their years together did Mr. Deaver use Mr. Reagan's first name with him. Mr. Deaver regrets having done so. Those who doubt the ability of or dislike President Reagan will dislike this book. It counters many of their beliefs and arguments. You will find that President Reagan sought out the tough decisions, did his homework, and always wanted to get the best people involved. He was able to handle the intellectual demands of the key issues, and worked hard to be sure that he had as much information as possible. The only way he would consider changing his mind about something was if people would be hurt by his decision. Those who always felt that there was a director and script writer in the wings will be fascinated to find out that almost all of President Reagan's best lines were written by him. He also did some pretty remarkable things to enhance his ability to persuade. For example, he wore only one contact lens when speaking. This enabled him to see both the script (with the one eye that had a lens in) and the eyes of the audience (to see how they were reacting). This was an approach he had designed himself to avoid reading glasses in public. The story of the assassination attempt will change your view of the event and the need for more presidential security forever. Anyone who has read this book could recounts dozens of fascinating anecdotes. I will avoid the temptation to share more of them, so that you can enjoy them in the book. As interesting as they are, I think that the overall portrait is far more significant. President Reagan's competitiveness and discipline in the service of American ideals are what will most impress you. May we always be so well served in our presidents. After you read this book, think about how you could become more like President Reagan. What do you stand for? How can you become more competitive and disciplined in supporting those ideals? How can you help others understand what they are missing? Listen to your own drummer and . . . march on!
Rating:
Summary: Different Drummer
Review: When Ronald Reagan first appeared on the political scene in 1964, most thought he was a vapor drifting by, never to be seen again. After all, he was a grade B movie actor, a spokesman for General Electric and nothing more. In the book A Different Drummer by Michael Deaver, the author gives insight into the man Reagan, not President Reagan. Deaver spent 30 years with him and was the only person outside of Nancy Reagan who really knew what made him the type person he was. Even then he was an enigma to Deaver at times. The pages are filled with selected views of the former President from brief glimpses of his movie career to the days he spent in the Oval Office. If one thing stands out in the book, it is Ronald Reagan's ability to connect with people, not as a packaged movie actor as so many of his detractors thought, but his genuine respect and admiration for people that others did not like. One of the most touching series of scenes occured on his inauguration day in 1981 involving President Jimmy Carter. The compassion for Carter and what President Reagan asked Deaver to do took a man of real caliber to even think about doing it, much less laying the plan to do it, if it had worked out. What Reagan said about the Iranian situation and what he was prepared to do showed the inner qualities of a fine man; a man with a genuine feeling for President Carter's anguish. The news media never had a clue about what actually happened that day.
Ronald Reagan's wit, charm, and intelligence comes through in the book. He was a complex man, yet simple in his approach to his life because he had a strong sense of right and wrong that lay outside himself but at the same time had residence inside him giving him direction. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses and used them both, not to his advantage necessarily, but to the advantage of doing what was right for the nation as a whole, not just for a select few.
One particularly touching act by President Reagan showed his warm and tender feeling for those struggling to make ends meet. He found out about a young woman who needed money. He wrote a personal check and sent it to her. Later he wrote her another because she framed the first one. Acts of kindness were his forte, acts which the public never knew about. And the news media didn't take the time to find out what drove him to do as he did. Also he and Nancy guarded his personal nature and privacy so closely that the media never could figure him out, though with some effort they might have.
Deaver makes it clear that no one ever fully understood Ronald Reagan except Nancy. She not only understood him, she protected him ferociously from his foes when his kind and gentle nature tended to put him in harms way. He said without her he would not have been President, but she took no active political role as did Hillary Clinton. She was his guardian angel in a manner of speaking, the one and only love of her life. A love that endure to this day as she looks after him daily, ministering to him during his tragic illness of Alzheimer's disease.
No matter what you may think about Ronald Reagan as President, or his politics, this book should give every reader a glimpse of the resolute character of the man Reagan, and at the same time a deeper appreciation for all that he did for this nation because of the morals, his honesty, his integrity ,and personal belief that he must do his best no matter the task. For himself, the man Reagan was not important, but what the man Reagan stood for and did was of the utmost importance to him. Deaver captures the moments in the life of Reagan with clarity, humor, and, seriousness. And the author makes it quite understandable that few men have ever risen to the stature of Ronald Wilson Reagan, both as a man and as President.
A good read and highly recommended.
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