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Rating: 
Summary: Style over Substance
Review: If you want to read an objectively written book about Ronald Reagan, his years as Governor of California, or his presidency, pass on this book. From the outset, it is clear that the author, one of Reagan's inner circle and possibly the worst Attorney General of the United States this side of John Mitchell, cannot help but fawn over the Gipper. Meese's every word is embued with such a slavish devotion to Reagan that he glosses over some of Reagan's more questionable accomplishments and policies, always portraying episodes in an "us verus them" fashion where the "us" is always right. Anyone seriously considering the purchase of this book would do well to ignore the review of jmarkwhite, whose way of dealing with negative reviews of the book is to engage in juvenile namecalling. Here's the bottom line...if you're a big fan of Ronald Reagan and are blind to his faults (and believe me, he had some), this is the book for you. If you want an objective view of the man and his impact on America, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Style over Substance
Review: If you want to read an objectively written book about Ronald Reagan, his years as Governor of California, or his presidency, pass on this book. From the outset, it is clear that the author, one of Reagan's inner circle and possibly the worst Attorney General of the United States this side of John Mitchell, cannot help but fawn over the Gipper. Meese's every word is embued with such a slavish devotion to Reagan that he glosses over some of Reagan's more questionable accomplishments and policies, always portraying episodes in an "us verus them" fashion where the "us" is always right. Anyone seriously considering the purchase of this book would do well to ignore the review of jmarkwhite, whose way of dealing with negative reviews of the book is to engage in juvenile namecalling. Here's the bottom line...if you're a big fan of Ronald Reagan and are blind to his faults (and believe me, he had some), this is the book for you. If you want an objective view of the man and his impact on America, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine book on the Reagan presidency
Review: Ignore the leftist tripe that might be contained in other reviews of this book; _With Reagan_ is an excellent overview of Reagan's presidency. Written by a member of the infamous troika that ran the administration in its early days, the book reviews the major achievements and downfalls of the administration. It is clearly intended to be a defense of Reagan, particularly in its discussions of Iran Contra, the economy, the national debt, and the like. Meese provides a clear, cogent discussion of where Reagan was right and where he was not. Meese also touches on Reagan's record as Governor of California. If you're wanting to renew your memories of the Reagan years, my advice is to read this book, along with Dinesh D'Souza's _Ronald Reagan: How An Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader_.
Rating:
Summary: ideology can overcome any facts
Review: This book is so rigidly dogmatic that it reads like the controlled press of a dictatorship, in which the strength and wisdom and iron will of The Leader is constantly praised and nothing he has ever said or done was mistaken. Meese, the slimiest and most hypocritical of all Reagan insiders, sees absolutely no wrongdoing at any time anywhere by any member of Reagan's core group. The highest bullshit level of any Reagan white house memoir (and I've read almost all of them). He also displays a Naziesque fondness for casting every event as a Test Of Will or of Resolve, in which the best possible victory is the quick and decisive use of excessive force, to "send a message". Lots of facts and figures to show that Reagan gets all the credit for improvements, especially in the economy, but also in the collapse of communism, where Gorbachev almost seems irrelevant. But his main point is to discredit the idea that Reagan was passive or indecisive.
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