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Summary: This is one of the best books ever written on Roanald Reagan
Review: This is a wonderful book that sheds so much light on the human side of Ronald Reagan. The press has had it all wrong for so many years. The man we know and admire as one of our greatest presidents was so because of the qualities of the man that the author so eloquently reveals in his book. I wish more Liberals would read this book, including Mr. Clinton, because of the lessons of humanity and small government that the author shares. A side of Ronald Reagan that most of us never knew, his humor and his kindness comes out very early on in the boook. We could all learn alot from this man.
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Summary: A Manual For Great Leaders
Review: The obvious is revealed by Mr. D'Souza - Ronald Reagan is perhaps the greatest president of the 20th Century. When the century is over, it will be Ronald Reagan's legacy that will tower as a Collosus over the free world. It's a shame so many of our leaders are nothing but opinion poll takers. Ronald Reagan would never be accused of such weakness in times that required leadership and character, and not the personal self-interest of just doing or saying anything to get re-elected. Anyone aspiring to hold a public leadership position is highly encouraged to read and learn from this book. And if you are in a position of leadership....read "How and Ordinary Man Became and Extraordinary Leader" and weigh yourself in the balance with Ronald Reagan. If you are found wanting, please consider letting another assume your position of public trust.
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Summary: Ronald Reagan, the man the media hated
Review: Mr. D' Souza, has begun what I expected to happen sooner. The objective analysis of Ronald Reagan's presidency. Despite what most of the left wing and media pundit's thought, President Reagan had a plan and did not simply stumble, bumble, and sleep through his two terms. When they thought Reagan was disconnected from reality, he was merely ignoring their insults, and changing the subject in his endearing manner. What they viewed as personality faults, were his most effective methods. His disarming, self depreceating style of humor was the entrance to a trap for those who were quick to dismiss him for it. Those included the media, Congress, and Gorbachev. Ronald Reagan almost always hid his determination and singlemindedness behind that facade. That is probably one of the things I love best about him. He consistently made fools of the left wing media who constantly predicted failure, and refused to admit it when they were wrong. Mr. D' Souza effectively reminds us how strong ( and wrong) the drum beat of criticism was. I challenge any of those critics to admit they were wrong. ( Especially the New York Times, and Antlony Lewis.) Mr. D' Souza has made clear why Reagan is and probobly always will be one of our most beloved presidents. He will be remembered as the man who out-manuevered the Soviets, and ended the cold war. He will eventually rank among the Roosevelts, (and possibly even higher) as one of our greatest presidents. I will keep this book on my shelf forever.
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Summary: Oh, how we miss the Gipper.
Review: D'Souza does an excellent job of reminding us why so many of us loved Reagan so much - he knew what he wanted to do and he knew how to get it done. More than anyone else in American History, he saw the presidency as a means to an end, and what a noble end - the revitalization of America and victory in the Cold War. Buy this book and give it to your children when they reach voting age, because the historians and the press are already at work burying his legacy. It may be their only glimpse of a great President.
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Summary: An inspirational, entertaining, and rewarding book.
Review: Mr. D'Souza, besides his incredible intelligence, is a man of conviction and backbone. It's unfashionable to love Reagan, but millions of us do and Mr. D'Souza reminds us in excellent prose why we did, do, and should. The book beautifully vindicates the Reagan era, the man, and the '80's, not in a whitewash, but a careful analysis of how we responded to a great leader's strengths and forgettable weaknesses. The book is inspirational in bringing us closer to a friend we've missed; Reagan, and most rewarding in carefully dissecting and exposing the fallacies of the revisionists. In the end they are seen for what they are; well educated, but petty people full of ambition, and devoid of the overriding principles that made America great and which Reagan re-awakened in us.
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Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: This book was extremely informative about Reagan the man. Indeed, it nearly appeared in the beginning that D'Souza was going to portray him as the disinterested titular leader of the country. As the book wore on, D'Souza showed that Reagan's apparent preoccupations (ie the jelly beans during staff meetings) were just Reagan's way of non-verbal communication. The book is at times hilarious, due of course to the famous Reagan wit. This book is must reading for all Americans to remember and cherish the Reagan Presidency.
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Summary: Mainstream pundits debunked
Review: Those idolized mainstream pundits who so reflexively demenized and minimalized Ronald Reagan are put to shame by this facinating book. History continues to prove Reagan to be one of the greatest presidents, while these same pundits debunked in the book continue to underrate him. Reagan's way of detaching himself from policy arguments in favor of the big picture and his skillful use of leadership to drag this country from weak depression into super-strength is inspiring and hilarious. I still laugh out loud when I think of an aid's bewilderment at Reagan picking out his favorite colors of jelly beans while his brain trust argued some arcane budget item. When pompous Sam Donaldson asked Reagan rudely for his comment on the beltway's belief that Reagan had memory problems, Reagan said, "I was going to respond, but I forgot the question." Another reporter questioned Reagan's attention span, to which Reagan suggested that he change the subject. Reagan used his bad raps to his advantage, like the time he refused to endorse shoe import quotas for fat-cat supporters by playing dumb. I have utilized as much as Reagan's style as I possibly can at my work and have seen great results. This book inspires one to think great big thoughts and to keep one's eye on the goal-line. Kudos to D'Souza for a great read that I could not put down.
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Summary: D'Souza sheds new light on Reagan--man and president
Review: For years, Americans have been treated to he "conventional wisdom" about Ronald Reagan--dimwitted, lazy, disengaged, but, in many respects, just plain lucky. Dinesh D'Souza, a former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, admits that he was once taken in by the conventional wisdom himself. But the accomplishments of the Reagan administration (and they are impressive--perhaps more impressive than most of us remember) cannot simply be attributed to dumb luck. They were the expression of Reagan's own leadership, the evolution of which D'Souza discusses in fascinating detail. From his early life, to Hollywood, to heading the Screen Actor's Guild, to his General Electric "ambassadorship," to two terms as Calfornia governor, to two unsuccesful presidential bids, Reagan picked up knowledge and political skills that eventually helped him ascend to the presidency. He came to Washington with the conviction that the great issues of our time are not intellectual but moral, and knew--with an acuity unmatched by his competitors and critics--what the man on the street was thinking and experiencing. D'Souza has not just written a political biography, but has exposed the Reagan blueprint for successful and enduring statecraft: Know what you believe and stick to it; articulate a large vision; define your bottom line objectives; don't give in on principles, but be flexible in your tactics; and find good people who can help you reach your goals. This blueprint was responsible for Reagan's astounding success with the economy, the Soviet Union and rebuilding the U.S. military. Reagan was, as D'Souza argues, Churchillian in his ability to read the currents of history and do precisely what was needed for his nation's long-term interest. Perhaps most revealing was D'Souza's account of Reagan's extremely disciplined time management practices, which allowed him to do a 9-5 work day and still accomplish his goals. I defy President Clinton or his staff to match Reagan's schedule. I loved this book, and needed to read it. I don't give it a '10' because D'Souza is many times much more fawning and forgiving than he needs to be. He does outline some of the scandals and missteps of Reagan and his lieutenants, but largely rationalizes or excuses them. Still, the bottom line is that Reagan was successful because he was a leader who looked at the big picture and didn't get bogged down in the petty details, the nit-picking matters that brought down Carter and seem to pre-occupy Clinton. Buy this book. Read it. Lend it to a friend. It's a good read that --if I may say it--actually made me proud to be an American.
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Summary: Opens up new territory as his other bestsellers -Excellent
Review: The questions are very simple: Was Reagan a great president,? And if so what did he accomplish? Simple. And Dinesh D'Souza's book goes right to the heart of the matter. Namely that Reagan ended the Cold War on our terms, revitalized the country, set the economy up for a 15 year growth path, and changed the nature of the relationship of government to governed. As D'Souza would say, not a bad list of successes for someone supposedly not to bright or paying attention.. To see a real contrast, look at the early presidencies of Presidents Reagan and Clinton. President Reagan was supposed to be the "dummy" as D'souza notes, and President Clinton the smart fella. Yet President Reagan and his staff did massive planning and recruiting before the inaugural and hit the ground running. In contrast, President Clinton's first two years were a time of disarray, lagging recruitment and even less accomplishment. President Reagan set up an effective cabinet style of governance, much the same as he did as governor of California. In contrast, President Clinton ran his presidency, at least in the early years, as an exhaustive marathon, with everything passing though his hands. So who was the dummy?
Finally, President Reagan had an overall vision of what he wanted to accomplish. And he did not let the hue and cry of daily events deter him from these larger goals. As D'Souza notes, Reagan focused on a few things - Winning the Cold War, turning around the economy, reestablishing the US military as the leading military force, and setting the stage for reducing government influence on business and society. He was a leader in the true sense of the word, D'Souza explains, and not just a manipulator. True he used polling, but not as it is done today to predict what will sell and how to sell it. Instead, he used polling to gage his effectiveness and how well he was reaching people. This is a very clear and cleanly written book. It shows us the "real" Reagan and what made him effective.
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Summary: Springtime for Reagan Mythology
Review: This book reminds me of the Inspector Clouzeau movies: every time he banged his head he did it deliberately to test the consistency of the material. One shudders to think that kind of miserable country and world this would be had Reagan never been born. He loved America so much, he fed its children ketchup and called it a vegetable. He was such a great communicator, he couldn't persuade his own children. He admired Thatcher who admired and still admires Pinochet. He fired 11,000 air traffic controllers. He hired James Watt who said that Indian reservations are socialism and ought to be abolished (monogamy is also socialism). He thought the Soviets such a huge threat that he supported the Iran Iraq war, thus weakening two nations and making them candidates for Soviet takeover. He defeated the Soviets but couldn't defeat Iran. Ironically, by supporting free trade, he eroded American sovereignty, because everything else is affected by trade. Capitalism is incompatible with conservatism. But you won't read this in this book. D'Souza has blamed liberals for "reductio ad Hitlerum". He could be blamed for "reductio ad Reaganorum". Everything good comes from one man, and there are no bad, consequences to anything he did. Cult of personality is a bad idea that has been tried before.
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