Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant analysis of our times...
Review: Anyone who knows the work of Gary Wills can vouch for the fact that he does not fit neatly on a left-right or liberal-conservative spectrum, especially not on the left or liberal side of that spectrum. It therefore makes it even more interesting and persuasive how Wills picks apart Reagan, the American people, and the relationship between them. Reagan hagiographers like D'Souza and Deaver can sing love songs to Reagan from here to eternity--it won't erase the very basic facts and arguments Wills marshalls so well. Looking back now it is more clear than ever that Reagan's America was defined by greed, self-satisfied individualism, sanctimony, hypocrisy, and ignorance (not to mention the crippling national debt we've had ever since). My three favorite tidbits about Reagan and his hypocrisy: 1) Reagan was well-known for being hawkish in his use of military force and full of praise for our fighting men and women, past and present. Going along with that, he suggested repeatedly that he had been in World War II. The reality was that he made some MOVIES about the war in Hollywood but never enlisted and never served, even though he was younger than, and didn't have any more dependents than, countless other men who enlisted and served. 2) Reagan was also well-known for being a devout religious man, one who helped graft the Christian Right on to the Republican Party. The reality was that from all accounts Reagan rarely spoke of God in private, prayed, or went to church. And 3) Reagan spoke often of the importance of morality, family stability, and personal responsibility--some of the credos of American conservatism and the Republican Party. Again, the reality bore little resemblance to this image; Reagan left and then divorced his first wife, and then in the years to come was so cold and distant to his children from that marriage and the next that they regularly felt alienated and estranged (this according to the children themselves)[on this subject see also Bob Dole, Bob Barr, Newt Gingrich, Phil Gramm, Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, etc.]. Read this book and learn--rarely for the better, often for the worse, Ronald Reagan was quintessentially American...
Rating: 
Summary: Do you want fair and unbiased? This is NOT the book for you!
Review: As a reader who just wants an evenhanded view of American history in hindsight, I believed the LA Times take on the back cover when browsing it in a store. (Silly me....forgot the Times are socialists) The author completely rips Reagan's life from his religious upbringing, his parents, and his political and acting career without ONE good thing to say, not even an acknowledgement about the strength he had to set up the country for the prosperous times we now enjoy. This unembarassed Clinton lover should have his writing privilages stripped just for being so cowardly as to not put on the cover that this book will not be unbiased. This book WILL be returned to the store on grounds of false advertising, and will from this point on trust READERS reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Best authority on Reagan's early life
Review: COvering much of the same ground as Edmund Morris in his authorized biography, "Dutch," Garry Wills' "Reagan's America: Innocents at Home" is a much more successful look at the institutions and country that shaped the 40th President.With his usual incisive analysis and beautiful use of the English language, Wills does what Morris found impossible: the discovery of Reagan's soul. To Wills, Reagan is the logical product of the American heartland and of the institutions of the heartland: community service (he was a lifeguard first), small town media (he was a Des Moines, IA, radio announcer). Reagan is also shaped by the institutions of coastal America that are marketed to the heartland: movies and big business (when Reagan made the final turn toward conservatism, he was the national spokesman for General Electric). Finally, Reagan is also the product of a dysfunctional family, with some of the same logical results: a withholding from others, a love of the abstract and of fantasy. At the end of Wills' study, the reader gains a clear impression of the forces that created Ronald Reagan and bonded him to the American people. It is true that Reagan, as Morris argues, is enigmatic. But he is not impossible to begin to understand. Wills is the essential guide to the Reagan who was fully formed long before he reached the White House.
Rating:
Summary: Best authority on Reagan's early life
Review: COvering much of the same ground as Edmund Morris in his authorized biography, "Dutch," Garry Wills' "Reagan's America: Innocents at Home" is a much more successful look at the institutions and country that shaped the 40th President. With his usual incisive analysis and beautiful use of the English language, Wills does what Morris found impossible: the discovery of Reagan's soul. To Wills, Reagan is the logical product of the American heartland and of the institutions of the heartland: community service (he was a lifeguard first), small town media (he was a Des Moines, IA, radio announcer). Reagan is also shaped by the institutions of coastal America that are marketed to the heartland: movies and big business (when Reagan made the final turn toward conservatism, he was the national spokesman for General Electric). Finally, Reagan is also the product of a dysfunctional family, with some of the same logical results: a withholding from others, a love of the abstract and of fantasy. At the end of Wills' study, the reader gains a clear impression of the forces that created Ronald Reagan and bonded him to the American people. It is true that Reagan, as Morris argues, is enigmatic. But he is not impossible to begin to understand. Wills is the essential guide to the Reagan who was fully formed long before he reached the White House.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the biography's on Reagan
Review: Gary Wills book on Reagan is an even handed portrayal of a great American figure. President Reagan's conservative vision and his strident anti-communist views changed the way America works and changed the way the world looks at us. As a liberal, I often disagreed with his views, his policies and his actions. However, one cannot be an objective viewer of history with giving him his due. He did indeed bring a level of pride and hopefulness about America that had been missing since the early days of the Kennedy presidency. For that, I will be forever grateful to him. Gary Wills book provides a window in to how Ronald Reagan changed from Roosevelt democrat to conservative republican. An excellent book that should belong to anyone's collection of political histories and biographies.
Rating:
Summary: A very even handed book. Honest and thought provoking.
Review: I consider myself a conservative, and I found this book very helpful in understanding my conservative "roots." A warts and all look at a man misunderstood by both sides. Conservatives with an open mind take note, 2 of the 3 negative reviews here are from people who think the LA Times is a socialist paper (read: anything not right wing is socialist), and to not like Reagan is to be against tax cuts.
Rating:
Summary: A very even handed book. Honest and thought provoking.
Review: I consider myself a conservative, and I found this book very helpful in understanding my conservative "roots." A warts and all look at a man misunderstood by both sides. Conservatives with an open mind take note, 2 of the 3 negative reviews here are from people who think the LA Times is a socialist paper (read: anything not right wing is socialist), and to not like Reagan is to be against tax cuts.
Rating:
Summary: extremely disjointed, bizarre conclusions
Review: I love reading books about Ronald Reagan, whether they are critical or puff pieces, or whatever. Garry Wills biography of Reagan seems to lean heavily on his own personal opinions. Another problem with "Reagan's America" is that the piece is extremely disjointed, meaning that it does not flow nor tackle many of the serious issues with intense research or critical thinking.
Reagan's Hollywood career is filled with irrelevant information about the importance of chastity symbols. Many of Wills's thoughts are incoherent, psycho-babble and does not even closely mirror the other "balanced" accounts of President Reagan. He does not even deal with many of the lasting changes that Reagan had on America or the Republican Party. Wills has virtually no balanced understanding of the significance or importance of the conservative movement or Reagan Revolution in America. It seems also that the author also has an extreme socialist/liberal biased against capitalism and the free market. Basically the cover picture is the best asset of this book. I am not saying that Wills is not intelligent, but if one is honest with themselves and faithful to responsible scholarship they would surmise pretty quickly this is a very badly researched and biased account regardless of their feelings about Reagan.
I would not recommend this account if one is looking for a fair and accurate account of Ronald Reagan. If that is your interest, where you will not get just a "puff" analysis, take a look at Lou Cannon. Cannon is sometimes harsh but usually fair in his analysis of Reagan. He knows more about Reagan than any journalists and he has done the research. His book the "Role of a Lifetime" is an information treasure.
Rating:
Summary: A First class book by a first class historian
Review: I read the first edition printed in the 1980s. This book is not an evaluation of the Reagan Presidency, but a social historical evaluation of the culture he grew out of and eventually represented. The book would not please some who have attributed icon status to Reagan. But it provides a lot of insight into the man. Wills is a good writer and avoids the traps academics often fall into of writing a scholarly book but not well written. It is the best book on Reagan so far written.
Rating:
Summary: A First class book by a first class historian
Review: I read the first edition printed in the 1980s. This book is not an evaluation of the Reagan Presidency, but and social historical evaluation of the culture he grew out of and eventually represented. The book would not please some who have attributed icon status to Reagan. But it provides a lot of insight into the man. Wills is a good writer and avoids the traps academics often fall into of writing a scholarly book but not well written. It is the best book on Reagan so far written.
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