Dutch : A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

Rating:
Summary: Fourteen Years For THIS?
Review: Let's forget about the argument over how this book ultimately sees Reagan the man and the president. I consider myself a great admirer of Ronald Reagan and that means I have seen a lot of terrible things written about him over the years by a lot of Reagan haters who have never been able to accept the greatness of his legacy, especially the fact that the man who was supposedly going to plunge us into war, singlehandedly won the Cold War. Edmund Morris, I will freely concede at the outset does not fall into this category as he does recognize this facet of the legacy.

Why then is this the worst historical biography I have ever read, even if it doesn't bash Reagan the president on his accomplishments? Because it is simply unprofessionally written, unprofessionally presented, and is so muddled and addled that I couldn't get into it all! All this fictionalizing to inject himself, the stupid movie script presentations of certain segments of Reagan's life. It got to a point where I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on here. And while all these gimmicks are being interjected all kinds of fascinating things of Reagan's life are strangely missing. Indeed, only a Reagan expert would have the faintest idea of what Morris is talking about when he glosses over so quickly things like the entire 1980 campaign, or the circumstances of how Reagan came to deliver his 1964 speech on behalf of Barry Goldwater. Instead of just giving us the facts, Morris feels he has to dazzle us with this new style of writing history. If this is what we're in for, then God help us all.

For years I had waited for this book with anticipation. Six years ago, Morris offered a hint of a potentially great book when he wrote an article for the American Spectator about the tragic story of Christina Reagan, the child born to Reagan and Jane Wyman that lived only several days. In that article, Morris wrote like a professional historian, offering the challenging suggestion that this sad incident accounted for the depth of Reagan's pro-life position on abortion. But in "Dutch", while Morris has strangely dedicated the book to Christina, he has totally omitted the insight of his earlier article, instead consigning the sad event to a passage of his bizarre "script" in which the Reagan-Wyman marriage ends without any meaningful analysis.

This book is a travesty irregardless of how one ultimately feels about Ronald Reagan. I sincerely hope that if Edmund Morris wishes to regain his credibility as a scholar, he will see to it that this experimental approach to writing history won't start a trend with himself, let alone the rest of the historical profession.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece and unique opportunity
Review: What a refreshing biography!!! It is not only a literary masterpiece but also a unique insight by a "Non-American"(when will this ever happen again!?) and a superb character analysis .Morris is very original and constantly creative . I support his conclusion that Reagan was a great president and would rank him very high but likely also is aloof and somewhat superficial.The aggressive reviews in the media are simply amusing (and may be material for a separate book) .Keep up the good work Morris( from a writer,physician and Dutch-American,..no pun intended.)

Rating:
Summary: Morris is brilliant
Review: I have been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time. The recent controversy about the style of his writing is to be predicted, but I think if people have an open mind, they will get from this book a true picture of who Reagan was. This is the whole purpose of this book, is it not? Morris has shaken the waters, but in the end, I think people will look back on his teqnique and be in awe at what he has accomplished. If people give this book a chance, they will come out educated in so many ways. It's sick that the media takes a few sentances from this book, and then pretends to know what it's all about. They need to focus on the big picture. Katie Couric--shame on you.

Rating:
Summary: ZERO STARS wasn't one of the rating choices.
Review: Maybe it's because I waited so long for this book that it is such a bitter disappointment. I think Ronald Reagan was the best president this county has hadthis century and I anxiously awaited this biography from his "authorized" biographer. But this book is a bad joke. The injecting of fictional episodes into the biography of a real person is unforgivable for a serious biographer. Morris doesn't even do us the curtesy of italicizing what's fictional, so we can skip over it and get to the real stuff. It's hard to say whether the fictional episodes are worse than the constant yammering Morris does about himself. Open the book to any random page and, instead of the life of Ronald Reagan, you get the author talking about himself. To be fair, Ronald Reagan is mentioned every so often. I wanted a biography of Ronald Reagan, not a book about how Morris feels about being the biographer of Ronald Reagan. Just tell us about the life of Ronald Reagan.

Rating:
Summary: The Sin Of Hubris
Review: The chief job of the historian is to remain distant from his subject so that, at the very least, a semblance of objectivity can remain. True objectivity is of course a myth, but a good historian will at least make the effort to avoid emotional involvement with his subject.

Morris doesn't even try to be objective, and in fact became so close to his subject that he inserts himself into the text as a major player. The historian is the observer, the recorder, and the chronologer, not the participant. Morris blew it. If you insist on buying this book, stick it on your self next to Dinesh D'Souza's tome and other bad hagiographies of Reagan.

Rating:
Summary: i like the new format in biographical writing
Review: i have to say right off i am not a fan of ronald reagan. the book provided a welcomed behind the scenes look at the countries most distinguished citizen. the book makes a compelling statement that reagan always believed that everything he did was for the good of the american people. no matter what your idealogy or your fair recollection of events, the book is interesting and well writen in a style which for me is a relief from dull boring biographical accounts that have predominated in the industry as of late. i like him as a man more than i did before reading the book, but not alot.

Rating:
Summary: Distracting
Review: From what I have read, I find that Morris' unusual bioigraphical technique is distracting from the story itsef. Rather than concentrate on the life of Ronald Reagan, I am involved with his so-called 'friend'. Morris should NOT have disclosed that the narrator is fictional. Then, perhaps the reader would enjoy this biography for what it is. (Actually...boring)

Rating:
Summary: Natch for Dutch
Review: Irritation is the one word that pops into my head when I think about this book. The cutesy literary techniques, etc, are self-indulgent of Morris and are a hindrance to any reader that doesn't desire delving into the footnotes every three pages. Finally, (and this is something I haven't seen mentioned that much --) is it really necessary to refer to Reagan as the childhood "Dutch" over and over again? Childhood nicknames are one thing, but to carry the notion on to a sitting president is more than a little insulting and infanticizing. Can't wait to read TR.

Rating:
Summary: A revealing portrait of a political icon
Review: Morris's style isn't what riles the Reagan conservatives in this book. It's that he reveals the icon as the hollow and detached character he was. People in Washington who watched his administration knew at the time his workday consisted of a 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. stint in the office and then a quiet afternoon of naps and recreation before the evening social whirl began. How did the work-ethic conseratives fail to notice their leader had a half-time job? Morris's biography tells us more about how it all was held together. It's amazing that the country survived 8 years of him--but it's a testament to the fact that a powerful behind the scenes group can control the nation if it has an appealing front man. Makes you think of the years when Woodrow Wilson was propped up by his staff and wife and the country remained ignorant.

Rating:
Summary: Non-sterile treatment of a fascinating subect
Review: Despite the carping of those more interested in establishing a cult of personality around an important, but imperfect Ronald Reagan, this book is a dynamic exploration of the vigor and frailties of a substantial, if not overly complex president. It is perhaps not politically correct to point out Reagan's almost daily chameleon-like transition from vapid teller of half-lies to "great helmsman" in the final moments of the victorious struggle against the Soviet Union on one hand and the confrontation against the Great Society and common men on the other. But Edmund Morris benefits his subject with his unorthodox technique that supercedes the tired and trite treatment produced by earlier sycophantic hagiographers, particularly Dinesh D'Souza. Morris's technique does not obscure the relevant facts, but accentuates them. And it is the facts that are important here. Although it is early in the game to pronounce on the veracity of all the included material (the book has been officially released for only 2 days as I write this), preemptive efforts by George Will and others to refute these facts have already been roundly disproved. It is an honorable work.

These truths may not always be pleasant. But it is important to have a book that faces them boldly and without flinching. Morris gives a sympathetic treatment of a man whose love of his country and the spotlight will outlast the failed and discredited policies of those who have hijacked his legacy.