Rating: 
Summary: Just relax and enjoy.
Review: Please ignore all the media and polital hype about the style of Edmund Morris' incredibly facinating "memoir." Instead of taking the bait and moving back and forth between the text and the footnotes, simply read the book as pure and simple entertainment -- not a epic historical biography. I'm sure the book will sell like hotcakes (and it should), but it should be for its merit as an excellent read rather than a political/social issue. As Dutch would say, "There you go again..."
Rating: 
Summary: So Much Expected, So Little Provided, What Loss Opportunity!
Review: May I say from the outset, that Edmund Morris is a gifted writer based on his past works of brilliance. Yet, he has failed to produce a biography as rich as his opportunity to observe the man and his presidency. The general public will shoot arrows of criticism at him for pioneering such a fable in place of a personal history, and there are too few professional reviewers to shield him completely from pain. Mr. Morris claims he was attempting to change the way biographies are to be written in the future. If this is so, all he has accomplished is to show the world that this and his way is not one of them. This led me to maybe stumble on why such a poor book was written by him that should have been three volumes of recorded real history instead of one movie script. When provided the opportunity to write the book on Teddy Roosevelt, a president long past dead but left a mountain of material, Morris rose to the occasion. He wrote and documented a gleaming biography. On the other hand, when given the opportunity to observe and record history in the making, he became lost and it took 14 years just to finish this bankrupt biography. It may be said, Morris is better writing what he reads rather than writing what he sees. In any case, the book just does not provide the insight into Reagan that we were all waiting to read whether negative or positive. Yet, Morris tells us an airhead yahoo makes a great president? I mean, where are the answers to questions on how times make the man or did the man make the times? We are left with little knowledge except how not to write a biography. Edmund Morris could have wrote the biography in the classic style as most good biography are written, and wrote the screen play he depicted simultaneously over the 14 years he was given. He did not, and I fear he will suffer for it by just a bit of public humiliation. Yet, based on his previous works he will write again, and I will read him again, just not this book however. Please read his book on "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" as well as his wife's book on "Claire Booth Luce," the books reveal to you these are good people who are great writers. In summary, what happen here is Edmund Morris tried to pioneer a new way of writing biographies and as we all know from history, most pioneers end up with arrows in their backs!
Rating:
Summary: Read and decide for yourself
Review: Morris has written a beautiful book about the essence of RonaldReagan and his greatness. The review focuses almost exclusively onReagan's lack of depth and his "bizarre and ignorant" thoughts. This represents a fundamental failure to comprehend Reagan. Perhaps turning around the moral and economic fortunes of America, and slaying the Evil Empire is not enough for some. It's enough for me. And it's enough for the Author, who acknowledges the true greatness of Reagan. END
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book, not the hype surrounding it
Review: Using all his literary powers, Edmund Morris has constructed a remarkable portrait of Ronald Reagan, one that puts to rest forever the notions that a simple man somehow mystified an entire nation. As usual, interviews and excerpts have concentrated on the annoying gaffes and contradictions, once again giving us a distorted picture of one of the century's greatest presidents. But Morris gives not a one-sided view, but a remarkably penetrating view, precisely because he employs the fictional narrator to guide us through the entire story. This book may be too literary, too champagne and oysters for the common voter who felt he knew Reagan. But it will shed some light on how an uncommon man assumed a role and made the world a much richer place. Morris takes his time in telling a very good story, and doesn't shirk on the vital details. Because of this, the reader is made all the more aware of his contributions, his weaknesses, and his strengths. A masterful work.
Rating:
Summary: Eerily intriguing - -
Review: I must admit having to overcome serious concerns about Mr. Morris' technique because of it's similarity to a Hollywood docu-drama with all those inherent dangers of turning myth into popular fact. (What do you mean the DiCaprio-Winslet characters in "Titanic" weren't real people, I know that damn boat sank - it's in all the history books !) - But then one remembers that Mr. Reagan was after all our beloved first actor President. Capturing the essensce of any man is a daunting task, particularly one like Ronald Reagan who is contemporary enough to be still passionately admired/scoffed at depending on one's political predilictions. But Morris at times paints his words on the page with an elegance that is usually reserved for an artist's canvas; and I find the surreal style, subject, and book itself so eerily intriguing that intellectually you almost have to recommend it as a must read - and then form your own judgement !
Rating: 
Summary: A wrong-headed biography
Review: If there ever was a man who was a stranger to the character of Reagan, it is Morris. True to his credentials as a media elite, he paints Ronald Reagan as a lucky fool, stumbling dumbly through his duties. This is a terrible biographical attempt, and the fictionalized re-creations/dramatizations he creates are truely mind-boggling. I would imagine a school-child with a nodding sense of Reagan probably has more insight into the man's character than Morris.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or your money on this book
Review: I looked forward to reading this book. As I began I was at first impressed by the author's study of his subject and expected a fair accounting of the good and the not so good. I finally had to quit reading on page 367, I just couldn't stand it any longer. I completely agree with previous reviewers of this book who describe the author's smug, arrogant, elitist, self-important writing style. The author's use of nonexistent characters to utter unqualified remarks about Reagan indicated to me that the author is not to be trusted. There was more about the author's imaginary friends than there was about Reagan. I hate "revisionist history" and this book is the ultimate in history abuse. How this book got to be an "authorized" biography would probably be an interesting story in itself. I feel cheated that I spent good money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed approach, but engrossing reading
Review: In the interest of full disclosure, let me say up front that I was a Reagan supporter from his bid against Gerald Ford in 1976 through his presidency. Unlike many of my fellow Reaganites, however, I basically liked this book -- with a caveat.Edmund Morris' biography of Ronald Reagan is a mixed bag. First, to the controversial "device" employs: His use of fictional characters in a biography. Morris uses these characters (primarily a fictionalized, 30-year older version himself, and a fictional lifelong friend, Paul Rae) to tell Reagan's story from a "we-were-there" perspective. This "device" is used extensively in the narrative of Reagan's childhood through his waning days as a Hollywood heavyweight, as we see the characters coming in peripheral and, occasionally, direct contact with "Dutch." Morris and his publishers aruge that htis is a bold experiment in biographical writing. Not really. It's historical fiction with footnotes. And footnotes abound. Fully 200 pages of extensive notes (many culled from the author's abundant interviews with Reagan during his presidency and afterward) add considerable heft to the 600+ pages of narrative. Thankfully, the literary "device" mentioned above is not extended to Reagan. Every word he utters in "Dutch" is documented. Morris' writing is superb. His style in "Dutch" reminded me somewhat of Don DeLilo (see "Libra" and "Underground"), making "Dutch" an engrossing read. In Morris' book, you see not only the historical Reagan, but to the extent it can be done in black and white, you "feel" Dutch in all his complexities, shades and hues. The bottom line is, Morris did not need to employ fictional devices to tell Ronald Reagan's story. The fictional characters were sometimes annoying and often distracting. But putting them aside, you have a vibrant and sometimes critical portrait of a towering personality.
Rating:
Summary: A disgrace, and a waste: A terrible book, great president
Review: This book is unbelievably bad. The truly sad thing, however, is that Morris had a unique access to Reagan just before he became seriously ill. That is a missed opportunity that will never be repeated. What is stunning is the insistence of the writer that he is more imortant than the subject, and his weird mix of fiction, biography and anecdote. It flops completely - I have perhaps never felt this way about a book before. There are a few reviews here that talk about the book being honest - in fact, it is profoundly dishonest in its mix of truth and lies. Ronald Reagan was a larger-than-life president who transformed the world. His economic and plitical and dilpomatic legacy lives on. His integrity and vision honesty and honor inspired millions. This book might have captured some of that - or at least tried. Instead, the author creates a book that is not even non-fiction. A disgrace.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings.
Review: I'm glad I read this book, but I think it could have been much better. The much-maligned author's "gimmick" of a fictional narrator didn't bother me in and of itself, but I did find myself tuning out for 10-15 pages at a time in the early and middle portions of the book. I reached the point where it was tough to pay much attention when the author went on about his (not Reagan's) latest (fictional) career move or the latest tribulation of his (fake) wayward son (who reminded me of Forrest Gump's lost, liberal girlfriend). That said, I was definitely "into" the book from Reagan's inauguration until the end. The description of the Reagan presidency was both engaging and at times very disappointing. When Morris spends a full chapter and carefully chronicles an event (e.g., the assassination attempt, the Geneva summit), Dutch is pretty compelling reading. Other significant events, however (the Challenger explosion, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall", etc.), seemed skimmed over and weren't given the ink they deserved. The chapter of "Album Leaves" of author's notes and diary excerpts near the end were interesting, but indicated to me an effort to just get done with the book, like the sudden whirlwind wrapup of "A Man in Full." I shouldn't finish reading a 600+ page "official" biography, only to find myself trying to decide what book I should read next to get the full story. Overall, a worthwhile read, if only to decide what you think about it.
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