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.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much authorial ego...
Review: Having finally finished slogging through this bloated work, I can say with authority that the general hype surrounding the book - not to mention the other reviews here - are spot on. _Dutch_ was a huge disappointment. I was hoping for the definitive piece on Reagan, and came away more confused. Edmund Morris isn't a bad writer, but here he fails to capture the essence of his subject, and burdens us with having to sort out the line between fact and fiction. If Morris wanted to use fictional characters to give us a better picture of Reagan the man - well, fine, it's a novel idea - but it simply doesn't work here, especially in defining Reagan. The fictional narrator is particularly unlikeable, and the side-story about the narrator's son completely unnecessary. On the plus side, however, I did enjoy the recounting of Reagan's meetings with Gorbachev, which I found interesting filtered through a perspective other than an "official" Reagan perspective, i.e., _An American Life_. On the whole, though, unless you're a Reagan devotee, I would advise passing over this book. _An American Life_ may be ghost-written, and "official", but it's eminently more satisfying than this supposedly defining tome. Ronnie deserved better, even if his own personality didn't lend itself to being fully examined by an outsider.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this book!
Review: I don't think I have ever read such an horrible book in my all life. The author was supposed to write President Reagan's biography but sometimes it seems that he spends more time doing a fake biography of himself. If you are a fan of Reagan as I am, you'll get the desire to toss the book away. I think that Reagan was one of the greatest presidents of the United States and he deserved a much better book.
Rating: 
Summary: Dutch Treat
Review: Reagan's utter mysteroiusness confounded everyone who knew him, Nancy excepted. Edmund Morris is no exception. The book's style, as a semi-fictionalized memoir, does not bother me, as it is understood to be a literary device. The puzzlement of the author is actually more reflective of the reality of the subject than are the superficial judgements of Garry Wills and others who claimed to have solved Reagan's mystery. The massive amount of detail is organized logically; the reader will come away with a complete and detailed knowledge of Reagan's life, alebit without opening a window into his soul. (Perhaps some will find it, amid the mass of information that Morris gives us.) Some of the vingettes are quite compelling: Reagan's decision to go public with his Alzheimer's diagnosis; the resolute domination of Gorbachev at the Reykjavik Summit, coming after the progressive hollowness evident in Reagan during his first debate with Mondale two years earlier; the stirring eclipse of Ford with his speech to the Republican convention in 1976. Revelations about the extent and seriousness of Reagan's injuries stemming from the assasination attempt have historical merit, and highlight the man's character in what may have been his finest hour. Tantalizing references to the HUAC hearings in the '50s leave the reader to fill in the details of a mental picture in which can be seen Ayn Rand, Richard Nixon, Reagan, and other names that would dominate for decades interacting in high drama. Shortcomings aside, this book is well worth reading. -Lloyd A. Conway
Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste YOUR time too.
Review: What a Waste! I don't mind Morris' flow between fiction and nonfiction, but the prose is SO overblown as to discredit the narrator and his tale. Marshall McLuhan noted that TV was a cool medium, and no one realized this better than Reagan -- the master of low key cool. Yet the medium Morris uses to show us Reagan is HOT and HEAVY. I mean c'mon, one character speaks in such clipped tones that the narrator's "forelock lifts from (his) forehead" with every word! Or the Reagan Museum curator is introduced as seeing a sample of Reagan's mother's handwriting and "he breaks down and weeps"! Throw us a freakin' bone here, Morris! Reagan was cool and light (and carried a big stick), where this book is sketchy at best and about as subtle as a 20 pound sledgehammer. Morris spent about 14 years on this book, an hour was too much for me. Morris' Teddy Roosevelt book is excellent and recommended. But just because Reagan 'didn't do as much' as TR cannot excuse the(perhaps ambitious)overwrought style. Lighten up! Lou Cannon's Role of a Lifetime stands untouched as the definitive book on Reagan.
Rating:
Summary: Reagan In The Sky With Diamonds
Review: This is a weird hallucinogenic view of Reagan's life. Morris has mixed patiently distilled fact with well-executed but goofy fiction and sprinkled brilliant observations throughout. Reagan, like Robert E. Lee, did not make available his inner self to the picklocks of biographers. Morris' main error is to believe that because he could not see Reagan's soul, he had none. It's obvious that there is a lot to Ronald Reagan. It takes a considerable intelligence to pick your contests and win them in such deft strokes. It takes a lot of effort to appear effortless. Reagan, the actor, would not let others into his thoughts the same way that Fred Astaire would not let people watch him rehearse his dance routines. Morris simply dismisses Reagan. Morris' lack of passion for his subject displays itself in the lumpiness of the narrative. Reagan's early years are well-covered though it's hard to tell fact from fiction. However, when Morris reaches Reagan's presidential years it feels like he said the hell with it let's get this damned book done. There are lots of pages on a few high level meetings Reagan had with Gorbachev that Morris witnessed but it's awfully thin on the meat of Reagan's presidency. Many times in the book when Morris rambles on about his own fictional biography which he interweaves with Reagan's real biography you just wonder what the heck the book is trying to achieve. However, even though Morris' inventions in the book are exasperating he does do a good job of giving you a feel for Reagan's view of the world and himself. Just when you want to give up on the book, Morris gives you a brilliant paragraph. When you slam the cover shut on this volume, you feel sorry for the waste of effort here. Morris took fourteen years of his life to write this rather mediocre piece of work. His previous book on Teddy Roosevelt shows you that he is capable of much better work. I just wish his editor would have slapped him up the side of the head when he started sliding off the road into his goofy literary inventions.
Rating:
Summary: A Wasted and Pathetic Attempt To Write A Biography
Review: This has to be the most pathetic presidential biography ever attempted. Edmund Morris was given nearly unlimited access to Mr. Reagan and instead of writing an accurate biography, he chose to write a "story" that continually talks about himself, invents people and conversations, and tells us how he felt about Mr. Reagan. Hopefully Mr. Morris will give up all of his notes so that he might at least assist someone else who will write a true and accurate biography of President Reagan.
Rating:
Summary: Does DUTCH do him justice?
Review: Morris' Dutch was a challenge to read from beginning to end. This said, the book had a certain amount of appeal - mainly because the author managed to debunk much of the "myth" surrounding the "great Ronald Reagan". As I read the book I found myself becoming angry with the author, who wastes hundreds of lines of text with high-brow nonsense in an effort to impress the reader. I was infuriated with his use of french throughout the text, not only because it was decidedly pretentious, but because it did nothing to tie his story together. I am also concerned about the '1st person account' form of the text, as it provides the author too many opportunities for creative reinterpretation of historical occurences. I DID learn more about Ronald Reagan, his life in Hollywood and his time in the Oval Office. Surprisingly, just as the author intended it for sure, I actually ended up feeling sorry for Dutch - something I never thought I could do. No wonder the Reagan family was so concerned about this text - it seems more of a slap in the face than an official account of the private and working life of an American President. I suggest that all those interested in Ronald Reagan read this book - but do so with caution. This is a text worth reading... if only to be able to bash it with informed conviction.
Rating:
Summary: Shallow.
Review: This book is sadly lacking in content. All of one sentence is devoted to explaining why Reagan ran the national debt up during his administration "He didn't think it was important." Not important to a conservative Republican? Really? To credit Reagan with the downfall of communism in the USSR is like crediting the US for the downfall of apartheid in South Africa. I think that the people of South Africa had something to do with that as did the people in the USSR. Too much of this book is dwells on Reagan's physical attributes: "Even Reagan's personal physicians commented on the clarity of his spit." In a six hundred page book I don't think that more than forty pages go by without some kind of reference to his "glossy black hair." The book does not contain one mention of minority relations or civil rights. Why? It's a shallow book about a shallow man.
Rating:
Summary: Colorful description of formative years
Review: The biography gives a colorful description of Reagan's challenging early years and the author's writing format and approach gives you the added insight of the time and place of Reagan's formative years and early job experience. It is therefore understandable that Morris' method of telling many stories of his own experience is found in the first half of the book. However, in later chapters nothing replaces Morris' peculiar way of writing when he starts to focuses more on his subject. One expects a warmth or familiarity to creep into the later chapters, but the telling remains as aloof as Reagan's faraway lifeguard days. One would never think Morris was in the States when Reagan happened. With the access that he had when Reagan was in office, Morris could easily have done a better job. It is plain that for some reason or the other he was upset at the Reagans in later times, (probably Nancy ;-) wouldn't you think?), but with a small sense of duty and guilt, he made this, a half effort. Although, I'm glad I bought this peculiar biography with its lovely cover photo, for it does give one has a clearer picture of the man who won the Cold War and Reagan's philosophy (albeit simple) that ruined Communism. Get Peggy Noonan's When Character was King to make up for Morris' strange aloofness.
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