Rating: 
Summary: Literary Snobbery
Review: First, let me say I am not the brightest person in the world and I don't have much patience, so the rest of what is written herein can be discarded, if you are up to the mental gymnastics necessary to follow the author's style and have lots of hours to read through the parts of the book that I, and apparently other readers, thought seemed like a total waste of time and paper.I am fortunate enough to have a new "toy" called a "Quicktionary", which is a hand-held scanner to look up the meaning of words while you are reading. Boy, did it get a workout. Between the number of words I didn't know and then found to mean something "way simple", and the words that weren't even in the dictionary, well.... Then there are the continual references to "the gods" (in describing their mindset when they were "doing the scene" in L.A.; for example, "Eros, to us, was a pantheistic god, indistinguishable from Narcissus." I mean, there's got to be an easier way to say that love was everywhere and so was self worship. Isn't there?). And, the constant use of foreign phrases to impress whomever...; it just about killed me. Then, if you think you like handling all those things, there's the old trick of trying to stuff every last thought and tangent comment about the thoughts into one sentence. Drives me nuts. To put it in perspective, James Hillman's writings (like "The Souls Code") is ten times easier to read (and believe me, it is difficult stuff), and has more value per page than this book has in its entirety. Of course, his "literary style" is sure to turn heads. I just hope we don't have a new genre starting here where the author gets to stuff his "baggage" on top of the subject's and then allows his writing ideosyncracies to be the most memorable part of the book. Can't believe I invested so much time in reading it. But, did I mention I was stubborn, too? (Thought I would copy Morris a little and get as much of "ME" in this review as possible.)
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a try
Review: This book was a challenge to read. Much has been said about how Morris inserted himself into Reagan's history and how poorly he does it. I would have to agree with that point. The device does not bother me as much as the execution. I find it very difficult to believe that Reagan was responsible for Morris's son, Gavin, going underground. For the first half of the book, this book is basically a Morris autobiography with Reagan as a side character, not the other way around. Once he tackled the presidency years, the book took a turn for the better. If you are at all interested in Reagan, this book is worth it. But wading through some of the minutia may be difficult for some readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Bizarre!
Review: Bizarre is the best word I can think of to describe my opinion of this book. And the only reason I give it two stars instead of one is that I believe Morris did try here. Most opinions that he failed, however, to understand Reagan are visibly correct. I say bizarre not only because of the fictional twist but because of the strange flow of this biography. The best example I have is found in chapter two when he switches from fiction to Reagan's visit to his birthplace (with Morris) and then goes into facts such as time, date, situation etc. and points out for "the second of his wives (Nancy)" the zodiac stats. I tried to get into this book but feel that the effort to sort it out won't produce any further understanding of one of our most significant presidents.
Rating: 
Summary: A great President. An almost-great book.
Review: During the last third of the book, I was prepared to give it only 2 stars. The author's technique of telling the story from the first-person viewpoint of a fictional acquaintance of President Reagan's did, I thought, add unnecessarily to the length of the book, and didn't seem particularly clever. However, the twist given to the ending on the very last page of the Epilogue caused me to reconsider, and award 4 stars. Had there been more hard information about Reagan's years in the White House, I would have given 5. I had the honor of shaking Mr. Reagan's hand in the late 60's when he was Governor of California. At the time, I was a teenage stock boy in the pharmacy of St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, CA. He was admitted for some minor procedure, and the pharmacy staff (minus a diehard Democrat) sent him a get well card. The Governor came down to shake hands all around when he was discharged. The cynic would say he was simply running for re-election. Perhaps so, but I was impressed. Critics of Reagan will point to this book as confirmation that he was but a shallow B performer acting out the role of Governor, then President. They may well be right. But damn, what an academy award performance it was! God bless, Mr. President.
Rating: 
Summary: Odd man out
Review: I seem to be the odd man out here. I found it perhaps the best biography I have read on a national figure, with the possible exception of Caro's Lyndon Johnson. Granted Morris takes an unconventional approach, but he had a hard assignment. Reagan's son Ron has said that, due to his complexity and opacity, noone will ever understand Ronald Reagan. Morris tries to convey this, and I personally think he did an outstanding job. I agree that if you are looking for an historical record, Lou Cannon's political biographies are probably more detailed, but Morris is trying to understand what motivated Ronald Reagan: what made him tick. And he gets as close to Ronald Reagan as anyone is likely to get. A complex book about a complex person, breathtaking in scope; if it fails, it fails only because the subject of the book is unknowable.
Rating:
Summary: Not A Real Biography
Review: I was very dissappointed with this book. It is written as a fictional novel with the Reagan biography weaved into the story. I read about a third of the book before I put it aside. I would wait for a real historical biography. Otherwise, you will spend too much time seperating the fictional novel from the real historical facts (if you can).
Rating:
Summary: BIOGRAPHY of a PAIR
Review: As beautifully written a book as this is, stylistically ravishing, this biography is a memoir of Mr. Morris's life, Mr. Morris's father's life, Mr. Morris's mother's life, even Mr. Morris's grandfather's life,as much as it is of Ronald Reagan's. Admittedly, I bought this book with the understanding that as I near sixty years of age, Ronald Reagan's story is also mine. However, I wasn't expecting the author to make as deep an imprint of himself within the Reagan context as he has. For many, I fear reading it will become an exercise similar to untangling a loose ball of wool some kitten's got into; the book will be unreadable, confusing to many. It is a deep and rich book, full of color and massive detail, but not always the Reagan detail I feel this book should be about, which I think would be the first of its many jobs. I believe it suffers from the effort of Mr Morris to have many more of us know about the eloquent Mr. Morris that would have otherwise known of him. Of Mr. Reagan, he's a man with a massive personal armor, difficult to understand, more difficlut to write about. Not a trait Mr. Morris shares with him.
Rating:
Summary: A very intresting book
Review: Dutch is about a person who has the opportunity to view Ronald Regan's life. Though I think that the book should have been viewed as historical fiction, it was still a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginatively written biography
Review: Morris's approach to this biography has caused an uproar among historians, who, like the subject, tend to be conservative in the extreme. Instead of a boring, "first-this-then-that" timeline approach, Morris very imaginatively tells the story of his subject, from a contemporary context. Instead of viewing Reagan from the informed distance of the present Morris puts us in the time of Reagan's youth and development, viewing him through the eyes of a contemporary acquaintance living through the same period. The result of this approach is a three-dimensional character development, instead of a Romanesque tablet written to a Glorious Leader. The reader builds awareness of the period of time under discussion, its politics, fashions, tensions and slang. It is written in the currently despised Social History style. The style may be despised right now, but it works. I would never have chosen to read a biography of the Ronald Reagan whose politics were at odds with mine--indeed, I rarely indulge politicians' biographies generally. Ifind them dead boring. I find this one imaginative, interesting, informative, and, oddly enough, I find myself understanding the subject better than I ever thought possible. Furthermore, in understanding, I find myself understanding his politics--not agreeing, but at least understanding. THAT's an extraordinary accomplishment.
Rating:
Summary: Excellents reading
Review: I really like the way Morris created the "shadow" school associate to tell the story of President Reagan's youth and early career. It is an old tecnique that could and should be used more in Biography. The style is a lot better than the psycological giberish that biographies went through in the 70 to early 90's. Well written, well paced and full of personal glimpses from "real" figures that knew and worked with President Reagan.
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