Reagan

His Life and Legend

By: Max Boot

Narrated by: Graham Winton

In this “monumental and impressive” biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president’s aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents, Boot provides “the best biography of Ronald Reagan to date” (Robert Mann).

The story begins not in star-studded Hollywood but in the cradle of the Midwest, smalltown Illinois, where Reagan was born in 1911 to Nelle Clyde Wilson, a devoted Disciples of Christ believer, and Jack Reagan, a struggling, alcoholic salesman. Boot vividly creates a portrait of a handsome young man, indeed a much-vaunted lifeguard, whose early successes mirrored those of Horatio Alger.

And contextualizing Reagan’s life against American history, Boot re-creates the world in which Reagan transitioned from local Iowa sportscaster to budding screen actor.

The world of Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1950s would prove significant, not only in Reagan’s coming-of-age in such classics as Knute Rockne and Kings Row but during the twilight of his film career, when he played opposite a chimpanzee in Bedtime for Bonzo, and then his eventual emergence as a television host of General Electric Theater, which established his bona fides as one of the leading conservative voices of the time. Indeed, the leap to California governor in 1966 seemed almost preordained, in which Reagan became a bellwether for a nation in the throes of a generational shift.

Reagan’s 1980 presidential election augured a shift that continues into this century. Boot writes not as a partisan but as a historian seeking to set the story straight. He explains how Reagan was not only an ideologue but also a supreme pragmatist who signed pro-abortion and gun control bills as governor, cut deals with Democrats in both Sacramento and Washington, and befriended Mikhail Gorbachev to help end the Cold War. A master communicator, Reagan revived America’s spirits after the traumas of Vietnam and Watergate. But Boot also shows how Reagan was armored in obliviousness. He traces Reagan’s opposition to civil rights over forty years, reveals how he neglected the exploding AIDS epidemic, and details how America experienced a level of income inequality not seen since the Gilded Age.

With its revelatory insights, Reagan: His Life and Legend is no apologia, depicting a man with a good-versus-evil worldview derived from his moralistic upbringing and Hollywood westerns. Providing fresh examinations of “trickle-down economics,” the Cold War’s end, the Iran-Contra affair, as well as a nuanced portrait of Reagan’s family, this definitive biography is as compelling a presidential biography as any in recent decades.

“This is a timely and fascinating book, just what we need to understand, and perhaps transcend, our current age of political paralysis and polarization. Understanding Reagan is key to understanding our politics today.”—Walter Isaacson, author of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs

©2024 Max Boot (P)2024 Recorded Books

Remarkable biography of a political giant

A remarkable biography of Reagan. Going through his upbringing and childhood and through his entire career as a sportscaster, actor, and politician, the author provides a detailed and engrossing portrait of Reagan. While clearly bringing out and emphasizing Reagan’s unique political skill and his ability to connect with people, the author also delves into Reagan’s faults, both in his professional and personal life. An amazing biography that I strongly recommend.

Well done

Fair and balanced description of the Reagan administration. Boot credited Carter for inflation defeating and his deregulation success. Reagan on working with Gorbachev and Cold War issues. A pretty good administration but a lot corruption and unforced errors.

Tremendous balance

It’s easy writing a book that tears doen a figure like Reagan, and it’s just as easy to write one making him out to be a God. He deserves neither and this book, as someone who lived my life involved im many of the events of Reagan’s day, gets it just right.

More Subjective by Author than he lets on

Interesting read. Author purveys himself to be an impartial jurist on the overall legacy of Regan, however slants to the left are inevitable and frequent more so often than those to the right. Truthful in some regards but overly critical in more. Works to paint paralells between Trump and Reagan that are a bit of a stretch in some cases though true in others. I wouldn't call the work totally impartial but not much ever written really is. Not the greatest Reagan history but far from the worst for me. I would recommend a read by those that can tolerate a little Reagan criticism but not for the lovers or the haters on either side of him.

Balanced view

Felt politically balanced & fact based, though slightly liberal. Fantastic writing style makes it an easy listening

Focused on Pre-Presidency

Over half the book is focused on Reagan’s life prior to the Presidency. As such, some White House issues are skirted over.

Informative

Max Boot has done a great job of shedding light on the good and not so good deeds of Ronald Reagan.

Pretty good book, ok narrator

I’m maybe a little too anti-Reagan to love this book, but it was overall a strong (if occasionally surface-level) book. I found the reading hard to follow at times, but generally pretty good.

Good. But obvious bias throughout

I enjoyed the book very much in the beginning. Once it got to Reagan’s presidency though and after office, the obvious bias and dare I say dislike was cringeworthy. I try to stay in the middle (harder and harder to do), but there was plenty of moments I would’ve preferred to leave out of an informational fact based book. Although it is the author’s prerogative to write whatever they like I suppose, as a reader thirsting for information and facts, the moments of Reagan dislike, and ‘right wing’ disdain was not enjoyed. Overall I enjoyed the book showing to story of Reagan’s life, minus the jabs at conservatives.
Narrator was great

Finally, an honest appraisal

Terrific book. Mind of lays siege to all that dreamy “character” stuff from Peggy Noonan.