Ronald Reagan-Actor, Pragmatist, Politician, President and an awkward witness at the Iran-Contra trials.

The 40th President of the United States emerged as a charming young man who wooed women off their feet with his damning good looks and highly sought after acting skills. Yet none of this allowed him to enter a settled career until ultimately he took the plunge into politics eventually becoming President. And what a President; one whose Presidency defined an era with the twilight of the USSR and the rise of the American behemoth.

Brands retains the distinction of being the first Presidential biographer to comprehensively cover Reagan pre-and post-Presidency. I was taken with his narrative for the reason that it retained that Reaganesque charm-it aims right at the hearts and minds of the common man. And that is similar to Reagan. Hearken back and remember the 40th President directly addressing America and the world on screen and using flow charts and other simplification devices to evidence the veracity of his policies while avoiding over the top jargon.

But neither is Reagan a God for Brands. He also pinpoints his faults with his sterling though misconceived role in the Iran-Contra affair; his insulation from his first wife and children; his inability to fault Mrs. Reagan and his missteps in regards to the Civil Rights debate plaguing the United States at the time. But charted alongside is also his triumphant emergence from a trial by fire at the hands of the Soviets who were tantalizingly opening up to the world after a near century of isolation during his incumbency.

All said and done, Brands presents a riveting sketch of a man who literally went from the silver screen to the White House without forfeiting his humility and trademark cheerfulness. A great and inspirational read with its most fundamental lesson being: never forfeit your humility in the race for power and always retain a winning trademark smile. ( )

This is the kind of biography that makes writing biographies seem easy. Brands knows how to structure a narrative, tell a story, and leave himself out of it—although some readers will surely find Brands’ refusal to portray Reagan as an amiable dunce to be some form of heresy. Only a tenured professor in Texas with a publishing record like Brands’ could get away with a straightforward biography such as this. It’s terrific.

The sections describing Reagan and Gorbachev in Reykjavik are especially compelling; while some might claim that Reagan didn’t “win” the Cold War or that Gorbachev was some kind of visionary, Brands argues—through his presentation of the Iceland talks—that Reagan’s refusal to abandon SDI and cave to the Russians set in motion a chain of events that led to the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. That’s how Brands works, always showing more than telling.

Reagan: The Life reminds the reader of just how important Reagan was and how much he is missed; as Brands says near the end of the book, FDR was the dominant figure for the first half of the twentieth century and Reagan was the same for the second. I could go on and on, but it’s late, so I’ll just note that I learned so much from reading this. Highly recommended.
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I thought it was a fairly well-written book. The author doesn't seem to be much of a fan of Reagan, which can be argued is a good thing coming from a biographer.

Some things I didn't know about Reagan: he was a completely hands-off leader. He was a trusting man and let his staff do what they thought best. Sometimes they did things they thought he wanted to do, even if it might not have been completely right (such as trading weapons for hostages). He was a showman who loved the spotlight. He genuinely believed in the American dream and helped the country believe it too. He was a pragmatic leader. He made deals with the Democrats in order to get things done, even if the outcome wasn't perfect (such as when they demanded taxes to be raised in exchange for other goals). ( )

One of my favorite lines from the movie "Back to the Future" is when Doc Brown asks Marty McFly who the president is in the future. When Marty answers "Ronald Reagan!," Doc laughs and asks skeptically, "The actor?!?" And it's funny because we seldom associate actors with being deep thinkers – at least not the kind of thinkers we'd want leading one of the most powerful nations on earth.

But Ronald Reagan was an actor in the beginning. Actually, before that he was a sportscaster on the radio, who then landed some roles in Hollywood, even becoming a rising star before World War II came along. His eyesight was poor enough that he wasn't allowed in a combat role but his solid good looks were a natural fit for the government training and 'propaganda' films. And when the plum movie roles dried up after the war, he found work in some less serious films such as "Bedtime for Bonzo," where he co-starred with a chimpanzee. It's no wonder Doc Brown was dismissive.

In Reagan: The Life, H. W. Brands treats us to a fairly detailed (700 pages) biography of the 40th President of the United States. He covers his early years with an alcoholic father, his college forays into acting, and his desire for an ever-larger stage from which to perform. When his Hollywood career stalled, he became the unlikely spokesman for corporate America on television's General Electric Theater where he honed his public speaking skills. His political career began as union leader for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), following which he was elected California's governor.

But his presidency is the focus and bulk of this book, beginning around page 200 and consuming the next 500. Brands covers it meticulously – almost to the level of minutiae – and frequently compares his impact to that of FDR's, Reagan's early hero. I was a teenager during the early Reagan years, and saw him as restoring pride and confidence in America at a time when both were at historic lows. Yet, I knew not everyone saw him as positively as I did: the editor of my high school newspaper went out of his way to criticize Reagan (I wonder how many high school newspapers were so overtly political?). I was living out of the country (and out of touch with politics) during the final years when Iran-Contra and much of the negotiations with Gorbachev happened, so that was insightful to me. And while Brands avoids 'falling in love with his subject,' as some biographers do, it's still a mostly friendly bio. He frames Iran-Contra as Reagan's effort to bring hostages home and Nancy's reliance on astrologers as a possibly over-protective impulse after the assassination attempt, but in other places he is less than flattering and more objective. That's probably how it should be, but if I had a complaint it's that the book sometimes feels passionless.

There will certainly be some on the far right who feel it's not praising enough, and some on the far left who feel it's not critical enough, but I found it to be an informative and entertaining read. I've read a couple of books by his speechwriters – one was good but [b:too patronizing|5240|Ronald Reagan How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader|Dinesh D'Souza|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1432519911s/5240.jpg|556617] and the other [b:too presumptuous|9967722|The Faith of Ronald Reagan|Mary Beth Brown|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380857261s/9967722.jpg|14861828]. I've read great books about Reagan's handling of the [b:air traffic controller's strike|11686413|Collision Course Ronald Reagan, the Air Traffic Controllers, and the Strike That Changed America|Joseph A. McCartin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348586484s/11686413.jpg|16632827] and his [b:near-assassination|9034043|Rawhide Down The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan|Del Quentin Wilber|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1434586487s/9034043.jpg|13911753], and even one about a [b:great speech|229635|The Boys of Pointe du Hoc Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion|Douglas G. Brinkley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348328391s/229635.jpg|1385097] he gave. But Brand's book does a good job of approaching 'scholarly' while remaining 'readable'. I wish it had covered his pre-presidential life in more depth, but I guess that's worthy of a separate book or two. For those primarily interested in his presidency, however, this one should please most readers. (I received a free copy from the publisher.) ( )

5377. Reagan The Life, by H. W. Brands (read 22 May 2016) I have read a biography of nearly every American president and since I have read good stuff by H.W. Brands I decided to read this book since it covers Reagan's entire life. Since Reagan was no hero to me I was not looking for hagiography, and the book is not such but sometimes comes pretty close to being such.. It does show Reagan did dumb and wrong things but in general it is quite laudatory. But it was enjoyable reading and living again the years when he was a major figure on the national stage was not unpleasant.. And I did like how admiring Reagan was of FDR.. ( )