This was a very informative book on the life of Ronald Reagan. Albeit, most of the book is about his political career, there was some very interesting things about his early life that were very interesting indeed. The book was well organized in chronological order and was written in chapters that section off most of the very important times in his life. The use of a time line of his life in the back and along with the timeline of past presidents listed with their life span and presidency were very helpful for perspective. There is also a glossary for use on difficult words used throughout the text, however there was no indication of any glossary until you came to the end of the book. There is also a Presidential Facts section along with Further Information (bibliography) and an index. Throughout the book there are photos depicting Reagan at different stages in his life, and it was fascinating to see what he looked like as a young man before he started acting.
The book was full of very interesting facts about his life. One such was that he was married to an actress just after World War II and they had a daughter together and also adopted a son. They later were divorced and he met Nancy. I enjoy reading things like that. It gives Ronald Reagan more depth in my eyes than I thought he had before. It also makes me want to read more about him, what a good biography should do.
This book is written for later elementary students to early middle school. It is longer and uses a few higher concepts that would be lost or boring to a younger audience. It talks about the nations economy and how he improved and revitalized the economy. The book does make an attempt to bring in younger readers by describing what “economy” means, but it then goes into details that seem to be over someone’s head who doesn’t already know what an economy is.
It seemed to me that this book was a little biased toward how great Reagan was, but I can appreciate the nationalist views and hope that everyone in America can find the good and appreciate our presidents during their time and after in a way that does not cause animosity that is unnecessary. I like this book and would definitely recommend it to someone wanting to know more about Ronald Reagan or to a Civics or American History teacher for use as a took for a unit on American presidents.