Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Max Boot has produced a biography of the Gipper that he explicitly says is neither hit job or hagiography, and I believe that the book bears that out. It is an even handed approach that recognizes the positives without ignoring the negatives.
Like everything else these days the issue of Donald Trump comes up in the introduction. “Did Reaganism contain the seeds of Trumpism?” I think the reader can make those judgements on their own, but Boot gives us plenty to think about.
This book is a genuine biography, and not simply a look at the Reagan political career. I learned a lot, as there was much about Reagan’s early life that I did not know. Boot has done a good job on the early life, and there is a lot to cover. Most certainly there is a lot of ground to cover. Might have been enough for multiple volumes that would have allowed for a more detailed look at the political life, but I have no complaints.
Reagan, to his critics, was always considered to be an intellectual lightweight. I have been of that belief myself, but Boot shares the complexities of Reagan, and I think the truth is more nuanced. His early life shows us Reagan with a tough childhood, and plenty of excuses for failure. But he was deeply ambitious, and he made his way out of his home roots to first become a star of radio, as a broadcaster, and while thriving in that profession Reagan showed himself willing to reach higher by leaving the job for an opportunity in Hollywood, signing a studio contract that led to his eventually becoming a legitimate, and popular, movie star. His family struggled financially, and that fact led Reagan, much like many Americans, to idolize FDR, and to become a New Deal advocate. Of course this changed, and Boot does an excellent job of showing us that evolution of the Reagan political thought and affiliation.
Reagan’s evolution started with his ascendancy to the Presidency of the Screen Actors Guild at a time when the red scare was engulfing the nation, and Hollywood. His strong anti-communism started here. Boot does a good job of mixing the life with the politics, with good insight on his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, and how Reagan’s increasing interest in politics was a contributing factor to the breakup.
Reagan, despite being a legitimate star at Warner Brothers, eventually lost his star luster and was in difficult shape professionally. He ended up getting other than movie gigs, eventually becoming the host of the General Electric Theatre on the new medium of television. He was the host of this show for eight years, and a corporate spokesman for G.E., traveling the country to push G.E. products. His political interests continued to sharpen, and his political leanings moved right. By the time that journey was complete Reagan was ready to hit the political stage. He made a tremendous, and positive, impression with the Republican Party by his speechmaking on behalf of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 Presidential election. Reagan as “the great communicator” on the political scene, started here.
Reagan’s ascent on the political scene could not have occurred without the support of Nancy Davis, who became his second wife and guiding light. Boot gives Nancy Reagan the central role that any biography of Ronald Reagan should.
Reagan’s election as Governor of California in 1966 was central to his eventual rise to the Presidency. We get a look at the campaign, and the players who helped him to win that race against incumbent Pat Brown (father of future California Governor Jerry Brown)
Reagan’s tenure as Governor gave us a look at the governing style of Reagan, which he would carry into the Presidency. Reagan spoke like an ideologue, and often times used some fairly harsh rhetoric. His “reputation” as an ideological warrior of the right gave him chops with the right, but Reagan, when faced with difficult choices, showed himself willing to cut a deal. His eventual compromises as Governor, and President, included concessions on abortion, on tax increases, which happened on more than one occasion, and even on guns. These compromises just would not be possible today for any Republican. Reagan showed himself to be a governing pragmatist. This pragmatism is always overlooked by Republicans who have created a legend of the Reagan Presidency that does not always comport to reality.
Reagan’s flirtation with the Presidency is obviously a big part of his story. The unsuccessful challenge to a sitting Republican President, Gerald Ford, was a contributing factor in the Ford loss in 1976 to Jimmy Carter. That fascinating campaign is a great part of the book.
Any biography of Reagan has to look at his central role in the relationship with the then U.S.S.R. Reagan famously said of his idea on how the cold war would end: “We win, they lose.” He was willing to vastly increase military spending, and most certainly was an internationalist. His ideas of the possibility of doing away with nuclear weapons alarmed his own advisors, and his negotiations with General Secretary Gorbachev are covered extensively. Reagan is seen by many as the driving force behind the policies that led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. Boot is not entirely convinced on that score, but Reagan can fairly be given much credit for that eventual result.
The pratfalls of the Reagan presidency, including Iran-Contra, are of course covered, and Reagan does not come off well. He was always a delegator, but delegators tend to get themselves in trouble when the staff is divided, or worse goes off on adventures that may be illegal. Reagan, by the end of his Presidency, had some staff changes that did not serve him well. Losing Jim Baker as Chief of Staff, and bringing in Don Regan, proved to be a disaster for him.
Reagan as an individual gets a close look, and we see that despite his geniality and warmth to people he was essentially a loner, with even close staff never really getting anywhere near him.
Boot’s book is a serious work on Ronald Reagan, and I think a fair one. I rate it highly, and it brought to me a better understanding of the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan
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