Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have not finished reading this yet, but I can't put this one down. You get an incredible insight to President Reagan's thoughts and hopes for the country as well as an understanding of how deeply he loved his wife.
I have also come to realize how humble a man he really was. For example he seemed shocked that whenever he went someplace (even if just for a short trip in D.C.) there was a change of clothes waiting for him. He was also amazed that when one of his children was on TV one evening the staff video taped it for him.
The most enjoyable entries to read are the ones where he talks about simple things like setting his clocks ahead in the sping, or riding a horse at Quantico.
There are also more serious entries where he writes about the Russians and his hopes for peace in the middle east.
The amazing thing is because this is a personal diary, it was never intended to be published. You get (I feel) the real thought and feelings of one of our greatest Presidents.
One reviewer gave this book only one star and his review is less a review of the book and more an attack on the former President. I do not think you need to be conservative to enjoy this book. You just need to want to see the daily thoughts of the man.
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During his two terms as the fortieth president of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded, by hand, his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine day-to-day occurrences of his presidency. Now, nearly two decades after he left office, this remarkable record—the only daily presidential diary in American history—is available for the first time.
Brought together in one volume and edited by historian Douglas Brinkley, The Reagan Diaries provides a striking insight into one of this nation's most important presidencies and sheds new light on the character of a true American leader. Whether he was in his White House residence study or aboard Air Force One, each night Reagan wrote about the events of his day, which often included his relationships with other world leaders Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Mohammar al-Qaddafi, and Margaret Thatcher, among others, and the unforgettable moments that defined the era—from his first inauguration to the end of the Cold War, the Iran hostage crisis to John Hinckley Jr.'s assassination attempt.
The Reagan Diaries reveals more than just Reagan's political experiences: many entries are concerned with the president's private thoughts and feelings—his love and devotion for Nancy Reagan and their family, his belief in God and the power of prayer. Seldom before has the American public been given access to the unfiltered experiences and opinions of a president in his own words, from Reagan's description of near-drowning at the home of Hollywood friend Claudette Colbert to his determination to fight Fidel Castro at every turn and keep the Caribbean Sea from becoming a "Red Lake."
To read these diaries—filled with Reagan's trademark wit, sharp intelligence, and humor—is to gain a unique understanding of one of the most beloved occupants of the Oval Office in our nation's history.
