
Reagan
His Life and Legend
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Narrated by:
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Graham Winton
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By:
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Max Boot
About this listen
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
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Story
The definitive biography of the mercurial Soviet leader who succeeded and denounced Stalin. Nikita Khrushchev was one of the most complex and important political figures of the twentieth century. Ruler of the Soviet Union during the first decade after Stalin's death, Khrushchev left a contradictory stamp on his country and on the world.
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Remarkable story That very few people know of
- By Zaidan on 03-21-23
By: William Taubman
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The Triumph of Nancy Reagan
- By: Karen Tumulty
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 25 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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This book explores the multifaceted character of Nancy Reagan and reveals new details surrounding the tumultuous presidency. The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty spent four years interviewing the people who knew this couple best and draws on overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, compiling the most extensive biography of Nancy Reagan yet. From the AIDS epidemic to tensions with the Soviets and the War on Drugs, this book shows how Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential First Ladies of the century.
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A poignant and rich biography—well worth the time!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-26-21
By: Karen Tumulty
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Reagan in His Own Voice
- Ronald Reagan's Radio Addresses
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
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From 1975 to 1979 Ronald Reagan gave more than 1,000 daily radio broadcasts, the great majority of which he wrote himself. These addresses transform our image of Reagan, and enhance and revise our understanding of the late 1970s - a time when Reagan held no political office, but was nonetheless mapping out a strategy to transform the economy, end the Cold War, and create a vision of America that would propel him to the presidency.
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I LOVED this -common sense in Reagan's own voice
- By Michael R. Ditson on 06-10-04
By: Ronald Reagan
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Reaganland
- America's Right Turn 1976-1980
- By: Rick Perlstein
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz, Jonathan Todd Ross, Jacques Roy, and others
- Length: 45 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Over two decades, Rick Perlstein has published three definitive works about the emerging dominance of conservatism in modern American politics. With the saga's final installment, he has delivered yet another stunning literary and historical achievement. In late 1976, Ronald Reagan was dismissed as a man without a political future: defeated in his nomination bid against a sitting president of his own party, blamed for President Gerald Ford's defeat, too old to make another run.
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This Book is Censored by Audible
- By Nathan D. Backlund on 09-07-20
By: Rick Perlstein
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Mark Twain
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 44 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain.
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An epic achievement by both author and reader.
- By H. Jason on 06-01-25
By: Ron Chernow
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The Corrosion of Conservatism
- Why I Left the Right
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Max Boot
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Warning that the Trump presidency presages America’s decline, Max Boot, the political commentator, recounts his extraordinary journey from lifelong Republican to vehement Trump opponent. As nativism, xenophobia, vile racism, and assaults on the rule of law threaten the very fabric of our nation, The Corrosion of Conservatism presents an urgent defense of American democracy.
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Not an intellectual tour de force!
- By Wayne on 07-14-19
By: Max Boot
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Princess Academy
- Princess Academy, Book 1
- By: Shannon Hale
- Narrated by: Laura Credidio
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.
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Father And Daughter Agree!
- By Alfonzo on 07-28-15
By: Shannon Hale
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Chester A. Arthur
- The Accidental President
- By: Dr. John Pafford
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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This biography of Chester Arthur is a fascinating look at a man who, thrust into the highest political office, exceeded expectations and left a lasting mark on history.
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Mostly NOT about Arthur
- By Mary Carney on 04-29-24
By: Dr. John Pafford
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President Reagan
- The Triumph of Imagination
- By: Richard Reeves
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
- Length: 25 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination is the story of an accomplished politician, a bold, even reckless leader, a gambler, a man who imagined an American past and an American future, and made them real. He is a man of ideas who changed the world for better or worse, a man who understands that words are often more important than deeds.
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deconstructing greatness
- By S. LeCroy on 06-09-07
By: Richard Reeves
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The Enigma Girls
- How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II
- By: Candace Fleming
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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"You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, in four days time....That is all you need to know." This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941, as World War II raged. As they arrived at Station X, a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke—these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into. Who had recommended them? Why had they been chosen? Most would never learn all the answers to these questions.
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The Enigma Girls
- By Angela L on 03-15-25
By: Candace Fleming
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Riding with Reagan
- From the White House to the Ranch
- By: John R. Barletta, Rochelle Schweizer - with
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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John Barletta was a Vietnam veteran and Secret Service agent who spent over a decade with the Reagans, poised to give his own life at any moment to save the fortieth president of the United States. His superior riding skills made Barletta the perfect choice to protect Reagan during his frequent visits to the ranch. Over time, he got to know Reagan as few others did.
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Made me live the days of president Reagan!
- By TheReviewerZ on 11-26-24
By: John R. Barletta, and others
Remarkable biography of a political giant
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Well done
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Tremendous balance
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Focused on Pre-Presidency
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Informative
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Pretty good book, ok narrator
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More Subjective by Author than he lets on
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Balanced view
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Myth vs reality
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Fascinating journey through Reagan’s epic career and why he should be considered one of our greatest presidents, flaws and all.
5 Stars.
Reagan Revealed
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