
The Peacemaker
Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $27.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Robert Petkoff
-
By:
-
William Inboden
About this listen
Winner of the Society of Presidential Descendants Book Award and the Age of Reagan Conference Book Prize
One of the Wall Street Journal’s best political books of 2022
A masterful account of how Ronald Reagan and his national security team confronted the Soviets, reduced the nuclear threat, won the Cold War, and supported the spread of freedom around the world.
“Remarkable… a great read.”—Robert Gates • “Mesmerizing… hard to put down.”—Paul Kennedy • “Full of fresh information… will shape all future studies of the role the United States played in ending the Cold War.”—John Lewis Gaddis • “A major contribution to our understanding of the Reagan presidency and the twilight of the Cold War era.”—David Kennedy
With decades of hindsight, the peaceful end of the Cold War seems a foregone conclusion. But in the early 1980s, most experts believed the Soviet Union was strong, stable, and would last into the next century. Ronald Reagan entered the White House with no certainty of what would happen next, only an overriding faith in democracy and an abiding belief that Soviet communism—and the threat of nuclear war—must end.
The Peacemaker reveals how Reagan’s White House waged the Cold War while managing multiple crises around the globe. From the emergence of global terrorism, wars in the Middle East, the rise of Japan, and the awakening of China to proxy conflicts in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Reagan’s team oversaw the worldwide expansion of democracy, globalization, free trade, and the information revolution. Yet no issue was greater than the Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union. As president, Reagan remade the four-decades-old policy of containment and challenged the Soviets in an arms race and ideological contest that pushed them toward economic and political collapse, all while extending an olive branch of diplomacy as he sought a peaceful end to the conflict.
Reagan’s revolving team included Secretaries of State Al Haig and George Shultz; Secretaries of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Frank Carlucci; National Security Advisors Bill Clark, John Poindexter, and Bud McFarlane; Chief of Staff James Baker; CIA Director Bill Casey; and United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Talented and devoted to their president, they were often at odds with one another as rivalries and backstabbing led to missteps and crises. But over the course of the presidency, Reagan and his team still developed the strategies that brought about the Cold War’s peaceful conclusion and remade the world.
Based on thousands of pages of newly declassified documents and interviews with senior Reagan officials, The Peacemaker brims with fresh insights into one of America’s most consequential presidents. Along the way, it shows how the pivotal decade of the 1980s shaped the world today.
©2022 William Inboden (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
The Abyss
- Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author Max Hastings offers a welcome re-evaluation of one of the most gripping and tense international events in modern history—the Cuban Missile Crisis—providing a people-focused narrative that explores the attitudes and conduct of Russians, Cubans, Americans, and a terrified world that followed each moment as it unfolded.
-
-
Good book, but has some issues
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-10-22
By: Max Hastings
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
-
Scalia
- Rise to Greatness: 1936-1986
- By: James Rosen
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With SCALIA: Rise to Greatness, 1936-1986, the opening installment in a two-volume biography, acclaimed reporter and bestselling historian James Rosen provides the first comprehensive account of the life of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose singular career in government—including three decades on the Supreme Court—shaped American law and society in the twenty-first century.
-
-
A Life Well Lived
- By Tbaley on 03-09-24
By: James Rosen
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
The Lincoln Miracle
- Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History
- By: Edward Achorn
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The vivid, behind-the-scenes story of perhaps the most consequential political moment in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election.
-
-
The Remarkable Story of Lincoln’s Nomination
- By Richard M. Bendix, Jr. on 01-17-25
By: Edward Achorn
-
Elon Musk
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.
-
-
megalomania on display
- By JP on 09-12-23
By: Walter Isaacson
-
The Abyss
- Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962
- By: Max Hastings
- Narrated by: Max Hastings, John Hopkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bestselling author Max Hastings offers a welcome re-evaluation of one of the most gripping and tense international events in modern history—the Cuban Missile Crisis—providing a people-focused narrative that explores the attitudes and conduct of Russians, Cubans, Americans, and a terrified world that followed each moment as it unfolded.
-
-
Good book, but has some issues
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-10-22
By: Max Hastings
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
-
Scalia
- Rise to Greatness: 1936-1986
- By: James Rosen
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With SCALIA: Rise to Greatness, 1936-1986, the opening installment in a two-volume biography, acclaimed reporter and bestselling historian James Rosen provides the first comprehensive account of the life of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose singular career in government—including three decades on the Supreme Court—shaped American law and society in the twenty-first century.
-
-
A Life Well Lived
- By Tbaley on 03-09-24
By: James Rosen
-
An Ordinary Man
- The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford
- By: Richard Norton Smith
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 36 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.
-
-
Must-read Polemic
- By allison h eid on 10-17-23
-
The Lincoln Miracle
- Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History
- By: Edward Achorn
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The vivid, behind-the-scenes story of perhaps the most consequential political moment in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to lead the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election.
-
-
The Remarkable Story of Lincoln’s Nomination
- By Richard M. Bendix, Jr. on 01-17-25
By: Edward Achorn
-
A Man of Iron
- The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland
- By: Troy Senik
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli, Troy Senik
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grover Cleveland’s political career—a dizzying journey that saw him rise from obscure lawyer to president of the United States in just three years—was marked by contradictions. A politician of uncharacteristic honesty and principle, he was nevertheless dogged by secrets from his personal life. A believer in limited government, he pushed presidential power to its limits to combat a crippling depression, suppress labor unrest, and resist the forces of American imperialism.
-
-
Worth the Wait!
- By Brian S Cunningham on 09-21-22
By: Troy Senik
-
Never Give an Inch
- Fighting for the America I Love
- By: Mike Pompeo
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Complete with a road map of the trends and players shaping the world today, Never Give an Inch is more than a historical review of the Trump Administration's greatest victories. It is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the challenges of the future. And it is an inspirational story of leadership through dangerous times that will leave you with a greater appreciation for America.
-
-
A really great book
- By John A. on 01-24-23
By: Mike Pompeo
-
G-Man (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century
- By: Beverly Gage
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 36 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new biography of J Edgar Hoover that draws from never-before-seen sources to create a groundbreaking portrait of a colossus who dominated half a century of American history and planted the seeds for much of today's conservative political landscape.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Jessica Armas on 12-06-22
By: Beverly Gage
-
Conflict
- The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
- By: David Petraeus, Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: David Petraeus, Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.
-
-
The Story of My Life
- By Nice guy on 03-06-24
By: David Petraeus, and others
-
The Courage to Be Free
- Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival
- By: Ron DeSantis
- Narrated by: Ron DeSantis, John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A firsthand account from the blue-collar boy who grew up to take on Disney and Dr. Fauci, The Courage to Be Free delivers something rare from an elected leader: stories of victory. This book is a winning blueprint for patriots across the country. And it is a rallying cry for every American who wishes to preserve our liberties.
-
-
Informative and well-written, but slightly disappointing
- By Dash Dalrymple on 03-20-23
By: Ron DeSantis
-
Back Channel to Cuba
- The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana
- By: Peter Kornbluh, William M. LeoGrande
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 1959, conflict and aggression have dominated the story of US-Cuban relations. From John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top-secret quest for normalization, to Barack Obama's promise of a "new approach", William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh reveal a 50-year record of dialogue and negotiations, both open and furtive, indicating a path toward better relations in the future.
-
-
Essential reading B4 your holiday inbCuba
- By Philip on 05-04-16
By: Peter Kornbluh, and others
-
The Price of Peace
- Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
- By: Zachary D. Carter
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 22 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the dawn of World War I, a young academic named John Maynard Keynes hastily folded his long legs into the sidecar of his brother-in-law’s motorcycle for an odd, frantic journey that would change the course of history. Swept away from his placid home at Cambridge University by the currents of the conflict, Keynes found himself thrust into the halls of European treasuries to arrange emergency loans and packed off to America to negotiate the terms of economic combat.
-
-
A must read for post COVID-19 crisis
- By Amazon Customer on 06-02-20
-
Confronting Saddam Hussein
- George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq
- By: Melvyn P. Leffler
- Narrated by: Christopher P. Brown
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 is arguably the most important foreign policy choice of the entire post-Cold War era. Nearly two decades after the event, it remains central to understanding current international politics and US foreign relations. In Confronting Saddam Hussein, the eminent historian of US foreign policy Melvyn P. Leffler analyzes why the US chose war and who was most responsible for the decision.
-
-
A very honest look at the Iraq war
- By Dev on 05-31-24
-
Only the Strong
- Reversing the Left's Plot to Sabotage American Power
- By: Tom Cotton
- Narrated by: Tony Messano, Tom Cotton
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If it seems to you that Barack Obama and Joe Biden have weakened America and emboldened our enemies, you’re not alone. But Senator Cotton explains that their failures aren’t just incompetence or bad luck—it’s decline by design. Only the Strong reveals the untold inside story of how progressive ideologues and Democratic politicians abandoned the American tradition of strength, pride, and honor.
-
-
Tom Cotton is a hero
- By Amazon Customer on 06-26-24
By: Tom Cotton
-
To the End of the Earth
- The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The dawn of 1945 finds a US Army at its peak in the Pacific. Allied victory over Japan is all but assured. The only question is how many more months—or years—of fight does the enemy have left. John C. McManus’s magisterial series, described by the Wall Street Journal as being “as vast and splendid as Rick Atkinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Liberation Trilogy,” returns with this brilliant final volume.
-
-
Amazing history
- By sammy on 02-26-24
By: John C. McManus
-
The Peacemaker: Nixon
- The Man, President, and My Friend
- By: Ben Stein
- Narrated by: Fowler
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Richard Nixon Stein remembers and lovingly describes has almost nothing to do with the Richard Nixon as portrayed in most media. In Stein’s view, Richard Nixon was a born peacemaker, a saint. Stein believes Nixon was tortured, abused, beat up by the Beautiful People, but through it all, above all, he was a peacemaker, a trait he inherited from his Quaker mother.
-
-
Very enlightening
- By Jeremiah Keller on 04-27-24
By: Ben Stein
-
The Second Most Powerful Man in the World
- The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, Roosevelt's Chief of Staff
- By: Phillips Payson O'Brien
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 19 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aside from FDR, no American did more to shape World War II than Admiral William D. Leahy - not Douglas MacArthur, not Dwight Eisenhower, and not even the legendary George Marshall. No man, including Harry Hopkins, was closer to Roosevelt, nor had earned his blind faith, like Leahy. Through the course of the war, constantly at the president's side and advising him on daily decisions, Leahy became the second most powerful man in the world.
-
-
Great bio.
- By Amazon Customer on 05-18-19
Critic reviews
"[A] deeply informed and gracefully written account…. [Inboden] makes vividly clear how Reagan conducted the Cold War while contending with a host of other harrowing foreign policy issues…. Superbly invokes the peril and uncertainty of the era.”—The Washington Post
“William Inboden’s masterly diplomatic history The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink reveals the qualities that made Reagan an extraordinary president who established the conditions for the collapse of Soviet communism… this comprehensive and judicious book shows what is possible when a president understands the symmetry of American interests and American ideals.”—The Wall Street Journal
"William Inboden has produced the definitive account of how Ronald Reagan negotiated a peaceful end to the Cold War... [a] masterly work."—National Review
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
An American Life
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan is an American success story. From modest beginnings in a small midwestern town to a distinguished career in films and television, he lived the American dream; as governor of California and as the centurys most popular president, he embodied and revitalized the American spirit.
-
-
Restored my hope that American can again be great!
- By Greg on 07-31-12
By: Ronald Reagan
-
God and Ronald Reagan
- A Spiritual Life
- By: Paul Kengor
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan is hailed today for a presidency that restored optimism to America, engendered years of economic prosperity, and helped bring about the fall of the Soviet Union. Yet until now little attention has been paid to the role Reagan's personal spirituality played in his political career, shaping his ideas, bolstering his resolve, and ultimately compelling him to confront the brutal - and, not coincidentally, atheistic - Soviet empire.
-
-
The wealth of information due to diligent research & verifiable sources.
- By Elizabeth McComber on 04-04-25
By: Paul Kengor
-
The Cold War
- A World History
- By: Odd Arne Westad
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 22 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Cold War, Odd Arne Westad offers a new perspective on a century when a superpower rivalry and an ideological war transformed every corner of our globe. We traditionally think of the Cold War as a post-World War II diplomatic and military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. But in this major new work, Westad argues that the conflict must be understood as a global ideological confrontation with roots in the industrial revolution and with continuing implications for the world today.
-
-
A lenghy treatise on the Cold War
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Odd Arne Westad
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
-
Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 32 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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).
-
-
Has An Agenda
- By CC on 01-07-25
By: Max Boot
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Made me live the days of president Reagan!
- By TheReviewerZ on 11-26-24
By: John R. Barletta, and others
-
An American Life
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan is an American success story. From modest beginnings in a small midwestern town to a distinguished career in films and television, he lived the American dream; as governor of California and as the centurys most popular president, he embodied and revitalized the American spirit.
-
-
Restored my hope that American can again be great!
- By Greg on 07-31-12
By: Ronald Reagan
-
God and Ronald Reagan
- A Spiritual Life
- By: Paul Kengor
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan is hailed today for a presidency that restored optimism to America, engendered years of economic prosperity, and helped bring about the fall of the Soviet Union. Yet until now little attention has been paid to the role Reagan's personal spirituality played in his political career, shaping his ideas, bolstering his resolve, and ultimately compelling him to confront the brutal - and, not coincidentally, atheistic - Soviet empire.
-
-
The wealth of information due to diligent research & verifiable sources.
- By Elizabeth McComber on 04-04-25
By: Paul Kengor
-
The Cold War
- A World History
- By: Odd Arne Westad
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 22 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Cold War, Odd Arne Westad offers a new perspective on a century when a superpower rivalry and an ideological war transformed every corner of our globe. We traditionally think of the Cold War as a post-World War II diplomatic and military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. But in this major new work, Westad argues that the conflict must be understood as a global ideological confrontation with roots in the industrial revolution and with continuing implications for the world today.
-
-
A lenghy treatise on the Cold War
- By Donald Hill on 11-21-17
By: Odd Arne Westad
-
Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
-
-
Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
-
Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 32 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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).
-
-
Has An Agenda
- By CC on 01-07-25
By: Max Boot
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Made me live the days of president Reagan!
- By TheReviewerZ on 11-26-24
By: John R. Barletta, and others
What listeners say about The Peacemaker
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aneil and Karen Mishra
- 09-04-23
Compelling from Beginning to End
Not only is this a terrific biography of Reagan in the context of his foreign policy, a great history of the his presidency and its influence on ending the Cold War, but also a great assessment of the bipartisan consensus in Congress that Regan was able to forge on how to deal with our allies and enemies. It is this last aspect that demonstrates convincingly how much a future President will need to accomplish to achieve a similar agreement on what is important for our country, both internationally and domestically. Sadly, the last several Presidents, current one, and likely next one have failed utterly in this regard.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KP
- 05-21-23
Excellent
A comprehensive and sweeping account of President Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy, including its triumphs and failures.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Smalls
- 01-13-23
An excellent book
This book is well worth the listen. The focus is on President Reagan's foreign policy and his determination to use his presidency to bring down the Soviet Union. It is extremely well done with a blend of behind the scenes anecdotes and valuable recounting of public events.
There are some diversions such as Latin America policy, the Middle East, Asia and, of course, Iran Contra. But the author, like President Reagan, keeps the spotlight on the Soviet Union.
It's a different view of the prevailing opinion in the 1980s and later of Reagan as a war monger. According to this recounting, Reagan had an overall strategy of pressuring the Soviet Union through an arms build-up combined with talks to reduce nuclear weapons. Reagan also made it a priority to gain the release of religious prisoners in the Soviet Union.
An added bonus is Reagan's interesting and often humorous interactions with Margaret Thatcher,
I give this book my highest recommendation.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- wbiro
- 06-06-23
Good History and Partial Truth
I say "partial" in a general sense, since any one point of view, if subjective (like history), will only offer partial truths at best. This book is a good defence of Reagan, with some criticisms thrown in so it isn't a whitewash.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Charles
- 07-11-23
The excitement of a novel
The author apologizes for writing this book as a real time history. He does not follow the tradition of pursuing individual topics. This type of history will help the reader avoid dementia. Novels are better for challenging your brain than traditional history books. He shows the advantage of foreign countries, knowing that a president most likely has eight years.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PTA
- 06-21-23
Compelling story
This was a very easy to listen to and interesting book. It was long, but I enjoyed it very much. It took place during an earlier time in my life, and I remembered lots of events, but the way it’s told the details were very interesting and told me a lot about President Reagan, that I did not know. I left feeling this was an exceptional man who I underestimated at the time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anthony
- 01-29-23
Modern History Review
This book was a fine review of modern history and a most memorable time. People forget the negative mood of the country after the ineffective and four Jimmy Carter.
Reagan revived the country’s spirit. He clung to his principles and accomplished much at home and internationally.
We can give him much credit for the end of the Cold War.
We can hope and pray for more leaders who can inspire us like Ronald Reagan.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SouthDenverDave
- 06-18-23
Outstanding
Pro’s: superb narration, flawless delivery by the speaker. The book gives a good view of both sides of President Reagan’s legacy. He names the names and gives the players reputations and viewpoints on each topic. In my opinion Ronald Reagan was the most consequential president during and after the Cold War. We live in peace and prosperity today because of his efforts.
Con’s: I wanted more. It is such an interesting subject more depth could easily be achieved.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Damon
- 06-20-23
A story of freedom
Will Inboden has produced a remarkable story of the trajectory of freedom — and its setbacks — in this review of President Reagan coinciding with the 40th anniversary of his Westminster address calling for a global infrastructure to support democracy around the world.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dale Sarver
- 01-09-23
a very good book
a great book and well told story about one of our greatest presidents. it should be required reading for all high school students.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful