[.ca] Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan ... (ISBN 074320123X)

From Amazon.co.uk:
A top advisor to Ronald Reagan once remarked of his boss: "He knows so little and accomplishes so much." Reagan, In His Own Hand will show that the 40th president knew far more than some people have given him credit for. It collects Reagan's recently discovered writings from the late 1970s, when he delivered more than a thousand radio addresses. He wrote about two-thirds of these himself, in longhand on yellow legal paper. "In writing these daily essays on almost every national policy issue during the 1970s, Reagan was acting as a one-man think-tank," the editors suggest. This edition reproduces everything faithfully, right down to the spelling mistakes and crossed-out words. And it offers a compelling look at the ideas and principles that animated one of the most important Americans of the 20th century. In one address, Reagan describes his contribution to a time capsule: I wrote of the problems we face here in 1976--The choice we face between continuing the policies of the last 40 yrs. that have led to bigger & bigger govt, less & less liberty, redistribution of earnings through confiscatory taxation or trying to get back on the original course set for us by the Founding Fathers... On the international scene two great superpowers face each other with nuclear missiles at the ready--poised to bring Armageddon to the world. Often his rhetoric is admirably forthright, and there are frequent glimpses of his later achievements, such as the foreshadowing of his desire to build the Strategic Defense Initiative. The bulk of the book comprises these radio addresses, but a concluding section includes everything from a short story Reagan wrote as a school assignment when he was 14 (it earned him a B+) to his memorable letter in 1994 revealing his Alzheimer's disease. This book will enthral Reagan's devotees, and even his toughest critics will concede he had a way with words. No wonder they called him "The Great Communicator." --John J Miller

Outstanding and important text:
This outstanding book is not narrative, nor is it a history. Rather, it is a collection of short opinion pieces the president wrote and broadcast on radio during the 1970s. In these pages, you will find the Reagan philosophy clearly outlined, defined, and defended. I first read this book when it was assigned for a graduate class at Wesleyan University. As one can imagine, the book was subjected to some pretty brutal criticism by the students. However, one area of agreement was that the philosophy developed was clearly his, that he wrote the speeches himself, and therefore the image of the "amiable dunce" that has long characterized the traditional academic's view of Reagan is, at least, an oversimplification. More likely, Reagan was an intellectually capable leader with a grasp of the "big picture" who could delegate public policy details to competent staffers, who at times failed in their responsibility. Whatever your views of Reagan's domestic and foreign policy are, this book will give you insight into the philosophy that drove Reagan. Whether you want to cheer or scream at what you read, you will find the principles of the Reagan revolution clearly articulated. Moreover, this is pure Reagan. He is obviously influenced by William F. Buckley and National Review by this period, but these are not presidential speeches written by staffers and in house intellectuals. This is, to put is simply, the real Ronald Reagan. Everyone interested in understanding his legacy ought to read this book. Highly recommended.

An open, curious, searching mind revealed:
Lately I have been reading some of the books on letters from the former president and this is indeed one of the best in its revelatory powers. What is surprising - once one gets past all the soundbites of the media - is that he was incredibly curious about the world (in a sense, reminescent of Clinton) but at the same time held an optimistic, almost youthful outlook for the American people that never faltered once. As I said in my review on Reagan: Letters, his was an intellect unlike Nixon, Gore, Dole or Kerry. He did not think in terms of politics first but always in terms of people. He was (as one reviewer aptly noted) at heart a libertarian, revealed by his comments on adult drug usage, religion, taxes and personal freedom. This most abused of Presidents (think Hollywood and academia) effectively reshaped America and the world in his image - an accomplishment of outstanding proportions that few Presidents can approach. It is not surprising that he supported Goldwater, another closet Libertarian. (I love his comment on election day, "I voted for a few Democrats." Can one imagine a comparable comment from Delay or Clinton?) I liked the rough letters - it shows us a mind in the process of arriving at a final thought. Sometimes the marked out parts are more informative than what remains. Once again, the intellectual range covered within these words is simply astounding - economics, philosophy, the proper role of govt, the correlation between economic and personal freedom, human motivation... One notes again that these are PHILOSOPHICAL (not political) undertones - no quick and easy answers on such questions as minimum wage, quotas, throwing money at education, mass transit, welfare...these were almost too pedestrian for someone determined to change America and the world. To quote another reviewer, RR possessed one of the rarest of qualities - emotional intelligence. He recognized why people did what did and continually sought to make American into a place where everyone could reach their full potential. Another outstanding contribution to the political literature!

Lovely and wise:
One of my favorite pieces in this book begins on page 45 and is about a young man named Peter Jenkins who in October of 1973 left his Connecticut home and started backpacking across America because he didn't like America, even though as President Reagan writes 'he thought he knew America and he didn't like it. He was ashamed of the American flag and he didn't believe in God.' The President goes on to share that the kid met wonderful people and before his five year trek ended at the Pacific ocean, he would marry, even though he had vowed he would basically love em and leave them. And that in the end Mr. Jenkins not only found America, he found God. The young man wrote about his trek in 'A Walk Across America.' I love all the pieces Ronald Reagan wrote because they show a man of passion, compassion, firm beliefs, and open mind, commitment and joy.

Good Study Item:
Even before President Reagan's passing, I had wanted to find a book that would outline his political views. When I finally got around to it, I chose this book and so far find it enthralling. You soon learn to read through some of the cross-outs that the editors decided to leave in because it is a book of his handwritten drafts of his radio addresses. I've decided to flag some of my favorite addresses that can be updated for the world today for later study. That's the great thing about any great thinker; his thoughts and words are always able to be updated for the time you are in, and I think Reagan's words, including these radio addresses, will live on as long as the free world reigns. Great book, you should buy it.

An invaluable primary source on Reagan:
This is really a great collection to have of primary source material on Ronald Reagan, allowing anyone who would want to do more research on Reagan as a person, political thinker, and politician, to see how the former President thought things out. Even the spelling mistakes and crossouts by Reagan left in the book are invaluable. Though they may hurt the flow of the reading, they are important to the books value as a primary source-everything is left in, and one can even see what Reagan decided he did not want to leave in his writings. Excellent book for scholars interested in Reagan.