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The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980-1989 |  | Author: Steven F. Hayward
Publisher: Crown Forum
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
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Rating:  13 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1St Edition
Pages: 768
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 2.3
ISBN: 1400053579
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.927
EAN: 9781400053575
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Product Description
“Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.”
–President Ronald Reagan, January 20, 1981
Hero. It was a word most Americans weren’t using much in 1980. As they waited on gas and unemployment lines, as their enemies abroad grew ever more aggressive, and as one after another their leaders failed them, Americans began to believe the country’s greatness was fading.
Yet within two years the recession and gas shortage were over. Before the decade was out, the Cold War was won, the Berlin Wall came crashing down, and America was once more at the height of prosperity. And the nation had a new hero: Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Reagan’s greatness is today widely acknowledged, but his legacy is still misunderstood. Democrats accept the effectiveness of his foreign policy but ignore the success of his domestic programs; Republicans cheer his victories over liberalism while ignoring his bitter battles with his own party’s establishment; historians speak of his eloquence and charisma but gloss over his brilliance in policy and clarity of vision.
From Steven F. Hayward, the critically acclaimed author of The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, comes the first complete, true story of this misunderstood, controversial, and deeply consequential presidency. Hayward pierces the myths and media narratives, masterfully documenting exactly what transpired behind the scenes during Reagan’s landmark presidency and revealing his real legacy.
What emerges is a compelling portrait of a man who arrived in office after thirty years of practical schooling in the ways of politics and power, possessing a clear vision of where he wanted to take the nation and a willingness to take firm charge of his own administration. His relentless drive to shrink government and lift the burdens of high taxation was born of a deep appreciation for the grander blessings of liberty. And it was this same outlook, extended to the world’s politically and economically enslaved nations, that shaped his foreign policy and lent his statecraft its great unifying power.
Over a decade in the making, and filled with fresh revelations, surprising insights, and an unerring eye for the telling detail, this provocative and authoritative book recalls a time when true leadership inspired a fallen nation to pick itself up, hold its head high, and take up the cause of freedom once again.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
 Why Reagan's Stock Is Rising September 8, 2009
Annelise Anderson (Portola Valley, CA United States)
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
The Age of Reagan: 1980-1989 is a fascinating account of the Reagan era and the Reagan presidency--a great read. Here are not only the policies (both domestic and foreign) but the politics, the insider debates and the conflicts.
Many people--including some committed liberal scholars Hayward quotes--think more highly of Reagan now than they did when he left office, for two reasons the author notes:
1) The "dramatic and unexpected end of the Cold War, and the demise of the Soviet Union, for which even Reagan's critics allow him a substantial role in the outcome" and
2) "the revelation of Reagan's extensive writings--radio addresses, letters, speeches, and finally his personal diary--which displayed a lively and informed mind and a greater depth of character than hitherto imagined. . .At long last we had found the rest of him."
Hayward makes good use of Reagan's own writings, which became available between 2001 and 2007, integrating them into the narrative of the broad sweep of the history of these years and giving us the flavor of Reagan's own thinking, decision-making, and sometimes frustrations with the foreign and domestic personalities with whom he was dealing.
Since Hayward wrote, even more of "the rest of him" has become available through recently declassified minutes of many of the National Security Council meetings Reagan chaired.
Hayward acknowledges that he's always been sympathetic to Reagan, but notes that he doesn't shrink from reporting weaknesses or criticizing errors or mistakes. I've found this claim fulfilled as I read the text. Hayward also gives us considerable insights into the political philosophies and debates that continue to this day. The best book yet about the Reagan era.
Hayward is the best historian of the Reagan era August 25, 2009
Peter F. Schweizer (Tallahassee, Florida United States)
23 out of 31 found this review helpful
No one could do better than to give Hayward's two volumes on Reagan as a gift to a college student, interested layman or scholar. Hayward has the ability to explain the complex realities of federal budgets and geopolitics in a straightforward manner but without being simple-minded. And it captures not just the man, but the spirit of the Reagan era. I highly recommend it.
The Reagan Legacy Lives October 8, 2009
Larry Underwood (Scottsdale, AZ)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Ronald Reagan was one of the most popular Presidents in American history; Steven F Hayward's compelling perspective of the Reagan White House years brings to life the great legacy of our 40th President; a legacy that had been unfairly tarnished during the tail end of his administration by the Iran Contra scandal.
In retrospect, Reagan's participation in that debacle was unfairly criticized by an accusatory press, and other liberal elements of our society. That's a tragic conclusion to the end of an administration that began when America was perhaps at its lowest psychological & economic state of being. What Reagan did was bring our country out of the malaise and restore our economic & political strength to a point that was unparalleled in American history.
Hayward has captured the essence of what made Reagan one of our greatest Presidents; in the 20 years since the end of his Presidency, I think most of us have a far greater appreciation for what Ronald Reagan accomplished in his two terms in office. This is a wonderful book, and should be read by all Americans, regardless of political persuasion.
The '80s were a fun-loving time of tremendous economic growth and prosperity; not to mention a time of remarkable ideological & political influence. The Berlin Wall tumbling down didn't happen by accident; nor did the Cold War become a thing of the past simply because the Russians forgot they hated capitalism. Reagan was the driving force behind all this profound and positive change.
Let's not forget his legacy; Hayward's book has brought it back to life for a new generation of Americans to appreciate.
Detailed beyond other books on Pres. Reagan December 15, 2009
Lucas (Alexandria, Virginia)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Hayward shows his passion and reverence for the greatest president of the post-war era in this, much more that Wilentz in his plodding work of last year. Even at the first chapter, I could imagine myself actually sitting into the office with Baker or Meese in the presidential transition office, watching aides scurry about trying to set up the White House to undo the damage of the previous four years.
Any reader, regardless of persuasion, will profit from reading this fair and even handed piece, if anything to have a better (and more accurate) understanding of the president who was a game changer.
Brings back many memories November 1, 2009
Michael T Kennedy (Mission Viejo, CA USA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I read the first volume of this two volume set last month. It was excellent and refreshed my memory of the situation that we faced when Ronald Reagan was elected. I was not a big fan of his when he was governor of California. I think it was the residual of my student liberalism that was fading as I grew up but which was finished off by the presidency of Jimmy Carter. By the time Reagan was elected, I was ready for a big change and, as this book relates so enjoyably, we got it. I do have a couple of differences with the author on details. In Chapter 5, "Stay the Course, Hayward writes about the vicious 1981-82 recession. He attributes it to Fed's pressure to eliminate inflation. On page 186, he writes that the Reagan response to critics of his tax cut was "the correct but weak-sounding explanation that his plan hadn't take effect yet." He doesn't explain that the delay in implementation of the tax cut had the wholly logical effect of causing everyone to delay economic activity until the tax cut had taken effect. This response was predicted at the time by the Wall Street Journal and I remember it well. All through the book we are reminded of the baleful influence of Senator Bob Dole who did what he could to derail the Reagan Revolution from Congress. Reagan's friends in the Republican Party were almost as obstructionist as the Democrats. They were still the old "Root Canal Republicans" and would be for some time.
The sections on the rise of Gorbachev and the end of the Cold War are excellent and I note that he includes several references to Reagan's private contact Susan Massie who plays a large role in the excellent book, The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War. Reagan was often depicted as remote and uninvolved in the details of governing. These books should dispel that myth. There is a good explanation of the farcical Iran-Contra scandal that seemed such a major matter at the time but which has faded from memory, as it should. Still, it reminds one that the Democratic Congress was frequently obstructionist in foreign policy matters during the Cold War. The efforts to keep the Contras alive led to some inexplicable lapses by people who should have known better. He does not mention the attempted suicide of Robert McFarlane that resulted from his role in that fiasco. McFarlane later said that the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" had an important role in his recovery from depression. At times we can forget that real people are involved in such circumstances; not everyone is a politician.
There is also an excellent discussion of the politics of the two presidential campaigns. I was disappointed that Reagan was unable to control spending during his time in office but the author points out that he at least reduced the slope of spending if not the general trend. He also had two excuses that the Bush presidencies did not have; he had the Cold War to win and he had a Democratic Congress. Both volumes of this history are excellent and fill a need that has been obvious since the failure of the Edmund Morris "biography", Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan, which I do not recommend. They are big books but read well.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 13
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