This is one of the best biographical books I've ever read. By the end it had accomplished something all such books should aspire to; to make you feel as though you have spent time with the subject. The book is worth it alone for the chapter contrasting Reagan's prescience regarding the decrepitude of the Soviet Union with the gormless admiration demonstrated by Ivy League so-called experts. ( )

How people regard this biography seems to reflect how they regard the subject. That's rather understandable. I think it's far too early really to evaluate Reagan (or Carter or Clinton) very objectively. Too many people are still alive that were caught up in partisan passions during his presidency. Whether at university or at the very left-leaning neighborhood I've lived in, I've overheard any number of demeaning, vicious remarks about Reagan--even on the very day of his death. I've heard him bitterly blamed for the death of millions from AIDS (you'd think the man created the disease) and hysterical denials he had anything to do with the end of the Cold War.

That very reaction from people did cause me to look for a biography that wouldn't be just some hatchet job. I'd heard some not so good things about liberties taken in the biography of Reagan by famed presidential biographer Edmund Morris. On the other hand, I knew Dinesh D'Souza to be a conservative and admirer of Reagan and chose this book for that very reason. I did like it--it's very readable and it's not a complete hagiography--it is critical at some points. But D'Souza still feels too much the ideologue and the book too light-weight, which is why I'm not rating it higher and it's not likely to keep its place on my shelves. I have heard good things about Lou Cannon's works on Reagan; Cannon had worked as a White House correspondent for the Washington Post. Next time I want to read about Reagan, that might be the biographer of choice. ( )

Old school conservatism by one of the kings. D'Souza is certainly on the top of the heap. ( )

To Ed Feulner - A field general of the Regan revolution with admiration, Dinesh D'Souza