(V) Memoirs of of Presidential Cabinet Members and Staff

Introduction

The following listing contains memoirs written by former staff and cabinet members about their experiences in the Reagan White House, including Ronald Reagan's own account. Many of them serve as revealing and sometimes negative looks into Reagan's Presidency. While others include positive and fond portrayals of Reagan and his Presidency, including the two written by former speech writer Peggy Noonan.

Bibliography

2005

Barletta, John R. and Rochelle Schweizer. Riding with Reagan : From the White House to the Ranch. New York : Citadel Press/Kensington Pub. Corp., 2005. vii, 246 p., [16] p. of plates : col. ill. ; 22 cm.

Deaver, Michael K. Why I am a Reagan Conservative. New York : W. Morrow, 1st ed., 2005. xvi, 199 p. ; 22 cm.

Petro, Joseph and Jeffrey Robinson. Standing Next to History : An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service. New York : Thomas Dunne Books, 1st ed., 2005. vii, 292 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

2004

Kuhn, Jim. Ronald Reagan in Private : A Memoir of My Years in the White House. New York : Sentinel, 2004. xiii, 274 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

2003

Robinson, Peter. How Ronald Reagan Changed my Life. New York : Regan Books, 1st ed., 2003. 263 p. ; 24 cm.

On February 6, 2001, my nine-year-old daughter happened to wander into the room during a television segment marking Ronald Reagan's ninetieth birthday. She watched for a moment. Then she turned to me and asked, "Dad, is that the President you worked for?" What answer could I give her? How could I make her see? I wanted my daughter to recognize that the world she inhabited was freer and more prosperous because of that old, old man on television. But I also wanted her to grasp my personal debt to him, to understand all that he taught me-how to work and how to relax, how to think and how to use words, how to be a good husband, how to approach life itself... I needed to tell my children how Ronald Reagan changed my life. In 1982, as a young man, Peter Robinson was hired as a speechwriter in the Reagan White House. During the six years that followed, he was one of a core group of writers who became informal experts on Reagan, absorbing not just his political positions but his personality, manner, and way of carrying himself And the example Reagan set-as a confident, passionate, principled, generous-spirited older man-molded Robinson's outlook just as he was coming into his own. "Hard work. A good marriage. A certain lightness of touch," he writes. "The longer I studied Ronald Reagan, the more lessons I learned." At the core of How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life are ten of the life lessons Robinson learned from the fortieth President-principles that have guided his own life ever since. But it also offers a warm and unforgettable portrait of a great yet ordinary man who touched the individuals around him as surely as he did his millions of admirers around the world. Drawing on journal entries from his days at the White House, as well as interviews with those who knew the President best, Robinson etches his portrait with fresh observations, telling detail, and that "certain lightness of touch" that recalls the master himself The result is nothing less than a love story-an account of the profound respect and affection that one young man came to feel for the President who changed his life forever.

2001

Deaver, Michael K. A different drummer; my thirty years with Ronald Reagan. With a foreword by Nancy Reagan 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, 2001. x, 228 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. (Also in Early Political Career)

The story of one of former president Ronald Reagan's most trusted aids and his experience with Reagan from 1967 to the present. Discusses the major experiences he had with Reagan, including the shooting that wounded Reagan during his presidency. Also shares stories from times on the campaign trail, and accounts of Reagan's personal style.

Noonan, Peggy. When character was king; a story of Ronald Reagan. New York : Viking, 2001. viii, 338 p. ; 24 cm.

It is twenty years—a full generation—since Ronald Reagan first walked into the White House and ignited a revolution. From the beginning, he enjoyed the American people's affection but now, as he approaches the end of his life, he has received what he deserved even more: their deep respect.

What was the wellspring of his greatness? Peggy Noonan, bestselling author of the classic Reagan-era memoir What I Saw at the Revolution, former speechwriter, and now a columnist and contributing editor for The Wall Street Journal, argues that the secret of Reagan's success was no secret at all. It was his character—his courage, his kindness, his persistence, his honesty, and his almost heroic patience in the face of setbacks—that was the most important element of his success.

The one thing a man must bring into the White House with him if he is to succeed, Noonan contends, is a character that people come to recognize as high, sturdy, and reliable.

Noonan, renowned for her special insight into Ronald Reagan's history and personality, brings her own reflections on Reagan to bear in When Character Was King and discloses never-before-told stories from the former president's family, friends, and White House colleagues to reveal the true nature of a man even his opponents now view as a maker of big history.

Marked by incisive wit and elegant prose, When Character Was King will enlighten and move readers.

2000

Fitzwater, Marlin. Call the briefing!; a memoir of ten years in the White House with presidents Reagan and Bush. [United States] : Xlibris Corp., 2000. 467 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. (Originally published in 1995)

For a decade, Marlin Fitzwater was White House Press Secretary for Presidents Reagan and Bush, a remarkably long sojourn in that high-pressure post. His longevity was a testament to the unique combination of talents he brought to the job. And his long tenure gave him unparalleled insight into the way the press and the presidency collide in today's Washington. CALL THE BRIEFING is an insightful memoir of the Reagan/Bush years that provides a richly detailed account of both Presidents, their lives, and their power. It is essential reading for students of journalism or politics, those who loved two of our greatest Presidents, or those who admire the life of a remarkable press secretary.

1995

Fitzwater, Marlin. Call the briefing!; Bush and Reagan, Sam and Helen : a decade with presidents and the press. 1st ed. New York : Times Books, 1995. xi, 399 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

1991

Cannon, Lou. President Reagan; the role of a lifetime. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1991. 948 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. (Also in Biographies and Reagan as Author)

Fried, Charles. Order and law; arguing the Reagan revolution : a firsthand account. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1991. 256 p. ; 25 cm. (Also in Domestic )

Fried, Ronald Reagan's Solicitor General between 1985 and 1989, offers a personal look at the decisions and conflicts within the Justice Department as he sought to implement Reagan's judicial reforms. Fried describes how the Reagan revolution attempted to give the president a strong hand in governing the nation without judicial interference and, moreover, sought to resolve social and equality issues with the least possible government and judicial involvement. He discusses the legal and philosophical issues behind some of the most important political and social cases of the 1980s, e.g., abortion, affirmative action, capital punishment, the Iran- contra case, and executive authority. As solicitor generals rarely comment on their recent activities, Fried provides unique and excellent insights into government power within the executive branch.

1990

Anderson, Martin. Revolution ; the Reagan legacy. Expanded and updated. Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1990. lii, 500 p. ; 18 cm. Series: Hoover Press publication ;. 399

Noonan, Peggy. What I saw at the revolution; a political life in the Reagan era. 1st ed. New York : Random House, 1990. xiv, 353 p. ; 25 cm.

A special assistant to the president during the height of the Reagan era, Peggy Noonan worked with him, and with then-vice-president Bush, on some of their most famous and memorable speeches. Now, in her engaging and acclaimed memoir, Noonan shows us the world behind the words. Her sharp and vivid portraits of those in and around power, her priceless account of what it was like to be a speechwriter among bureaucrats, and a woman in the last bastion of male power, makes this a Washington memoir that breaks the mold.

Noonan left a job as writer for Dan Rather at CBS-TV to join Reagan's White House as a speechwriter; later she helped Geoge Bush defeat Michael Dukakis, devising such catch phrases as "a thousand points of light." Part political memoir, part autobiography, this conversational, effusive, anecdotal reminiscence offers a reverential portrait of ex-president Reagan ("probably the sweetest, most innocent man ever to serve in the Oval Office") that at times borders on embarrassing, schoolgirlish adulation. Not surprisingly, perhaps, she gives us Reagan's view of himself instead of detached analysis. She discusses White House in-fighting, the 1984 presidential campaign, key speeches she wrote or helped shape, her clash with Don Regan, the drive to win public support for the contras. There are cameos of Pat Buchanan, Larry Speakes, Andy Rooney, Bill Moyers and others, along with an extended defense of conservative ideology and policies. First serial to New York Times Magazine, Mirabella and Saturday Evening Post; BOMC altenate.

Quigley, Joan. What does Joan say? ; my seven years as White House astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan. Secaucus, NJ : Birch Lane Press, 1990. 218 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

1992

Meese, Edwin. With Reagan; the inside story. Washington, D.C. : Regnery Gateway Lanham, MD : Distributed to the trade by National Book Network, 1992. xix, 362 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

Nofziger, Lyn (Franklyn C.) Nofziger. Washington, D.C. : Regnery Gateway ; Lanham, MD : Distributed by National Book Network, 1992. viii, 370 p. ; 24 cm.

Reagan, Ronald. An American life. New York : Pocket Books, 1990; 1992. 748 p. : ill. ; 23 cm. (Also in Biographies and Reagan as Author)

1989

Von Damm, Helene. At Reagan's side. 1st ed. New York : Doubleday, 1989. x, 341 p., [8] p. of plates : ports. ; 25 cm.

1988

Anderson, Martin. Revolution. 1st ed. San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. xxii, 486 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

Speakes, Larry; Pack, Robert. Speaking out; the Reagan presidency from inside the White House. New York : Scribner, 1988. xiv, 322 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

1987

Deaver, Michael K; Herskowitz, Mickey. Behind the scenes; in which the author talks about Ronald and Nancy Reagan... and himself. 1st ed. New York : Morrow, 1987. 272 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.

1984

Haig, Alexander Meigs; (Luce, Clare Boothe). Caveat; realism, Reagan, and foreign policy. New York : Macmillan, 1984. xiii, 367 p., [16] p. of plates : ports. ; 25 cm. (Also in Foreign Affairs)