(IV) General Overviews of the Reagan Presidency

Introduction

The folowing books attempt to serve as summaries and analyzations of Ronald Regan's entire Preisdency. In focusing on the Reagan Presidency as a whole, the reader get a more thorough understanding of the accomplishments of the President and the administration. Many of the books focus on the presidency, while others do so in full biographies of Reagan.

2005

Troy, Gil. Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Reinvented the 1980s. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005. 417 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. ; 24 cm.

Gil Troy's Morning in America is a "pioneering" and "lively" reassessment of Ronald Reagan's legacy, hailed by reviewers as "masterly" and "the best single book" on the Reagan administration to date, which takes readers through the 1980s, integrating the story of the Reagan presidency with stories of the decade's cultural icons and watershed moments from personalities to popular television shows.

Ehrman, John. The Eighties : America in the Age of Reagan. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2005. 296 p. ; 24 cm.

Knott, Stephen F. and Jeffrey L. Chidester. The Reagan Years. New York : Facts On File/Checkmark Books, 2005. vii, 520 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Facts on File library of American history; Presidential profiles;

2004

Brownlee, W. Elliot and Hugh Davis Graham. The Reagan Presidency : Pragmatic Conservatism and its Legacies. Lawrence :; University Press of Kansas, 2003. xi, 404 p. ; 24 cm.

Wallison, Peter J. Ronald Reagan : the power of conviction and the success of his presidency. Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 2004. xiii, 314 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 23 cm. (Also in Iran Contra

2003

Brownlee, W. Elliot; Graham, Hugh Davis. The Reagan presidency; pragmatic conservatism and its legacies. Lawrence : University Press of Kansas, 2003.

Conley, Richard Steven, ed. Reassessing the Reagan presidency. Lanham, MD : University Press of America, 2003. xvi, 268 p. ; 22 cm.

D'Souza, Dinesh. Ronald Reagan; how an ordinary man became an extraordinary leader. New York : Free Press, 1997. x, 292 p. ; 25 cm.

In this enlightening new look at one of our most successful, most popular, and least understood presidents, bestselling author and former Reagan aide Dinesh D'Souza shows how this "ordinary" man was able to transform the political landscape in a way that made a permanent impact on America and the world. Ronald Reagan is a thoughtful and honest assessment of how this underestimated president became a truly extraordinary leader.

Johnson, Haynes Bonner. Sleepwalking through history; America in the Reagan years. 1st Anchor Books ed. New York : Anchor Books,1991; 1992. 538 p. : ill. ; 21 cm. Originally published: New York : Norton, c1991.

Johnson, Haynes Bonner. Sleepwalking through history; America in the Reagan years ; with a new foreword and afterword "Notes on an era." New York : W.W. Norton, 2003. p. cm. (originally published in 1991.)

Strober, Deborah H, (Deborah Hart), Strober, Gerald S. The Reagan presidency; an oral history of the era. 1st ed. Washington, D.C. : Brassey's 2003. p. cm.

Wallison, Peter J. Ronald Reagan; the power of conviction and the restoration of the presidency. Cambridge, MA : Westview Press, 2003. p. cm. (Also see under Iran-Contra Affair)

During his year as White House counsel, Wallison was able to witness President Reagan up close-as a man who defied the textbook model of a "great president." Unlike any other president to date, says Wallison, Reagan came to office with a firm and unique philosophy of government. While many accuse Reagan of ignorance and lack of interest, Wallison shows that the president was a man of ideas and conviction. When it came to his core beliefs-small federal government, tax cuts and a formidable defense policy-Reagan was unbending. When even his own staff members rallied against him, begging him to relent, Reagan shook his head and spoke of "staying the course." Wallison also defends Reagan's managerial style, in which he focused on his main agenda and delegated all other policy decisions to his staff. This, too, was due not to "cognitive limitations" but to a determination to focus on achieving several key principles. To his credit, Wallison is not blind to Reagan's faults, noting that the very qualities that allowed for his many successes also permitted the devastation wrought by the Iran-Contra affair. The author's recollection of the scandal is detailed and honest. Despite the personal nature of his book, Wallison's portrayal of Reagan is balanced and clear: he gives us a man who is fundamentally human, who made mistakes and yet achieved great things. 10 b&w photos not seen by PW.

2002

Crothers, Lane; Lind, Nancy S. Presidents from Reagan through Clinton, 1981-2001; debating the issues in pro and con primary documents. Compiled by Lane Crothers and Nancy S. Lind. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2002. xxiii, 291 p. ; 25 cm.
Series: The president's position

2001

Busch, Andrew. Ronald Reagan and the politics of freedom. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001. xxvii, 307 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Cannon, Lou. Ronald Reagan; the presidential portfolio : a history illustrated from the collection of the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum. Introduction by Michael Beschloss. 1st ed. New York : PublicAffairs, 2001. xii, 304 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 27 cm. + 1 sound disc (digital : 4 3/4 in.)

Torr, James D, ed. Ronald Reagan. San Diego, Calif. : Greenhaven Press, 2001. 254 p. : ill., map ; 23 cm. Series: Presidents and their decisions

2000

Karaagac, John. Between promise and policy; Ronald Reagan and conservative reformism. Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, 2000. x, 307 p. ; 24 cm.

Between Promise and Policy is a thoughtful and intriguing study that compares the professed ideals and actual realities of conservative reformism leading up to, and during, the Reagan presidency. The author examines Ronald Reagan's defense program, his policies to reduce the size of the federal government, regulatory reform, and the reprioritizing of government expenditures. Karaagac concludes that the Reagan administration effectively employed ideology as a political tool: President Reagan could alternate between being pragmatic and flexible, in order to score political victories, and making a stand as a staunch defender of conservative principals in order to rally his supporters.

1999

Dallek, Robert. Ronald Reagan; the politics of symbolism : with a new preface. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1999. xxvii, 221 p. ; 24 cm. (Originally published: 1984.)

1998

Strober, Deborah H, (Deborah Hart); Strober, Gerald S. Reagan; the man and his presidency. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. xiv, 622 p. ; 24 cm.

Strock, James M. Reagan on leadership; executive lessons from the Great Communicator. Rocklin, Calif. : Forum, 1998. xii, 259 p. ; 23 cm. (Also in Management Style)

1997

Schmertz, Eric J; Datlof, Natalie; Ugrinsky, Alexej, eds. Ronald Reagan's America. Edited by Eric J. Schmertz, Natalie Datlof, and Alexej Ugrinsky ; prepared under the auspices of Hofstra University. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1997. 2 v. ; 24 cm.
Series: Contributions in political science. no. 377

Thompson, Kenneth W., ed. The Reagan presidency; ten intimate perspectives of Ronald Reagan. Lanham, Md. : University Press of America [Charlottesville, Va.] : Miller Center, University of Virginia, 1997. xvi, 168 p. ; 24 cm.
Series: Portraits of American presidents. v. 9

1993

Combs, James E. The Reagan range; the nostalgic myth in American politics. Bowling Green, OH : Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993. ii, 151 p. ; 24 cm.

Combs (political science, Valparaiso U.) tries to make sense of the Reagan presidency by linking it to the American popular culture that spawned and trained him, and that he used so adeptly to his advantage.

1992

Edel, Wilbur. The Reagan presidency ; an actor's finest performance. New York : Hippocrene Books, 1992. xiii, 384 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Langston, Thomas S. Ideologues and presidents ; from the New Deal to the Reagan revolution. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. xxi, 247 p. ; 24 cm.

Muir, William Ker, Jr. The bully pulpit ; the presidential leadership of Ronald Reagan. San Francisco : ICS Press, 1992. xiv, 265 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. (Also in Management Style)

Schaller, Michael. Reckoning with Reagan ; America and its president in the 1980s. New York : Oxford University Press, 1992. ix, 194 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

At the height of Ronald Reagan's popularity in July 1986, Time magazine wrote glowingly of how he had "found America's sweet spot." Reagan seemed a "magician who carries a bright, ideal America like a holograph in his mind and projects its image in the air." Not since the rhapsody about "Camelot" that surrounded John F. Kennedy in the wake of his assassination had a president been spoken of so reverently. Reagan pledged to bring Americans a "little good news" and during the next eight years, through recession and recovery, cold war and detente, success and scandal Reagan forged a powerful bond with the public. His popularity appeared so unrelated to actual achievements and so undiminished by failure that Colorado Representative Pat Schroeder dubbed him the "teflon president." Providing a brief but comprehensive and non-polemical overview of what exactly took place during the Reagan years, Michael Schaller presents a lively account of the Reagan presidency, weighing the president's great personal and political popularity against the effects of his economic, social, diplomatic, and strategic decisions.

Much more than an account of Reagan the man, Schaller offers us a fascinating evaluation of the Reagan phenomenon, providing an accessible introduction for Americans struggling to understand the illusory and actual impact of the Reagan administration on the 1980s and on years to come.

Hollywood tutored Ronald Reagan in the art of illusion. As Michael Schaller reveals in this first concise study of the events and effects of Reagan's presidency, he managed to maintain a show of national strength, prosperity, and global power at a time when all were in fact in decline. Analyzing how it affected and reflected 1980s America, Schaller covers all aspects of the Reagan Revolution, including Reagonomics, the rise of political Christianity, immigration, the courts, Third World interventions, terrorism, and the ending of the Cold War. He concludes with a look at the legacy Reagan bequeathed to his Vice-President, George Bush.

Thompson, Kenneth W., ed. Leadership in the Reagan presidency. Lanham, Md. : Madison Books, 1992 -. v. 1-2 ; 24 cm. Series: The Miller Center Reagan oral history series. v. 2. (Also in Management Style)

1991

Johnson, Haynes Bonner. Sleepwalking through history ; America in the Reagan years. 1st ed. New York : Norton, 1991. 524 p. ; 25 cm.

Washington Post columnist Johnson here presents a stunning indictment of the Reagan administration that details its impact on social, economic and political life in America. He reviews abuses in the S&L institutions, in HUD, in the National Security Council, on Wall Street, in religious broadcasting and, most impressively, reveals how the administration renounced responsibility for ameliorating social distress. The book makes clear why the rich got richer and the poor poorer in the last decade. Johnson portrays President Reagan as a kind of Dr. Feelgood who fulfilled a public need for reassurance, and ironically evaded judgment during the Iran- contra affair because of his reputation for not being in charge. Summarizing what he sees as Reagan's legacy, the "ethical wastland of the eighties," the author points to growing fractionalization, subversion of the constitutional system, corruption and ineffectiveness of government, and cynicism and inattention of the American people. First serial to Vanity Fair.

1990

Berman, Larry, ed. Looking back on the Reagan presidency. Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990. xvii, 332 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. Corporate Source: University of California, Davis Institute of Governmental Affairs.

Papers of a conference held at the Institute of Governmental Affairs at the University of California, Davis, in May 1988.

Boyer, Paul S. Reagan as president ; contemporary views of the man, his politics, and his policies. Edited with commentary by Paul Boyer. Chicago : Ivan R. Dee, 1990. 281 p. ; 22 cm.

Hill, Dilys M; Moore, Raymond A; Williams, Phil, eds. The Reagan presidency ; an incomplete revolution? New York, N.Y. : St. Martin's Press, 1990. viii, 250 p. ; 23 cm. (Also in Foreign Affairs)

Hogan, Joseph, ed. The Reagan years ; the record in presidential leadership. Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York, NY, USA : Distributed exclusively in the USA and Canada by St. Martin's Press, 1990. xi, 306 p. ; 23 cm. (Also in Management Style)

Mervin, David. Ronald Reagan and the American presidency. [with a foreword by Leon D. Epstein] London New York : Longman, 1990. ix, 237 p. ; 22 cm.

1989

Hagstrom, Jerry. Beyond Reagan; the new landscape of American politics. Rev. and updated. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books, 1988; 1989. 322 p. ; 20 cm.

Hertsgaard, Mark. On bended knee ; the press and the Reagan presidency. Rev. ed. New York : Schocken Books, 1989, 1988. xxi, 408 p. ; 24 cm.

Grover, William F. The president as prisoner ; a structural critique of the Carter and Reagan years. Albany : State University of New York Press, 1989. xi, 232 p. ; 24 cm.
Series: SUNY series in the presidency (Also in Domestic Poliy)

Kozhimannil, Varghese T. Awake America! are you better off? ; the Reagan presidency, promises and performances. New York : Cimothas Pub., 1989. xi, 401 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Schieffer, Bob; Gates, Gary Paul. The acting president. 1st ed. New York : Dutton, 1989. xii, 397 p. ; 24 cm. (Also in Biographies)

Slansky, Paul. The clothes have no emperor ; a chronicle of the American '80s. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1989. 288 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Reagan Legacy

Ide, Arthur Frederick. Bush-Quayle ; the Reagan legacy. Irving, [Tex.] : Scholars Books, 1989. xiv, 136 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

1988

Barilleaux, Ryan J. The post-modern presidency; the office after Ronald Reagan. New York : Praeger, 1988. x, 175 p. ; 22 cm.

Blumenthal, Sidney. Our long national daydream; a political pageant of the Reagan era. 1st ed. New York : Harper & Row, 1988. xviii, 327 p. ; 24 cm.

Blumenthal, Sidney; Edsall, Thomas Byrne, eds. The Reagan legacy. 1st ed. New York : Pantheon Books, 1988. xviii, 318 p. ; 24 cm.

In thought-provoking essays, seven journalists study the Reagan erathe changes it produced in politics, economics, law, diplomacy and cultureand its legacy for the future. Edsall of the Washington Post gives a dry but well-supported analysis of the shifting balance of political power and the increased polarization of voters along regional, religious and economic lines. In a sweeping piece, William Schneider of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., argues that Reagan has altered the terms of American political debate by weakening such long-held principles as progressive taxation, and by "creating new facts," the most important of which is a budget deficit that will sorely constrain Democrats as they try to pursue their own agendas. Reagan's legacy to law is dangerous, claims Lincoln Caplan ( The Tenth Justice , etc.) because his administration has attempted to subvert the "rule of law" upon which this nation is built, denying that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the Constitution. And, in an entertaining essay, Blumenthal of the Washington Post suggests that the President's "neokitsch" esthetic has inspired few creations of enduring artistic value.

Boaz, David, ed. Assessing the Reagan years. Washington, D.C. : Cato Institute, 1988. 431 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Carter, Hodding. The Reagan years. New York : G. Braziller, 1988. vi, 202 p. ; 22 cm.

Denton, Robert E., Jr. The primetime presidency of Ronald Reagan ; the era of the television presidency. New York : Praeger, 1988. xviii, 107 p. ; 22 cm. Publication Date:

Ducat, Stephen. Taken in ; American gullibility and the Reagan mythos. Tacoma, WA : Life Sciences Press, 1988. v, 169 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.

Hagstrom, Jerry. Beyond Reagan; the new landscape of American politics. New York : Norton, 1988. 319 p. ; 24 cm.

Who is better off in the eighth year of the Conservative revolution, who is worse off, and why? Hagstrom (coauthor of The Book of America) explains how President Reagan's re-armament program overwhelmed his budget-balancing plans, increased the national debt and caused drastic disparities between the country's seven regions. California "has continued on its road to domination of American politics and cultural life" and the 1980s have reaffirmed the Mid-Atlantic as "the most prosperous, stable and diversified region," but the Reagan years "have been crueller to the Great Lakes states than any other region in the country." The book focuses on a wide variety of ongoing issues: the "dumbing down" of school textbooks, municipal corruption and the increasing numbers of homeless citizens. Hagstrom provides background material on the current Presidential hopefuls, assessing, for instance, Michael Dukakis's contribution to the "economic miracle" in New England.

Hagstrom (co-author, The Book of America ) makes a region-by-region assessment of the condition of America's states, cities, and countryside in 1988. Though as a major premise of the book he promises to evaluate the impact of Reaganism on the regions, he identifies other factors as defining the important issues, such as economic change, poverty, the environment, energy, education, and urban decay. He emphasizes political/economic issues, criticizing Reaganism from a liberal perspective. Although the title is misleading, the book gives lay readers an informative and revealing picture of regional difficulties and differences.

Hertsgaard, Mark. On bended knee; the press and the Reagan presidency. 1st ed. New York : Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1988. 408 p. ; 25 cm.

Kymlicka, B. B; Matthews, Jean V., eds. The Reagan revolution? Chicago, Ill. : Dorsey Press, 1988. xiv, 206, x p. ; 23 cm.

Lees, John David; Turner, Michael, eds. Reagan's first four years; a new beginning? Manchester, UK : Manchester University Press New York : Distributed exclusively in the USA and Canada by St. Martins Press,1988. vi, 264 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.

Mayer, Jane; McManus, Doyle. Landslide ; the unmaking of the President, 1984-1988. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1988. xi, 468 p., [8] p. of plates : ports. ; 24 cm.

This is a fascinating, if somewhat opinionated, look at the last of four years of the Reagan presidency. Of particular interest are the stories of personal intrigue among the staff. (Also in Iran-Contra)

White, John Kenneth. The New politics of old values. Hanover : University Press of New England, 1988. x, 188 p. ; 23 cm.

1987

Derbyshire, Ian. Politics in the United States; from Carter to Reagan. [Edinburgh] : Chambers, 1987. vii, 206 p. : ill., maps ; 20 cm.
Series: Chambers political spotlights

Kinsley, Michael E. Curse of the Giant muffins; and other Washington maladies. New York : Summit Books, 1987. 286 p. ; 23 cm.

Orman, John M. Comparing presidential behavior; Carter, Reagan, and the macho presidential style. New York : Greenwood Press, 1987. viii, 190 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Series: Contributions in political science. no. 163 (Also in Management Style)

1986

Duke, Paul; Corddry, Charles, eds. Beyond Reagan ; the politics of upheaval. The reporters of Washington Week in Review, edited by Paul Duke ; essays and roundtable discussions by Charles Corddry ... [et al.] New York, NY : Warner Books, 1986. vii, 338 p. ; 21 cm.

1985

Congressional Quarterly, inc. Reagan, the next four years. Washington, D.C. : Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1985. ix, 168 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

Reeves, Richard. The Reagan detour. New York : Simon and Schuster, 1985. 141 p. ; 23 cm.

Kane, Joseph Nathan. Facts about the presidents, March 1981-March 1985 ; supplement to the fourth edition. [New York : H.W. Wilson Co.], 1985. 10 p. ; 24 cm.

This supplement discusses Reagan's first term in office.

1984

Barrett, Laurence I. Gambling with history; Ronald Reagan in the White House. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England New York : Penguin Books, 1984. xxiii, 511 p. ; 20 cm.

Dallek, Robert. Ronald Reagan; the politics of symbolism. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1984. xi, 221 p. ; 25 cm.

DeMause, Lloyd. Reagan's America. New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Creative Roots, 1984. 193 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.

1983

Barrett, Laurence I. Gambling with history; Ronald Reagan in the White House. 1st ed. Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1983. xiv, 511 p. ; 24 cm.

Dugger, Ronnie. On Reagan ; the man & his presidency. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1983. xvi, 617 p. ; 24 cm.

Nathan, Richard P. The administrative presidency. New York : Wiley, 1983. xi, 180 p. ; 23 cm. (also in Management Style)

1982

Gartner, Alan; Greer, Colin; Riessman, Frank, eds. What Reagan is doing to us. 1st ed. New York : Harper & Row, 1982. ix, 320 p. ; 18 cm. Series: Perennial library ;. P 596

Greenhaw, Wayne. Elephants in the cottonfields ; Ronald Reagan and the new Republican South. New York : Macmillan Pub. Co. ; London : Collier Macmillan, 1982. xiii, 288 p. ; 24 cm.

Ornstein, Norman, ed. President and Congress; assessing Reagan's first year. Edited by Norman J. Ornstein. Washington, D.C. : American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1982. 107 p. ; 23 cm. Corporate Source: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Series: AEI symposia . 82B

How the budget was won and lost / Allen Schick -- Congressional liaison in the Reagan White House / Stephen J. Wayne -- Reagan, Congress, and foreign policy in 1981 / I.M. Destler -- Assessing Reagan's first year / Norman J. Ornstein.

1981

Congressional Quarterly, inc. Reagan's first year. Washington, DC : Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1982. 171 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.

Evans, Rowland; Novak, Robert D. The Reagan revolution. 1st ed. New York : Dutton,1981. xiv, 257 p. ; 22 cm.

Valis, Wayne, ed. The Future under President Reagan. With an introd. by Aram Bakshian, Jr. Westport, Conn. : Arlington House Publishers, 1981. xiii, 194 p. ; 22 cm.