by Bill Boyarsky ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1981
Frank van der Linden's The Real Ronald Reagan (p. 344) is a lightweight book, by a reporter on national politics, that's mostly about Reagan's campaigns; this is a lightweight book, by a California newsman (and author of The Rise of Ronald Reagan, 1968), that's mostly, when it's semi-serious, about Reagan's governorship. Van der Linden writes banalities about Reagan the man, and considers them compliments; Boyarsky writes banalities too, but you might just wonder what's in his mind: ""Reagan is the ultimate suburbanite""; ""He is an unpretentious, commonplace man,"" ""a small-town boy from the Midwest,"" etc. From the pappy chapters on Reagan's early life (""A Humble Beginning,"" ""College Hero,"" ""Hollywood""), you get a couple of definite, relevant impressions-that he developed an early liking for making speeches, that he was indeed the ""square"" he called himself but not entirely on the up-and-up (some inflation of his wartime service, for one thing). ""The Liberal Years"" brings the non-news that Screen Actors Guild prexy Reagan, though ""an articulate spokesman,"" was never a ""bleeding-heart liberal"" (another subsequent exaggeration). ""A Time for Choice"" shows the fading movie star reborn as M.C. of television's G. E. Theater, as a ""corporate image,"" and--on the advice of G.E. chief Cordiner to ""get yourself a philosophy""--as a conservative opponent of social welfare and big government. Once Reagan is elected to the California governorship in '66, Boyarsky's text becomes somewhat less platitudinous, somewhat more factual. And a little more critical. Reagan learned to compromise with his foes--""and then hail the compromise as a complete victory."" He changed ""the idea of welfare back to temporary aid for the most needy""--""But what if there are no jobs for the unskilled?"" On his handling of campus activism, on his throttling of academic dissent, Reagan gets bad marks; on the environment, Boyarsky deems him protectionist-by-circumstance--""But by the time he became President, the political situation had changed."" And so it goes, issue by issue--aimed to anticipate Reagan's performance in the White House, not imparting anything really new, probably not far wrong, totally unexciting.
Pub Date: May 1, 1981
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1981
Categories: NONFICTION
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.