It’s rare that a book takes me four months to finish, but this one was special. My wife and I read this book aloud to each other whenever we had time before bed, on the road, or at the dinner table (sans kids). She’s not much of a reader, but she loves politics. I love biographies, so this was a good fit.

I was born two years into Reagan’s first term, so I honestly don’t recall a thing about his presidency, at least personally. In fact, the first time I found the slightest interest in politics at all (besides collecting the Operation Desert Storm cards made by Topps during Bush 41’s term) wasn’t until Clinton’s scandal, when my high school friends and I made satirical home movies about him—on VHS. You definitely don’t want to watch those.

What I remember most about Ronald Reagan, honestly, was his death. I was on the road with my dad when we found out, and the news covered his funeral procession moving slowly from one location to the next in California. It made my dad cry, and I wasn’t quite sure why. After reading this book and understanding what a gem of a man the nation had for 8 years in this President (especially when comparing him to a few of the less-than-character-driven men we’ve had since then), I can now understand why.

This book by Peggy Noonan is less a formal biography like you’d find from someone like David McCullough or Edmund Morris, but instead more a personal portrait by someone who worked closely with Reagan for several years. Noonan served as Special Assistant to President Reagan, helping write speeches and spending time with him in Washington and elsewhere, and her insights from this personal acquaintance as well as her thorough research and interviews make this a valuable look at a man whom many loved but few really knew well.

The emphasis of this book, as acknowledged in the title, is that Reagan was truly a man of character. I take this emphasis to heart, because I recently heard a friend scold Conservatives for trying to pin “Reagan-esque” onto the lapel of every new Republican candidate, as if the man were some sort a god. I took offense at this when he first said it, and I wasn’t sure why. “Why does everyone want to compare themselves to Reagan?” he asked, “He’s wasn’t that great a President. We’ve idealized him over the decades and whatever image Republicans have of him can’t possibly be right.”

I’ve read other Reagan books, including the following: Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation by Ronald Reagan; The Notes by Ronald Reagan, ed. by Douglas Brinkley; Ronald Reagan: A Life in Pictures, 1911-2004 by LIFE; and Killing Reagan by Bill O’Reilly. From these, I’d learned the history and gotten a strong taste of his convictions. But now that I’ve read this book by Peggy Noonan, I know why my gut disagreed so strongly with my friend. He really was a great man and president.

Reagan wasn’t a god, certainly, but he also wasn’t a sham. While it’s true that over the years, Reagan has become a sort of caricature, it’s a caricature based on fact. Reagan was a genuinely kind man of strong character, impenetrable conviction, and successful leadership that set the temperature for the nation. Noonan writes at one point:

“I am still searching for an anecdote about Reagan that truly reflects badly on him. When I talk to or read the works or people in politics, entertainments or journalism who didn’t admire or agree with him, they will, if they get going, tell you Reagan was lazy, or naïve, or a bore. But they never say that he was low or unkind or dishonest or untrustworthy. I think his character is the least criticized of any great political leader of the century.” (83)

With a vote of confidence like this, I guess I’m left wondering, what’s wrong with emulating a President and man like this? Why wouldn’t we crave another “Reagan-esque” leader?

In Noonan’s interview with the then-sitting President, George W. Bush, he says:

“[George W. Bush] gestures to his right, to the wall on which hands an oil portrait of Abraham Lincoln. ‘I put that picture of Lincoln on the wall because the job of president is to unite the nation. And [Lincoln] had the toughest job of all. …If you really think about it, a President’s job is to define the spirit of the nation. And to help define a soul. And Ronald Reagan knew that. …And he brought a nation that had kind of fallen into malaise out of its so-called malaise by the pure strength of his leadership.” (303)

Reagan himself recognized too that his Presidency was something unique, and that he’d continue to have critics even after he left office, yet in his closing address he said: “I’m not the sort to lose sleep over what a few revisionists say about my record. I’m more than willing to submit my actions to the judgments of time. Let history decide; it usually does.” (317) He then added:

“I never thought of myself as a great man, just a man committed to great ideas. I’ve always believed that individuals should take priority over the state. History has taught me that this is what sets America apart—not to remake the world in our image, but to inspire people everywhere with a sense of their own boundless possibilities. There’s no question I am an idealist, which is another way of saying I am an American.” (317)

This book was a wonderfully intimate peek into the life and career of President Ronald Reagan. Along with all the above, there were also a number of favorite lines that I marked in my book. I’ll share a couple of them here in conclusion, in no particular order.

“Democrats respect books because they respect ideas. Conservatives respect books because they respect ideas. Republicans respect money. …So that’s the difference between Republicans and conservatives.” (145)

“The reason one should love history is to determine how to make good history.” (George W. Bush, When Character Was King, 306)

©2022 E.T.

Read More about President Ronald Reagan:

• Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation by Ronald Regan (1983)
• When Character Was King by Peggy Noonan (2001)
• Ronald Reagan: a Life in Pictures, 1911-2004 by LIFE (2004)
• The Notes by Ronald Reagan, ed. Douglas Brinkley (2011)
• Killing Reagan by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (2015)