Reagan

In this monumental biography, Max Boot illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, drawing on over 100 interviews with Reagan's aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents.

Boot portrays Reagan as a man of profound contradictions—a strong ideologue and a supreme pragmatist who signed pro-abortion and gun control bills, cut deals with Democrats, and befriended Mikhail Gorbachev to end the Cold War. The book contextualizes Reagan's life against American history, from his early successes as a lifeguard and sportscaster to his career in Hollywood and his eventual rise to the presidency.

Boot also critically examines Reagan's opposition to civil rights, his handling of the AIDS epidemic, and the income inequality that marked his era.

This biography is not a hagiography but a thoughtful, reflective, and critically nuanced account of Reagan's life and legacy.