Product Description

The Last Jeffersonian gives Reagan his due as a politician, a patriot, and a political thinker. Michael Beschloss calls Reagan "one of the most important presidents in American history." This book explains why. Based on a close study of Reagan's most important speeches, as well as analysis of his key policies, The Last Jeffersonian shows why Reagan connected with the American people. He reformulated traditions of limited government, free enterprise, democratic participation, and patriotic belief in the future. He argued for his updated version of the American dream with perseverance, passion, and energy. As a result, he changed the country and the entire world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2541728 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-21
• Binding: Paperback
• 231 pages

Review
Mr. Greffenius has obviously spent quite some time on the research and study for this wonderful work. -- Seth Weathers, TheReaganLegacy.com

The essence of Ronald Reagan for people who want to learn about Reagan's enduring faith in this great nation. -- Mark Burson, Executive Director, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation

From the Publisher
Steven Greffenius has done here what few academics would: written a book praising the virtues of Ronald Reagan as a statesman and politician. Through analysis of Reagan's speeches and policies, Greffenius paints a portrait of a president whose ideas Americans should take seriously -- now and always. The book examines Reagan's passion for his country and emerges with a president who was thoughtful, dignified, liberal-minded, and most of all, sincere. Recommended for all who savor democratic principles and the fundamentals of American life -- and who sense the erosion of these.

From the Author
When Ronald Reagan toured the country for General Electric in the 1950s, people could not have predicted what would happen thirty years later, when Mr. Reagan went to Washington. He overturned the country's settled way of doing things and said to Americans: Remember who you are. The Last Jeffersonian examines Reagan's ideas about America, and portrays a leader who was canny, resolute, and prophetic.

Customer Reviews

Not just an actor, but an advocate of democratic principle
I had long ago all but dismissed Ronald Reagan as an amiable and polished speaker of lines he had been given to read. Still I was curious about his appeal, even to such intelligent critics as George Will. Will and others had written columns over the years defending Reagan's views, but I wanted more: a coherent defense of the man's principles in view of his (to me) obvious callousness towards the have-nots. It was for this reason that I read Dr. Greffenius's impassioned championship of Reagan. Through Greffenius's presentation of the principles Reagan defended--all stemming from his radical belief in the importance of individual freedom--I began to think of Reagan, for the first time, as a brilliant conduit for the principles of democracy first espoused by Thomas Jefferson. Greffenius does not ignore Reagan's critics, but engages them directly. And as I read this book, I found myself thinking often of F. Scott Fitzgerald's conclusion to The Great Gatsby. The Last Jeffersonian opened my eyes to the ways in which Ronald Reagan gave us, perhaps for the last time in history, a view of our America from "somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." I can't, even now, describe myself as a Reagan fan. But The Last Jeffersonian was nevertheless an interesting and very worthwhile read.

A Unique and Valuable Analysis of Reagan
In The Last Jeffersonian, Steven Greffenius persuasively contends that Ronald Reagan articulated the values of American democracy as understood and defined by its great Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson. It's a unique and valuable analysis. (Lou Cannon)

Reagan's Philosophy in a Comparative Light
The succession of essays, each on a facet of Reagan's philosophy, reveals an inspiring amalgam of contrast and comparison among Reagan, Jefferson, Jackson and FDR. Even Gatsby, Willy Loman, Horatio Alger, Micawber and Mr. Magoo are pointedly drawn into the mix. Indispensible if you wish to know Reagan.