Product Description

Ronald Reagan loved to tell stories. Sometimes he used them to break the ice, or to prove a point, but very often he used them to inspire, to uplift, and to remind his listeners of what matters most in life. Recently, in the archives of the Reagan Library, researcher Kiron Skinner unearthed a trove of handwritten Reagan manuscripts from the late 1970s, over 650 in all, which included some priceless examples of Reagan's storytelling abilities. Stories in His Own Hand reproduces the best of these deeply personal anecdotes.

Skinner, along with longtime Reagan aides and scholars Annelise and Martin Anderson, has carefully documented the extent of Reagan's manuscripts, which originated as radio transcripts. Earlier, in the bestselling Reagan, In His Own Hand, the editors compiled a broad range of Reagan's policy-oriented essays from this collection, showing an astonishing breadth of vision concerning nearly every issue he would face as president. Here they reveal a different Ronald Reagan: not the political but the personal man, not the executive but the teacher.

Here is Reagan on men and women, life and death, family and friends. Here is a man who loved to tell a story to make us all stop, listen, and think about what it means to be human.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257829 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan hosted a daily national radio program, for which he wrote his own commentary. In Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson, 30 of his broadcasts and 6 pieces written at other times are collected alongside facsimiles of the original handwritten documents. Offering inspirational words on many key events, institutions and experiences death, marriage, Christmas, religion, sports, war, the media Reagan waxes warm and fuzzy and sometimes critical. He comes down on antiwar protesters and lauds American soldiers with a story of 10 veterans who asked to go back to help the Vietnamese after being discharged; he demonstrates the "civilizing influence" of women with a story of a brave hostess in colonial India. Fans of Reagan and of heartwarming Americana will enjoy this little book, with a foreword by George Shultz.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Kiron K. Skinner is an assistant professor of history and of political science at Carnegie Mellon University, and a Hoover Institution Research Fellow. She is also a Fellow in the Department of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal and National Interest. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Customer Reviews

A Book to Treasure in These Times
We (the editors) didn't know how much these words of Ronald Reagan might mean in these times of unusual challenge for ourselves and our nation. These stories (all written in his own hand) about people and their courage in times of unusual challenge, the facsimilies of the original documents that accompany many of them, and the photographs (many previously unpublished) of Reagan at different times in his career provide a perspective on Reagan as a person--and thus another viewpoint on his success as a politician in American life. Some stories (of his) are about his first experience with racial prejudice and how he dealt with it; his favorite jokes; his first jobs.
We think it's not only a treasure of Reagan writings, but a collection that gives us insight into the man who knew he sat where the buck stops but also knew where he wanted it to stop; and how he got to be that man.
Annelise Anderson

Very inspiring
I grew up in the Reagan era and always looked up to his leadership and wisdom....his book exemplifies this! His stories make you feel like you are part of his family and you come to embrace his values of religion and politics with a newly formed open mind. This book is full of the strength of the American people and how wonderful it is to be part of such a great nation. I have never missed Ronald Reagan's leadership and philosophies more than after I finished this book!!

Fabulous!
If you appreciate Ronald Reagan, you will LOVE this book! If you ever felt you'd like to know him better -- read this book! His stories and examples are right to the point. His title, The Great Communicator, is well deserved!