Product Description

“Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.”
–President Ronald Reagan, January 20, 1981

Hero. It was a word most Americans weren’t using much in 1980. As they waited on gas and unemployment lines, as their enemies abroad grew ever more aggressive, and as one after another their leaders failed them, Americans began to believe the country’s greatness was fading.

Yet within two years the recession and gas shortage were over. Before the decade was out, the Cold War was won, the Berlin Wall came crashing down, and America was once more at the height of prosperity. And the nation had a new hero: Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Reagan’s greatness is today widely acknowledged, but his legacy is still misunderstood. Democrats accept the effectiveness of his foreign policy but ignore the success of his domestic programs; Republicans cheer his victories over liberalism while ignoring his bitter battles with his own party’s establishment; historians speak of his eloquence and charisma but gloss over his brilliance in policy and clarity of vision.

From Steven F. Hayward, the critically acclaimed author of The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, comes the first complete, true story of this misunderstood, controversial, and deeply consequential presidency. Hayward pierces the myths and media narratives, masterfully documenting exactly what transpired behind the scenes during Reagan’s landmark presidency and revealing his real legacy.

What emerges is a compelling portrait of a man who arrived in office after thirty years of practical schooling in the ways of politics and power, possessing a clear vision of where he wanted to take the nation and a willingness to take firm charge of his own administration. His relentless drive to shrink government and lift the burdens of high taxation was born of a deep appreciation for the grander blessings of liberty. And it was this same outlook, extended to the world’s politically and economically enslaved nations, that shaped his foreign policy and lent his statecraft its great unifying power.

Over a decade in the making, and filled with fresh revelations, surprising insights, and an unerring eye for the telling detail, this provocative and authoritative book recalls a time when true leadership inspired a fallen nation to pick itself up, hold its head high, and take up the cause of freedom once again.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2414 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-25
• Released on: 2009-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 768 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400053575
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Praise for Steven F. Hayward’s The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964—1980


“Grand and fascinating history . . . The Age of Reagan goes far towards making the definitive historical case for Reagan’s greatness.”
—National Review

“Reads at times like a grand historical drama, a kind of War and Peace of the American century, complete with romance and adventure and tragic characters, a thrilling survey of what we might have thought to be familiar history but which appears here quite transformed.”
—Times Literary Supplement

“A massive achievement . . . It is hard to imagine anyone doing better. . . . Mr. Hayward leaves us awed by his achievement and looking forward hungrily to Volume II.”
—Washington Times

“Excellent . . . [Hayward] acknowledges Mr. Reagan’s sunny personality and ease in public, but he dismisses these as significant factors in his election. What mattered was Mr. Reagan’s unflinching conservatism and strong character, coupled with liberalism’s failures. Mr. Hayward is persuasive on this point.”
—Wall Street Journal

“A big, bold, ambitious book by one of the rising stars of the conservative intellectual movement, Steven F. Hayward . . . The best historical biography yet written about our fortieth president.”
—World and I

“An invaluable contribution to the small but growing body of serious work that finally gives Reagan his due. Readers not only will profit immensely from reading this first volume, but will long for the publication of the next.”
—Weekly Standard

“A magnificent new history of our times. It is a big book in every way and yet it reads quickly and delightfully. . . . The Age of Reagan is the best single-volume account of Reagan’s ...

Review
Praise for Steven F. Hayward’s The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964—1980


“Grand and fascinating history . . . The Age of Reagan goes far towards making the definitive historical case for Reagan’s greatness.”
—National Review

“Reads at times like a grand historical drama, a kind of War and Peace of the American century, complete with romance and adventure and tragic characters, a thrilling survey of what we might have thought to be familiar history but which appears here quite transformed.”
—Times Literary Supplement

“A massive achievement . . . It is hard to imagine anyone doing better. . . . Mr. Hayward leaves us awed by his achievement and looking forward hungrily to Volume II.”
—Washington Times

“Excellent . . . [Hayward] acknowledges Mr. Reagan’s sunny personality and ease in public, but he dismisses these as significant factors in his election. What mattered was Mr. Reagan’s unflinching conservatism and strong character, coupled with liberalism’s failures. Mr. Hayward is persuasive on this point.”
—Wall Street Journal

“A big, bold, ambitious book by one of the rising stars of the conservative intellectual movement, Steven F. Hayward . . . The best historical biography yet written about our fortieth president.”
—World and I

“An invaluable contribution to the small but growing body of serious work that finally gives Reagan his due. Readers not only will profit immensely from reading this first volume, but will long for the publication of the next.”
—Weekly Standard

“A magnificent new history of our times. It is a big book in every way and yet it reads quickly and delightfully. . . . The Age of Reagan is the best single-volume account of Reagan’s rise and liberalism’s fall. This superb book deserves and undoubtedly will get a wide readership.”
—Claremont Review of Books

About the Author
STEVEN F. HAYWARD is the author of The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964—1980, the first of two volumes on Ronald Reagan and his political legacy. He has also written Greatness: Reagan, Churchill, and the Making of Extraordinary Leaders; The Real Jimmy Carter; and Churchill on Leadership. He is an F. K. Weyerhaeuser fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. He divides his time between Washington, D.C., and California.

Customer Reviews

Why Reagan's Stock Is Rising
The Age of Reagan: 1980-1989 is a fascinating account of the Reagan era and the Reagan presidency--a great read. Here are not only the policies (both domestic and foreign) but the politics, the insider debates and the conflicts.

Many people--including some committed liberal scholars Hayward quotes--think more highly of Reagan now than they did when he left office, for two reasons the author notes:

1) The "dramatic and unexpected end of the Cold War, and the demise of the Soviet Union, for which even Reagan's critics allow him a substantial role in the outcome" and

2) "the revelation of Reagan's extensive writings--radio addresses, letters, speeches, and finally his personal diary--which displayed a lively and informed mind and a greater depth of character than hitherto imagined. . .At long last we had found the rest of him."

Hayward makes good use of Reagan's own writings, which became available between 2001 and 2007, integrating them into the narrative of the broad sweep of the history of these years and giving us the flavor of Reagan's own thinking, decision-making, and sometimes frustrations with the foreign and domestic personalities with whom he was dealing.

Since Hayward wrote, even more of "the rest of him" has become available through recently declassified minutes of many of the National Security Council meetings Reagan chaired.

Hayward acknowledges that he's always been sympathetic to Reagan, but notes that he doesn't shrink from reporting weaknesses or criticizing errors or mistakes. I've found this claim fulfilled as I read the text. Hayward also gives us considerable insights into the political philosophies and debates that continue to this day. The best book yet about the Reagan era.

Hayward is the best historian of the Reagan era
No one could do better than to give Hayward's two volumes on Reagan as a gift to a college student, interested layman or scholar. Hayward has the ability to explain the complex realities of federal budgets and geopolitics in a straightforward manner but without being simple-minded. And it captures not just the man, but the spirit of the Reagan era. I highly recommend it.

The Reagan Legacy Lives
Ronald Reagan was one of the most popular Presidents in American history; Steven F Hayward's compelling perspective of the Reagan White House years brings to life the great legacy of our 40th President; a legacy that had been unfairly tarnished during the tail end of his administration by the Iran Contra scandal.

In retrospect, Reagan's participation in that debacle was unfairly criticized by an accusatory press, and other liberal elements of our society. That's a tragic conclusion to the end of an administration that began when America was perhaps at its lowest psychological & economic state of being. What Reagan did was bring our country out of the malaise and restore our economic & political strength to a point that was unparalleled in American history.

Hayward has captured the essence of what made Reagan one of our greatest Presidents; in the 20 years since the end of his Presidency, I think most of us have a far greater appreciation for what Ronald Reagan accomplished in his two terms in office. This is a wonderful book, and should be read by all Americans, regardless of political persuasion.

The '80s were a fun-loving time of tremendous economic growth and prosperity; not to mention a time of remarkable ideological & political influence. The Berlin Wall tumbling down didn't happen by accident; nor did the Cold War become a thing of the past simply because the Russians forgot they hated capitalism. Reagan was the driving force behind all this profound and positive change.

Let's not forget his legacy; Hayward's book has brought it back to life for a new generation of Americans to appreciate.