The Reagan Diaries

President Reagan made notations in his diary every single day of his presidency, except perhaps for those days when he was hospitalized after being shot. He used writing to organize his thoughts and even wrote or edited most of his speeches. His true nature is revealed through his diary entries. He was not an intellectual giant, but he was a charismatic leader and a great orator. He brought people together and worked toward compromises and agreements. For instance, he will always be associated with tearing down the Berlin Wall.The book is quite long - nearly 800 pages in the printed version, and requiring more than 10 hours to read in the Kindle version. Brinkley, the editor, painstakingly retained Reagan's original words, spelling errors and all, though chose to summarize a significant portion of the diary (probably 50%), rather than include a word-for-word rendition. The summarized info is shown in italics. Classified info has also been redacted (shown with square brackets in the text). I started off carefully reading every word, but by about half way through the book, I thought I'd never finish so decided to just skim the italicized text.This is not an autobiography. There is no historical analysis, no retelling of historic events, no summarization of the issues of the day. For instance, though the Iran-Contra affair is mentioned many, many times, you won't be able to piece together what actually happened by reading the diary entries. Perhaps Reagan was not a deep or introspective thinker, or perhaps he just knew that his diaries would become public at some point, and didn't want to get too personal.Here are some of my observations from the diary:He had a modest ego. Even the "Tear Down This Wall" speech in Berlin in 1987 is somewhat downplayed, though he did mention that the speech was warmly received.He had little respect for the press and believed they manipulated situations and chose what news to present; there are quite a few negative comments about Sam Donaldson in particular.He had a contentious relationship with Tip O'Neill.His devotion to Nancy was legendary and he mentioned her absence with longing every time she had to be away from him. He was proud of her work on the "Just Say No" campaign.He hobnobbed with the rich and famous, particularly Hollywood types.He loved to watch movies, even the oldies but goodies. He didn't care for R rated or smutty movies though.He didn't use swear words. He writes d--n and h--l in his diary, and never a mention of the F word at all.He was sensitive and touched by many of the people that he met with hardships, frequently commenting that he "puddled up".He made friends with some of the most important global figures of the day - Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Mother Theresa.His main form of recreation was horseback riding and cutting down trees.He was inordinately proud of his physical condition, always reporting that he got a good report from his many physical exams. In Chapter 4 he wrote "I'm so healthy I had a hard time not acting smug."He was very concerned about his approval rating, and mentioned it frequently; though he wasn't always rated highly, his final polls in office gave him the highest rating of any president ever.He was photographed thousands of times while in office; "photo op" is probably the most commonly recurring appointment on his calendarHe never did learn how to spell Gadaffi (leader of Libya); Quadhafy, Quadafy, Kadhafy, Qaddafi, Quadaffi, Quadafi were some of his attempts.He made history for 8 years, and strolling through his diary is a great reminder of the world changing events of the 1980's. On his last night in office he wrote "Tomorrow I stop being President." There's no way to know from his diary whether he was sad, excited or relieved at the end of his historic term in office. However, reading his diaries motivates me to look for a biography to fill in where his diary leaves off.

I've read Reagan's autobiography and Reagan: The Life, but it all started when I saw a paperback copy of The Reagan Diaries in the bargain bin at a book store. The Reagan Diaries aren't something you read through from start to finish, but I pick it up often and just read a few pages. Or I might want to know about a specific entry and flip to that page.The Reagan Diaries is a really intimate, personal look into Reagan's eight years as president of the United States. We get to see, in his own words, what his daily life as president was like, including how he felt about certain issues.If you want to learn more about Reagan's life and political career, then The Reagan Diaries is an essential part of your book collection.

Reading anyone's diary is like peeking into their life and their innermost secrets. Imagine reading the diary of a U.S. President. After reading this book, one feels like one actually knows Ronald Reagan. No matter the political persuasion, everyone will enjoy reading this diary. President Reagan has a diary entry for every day of his eight-year presidency. There are entries that gives one the inside behind the scenes stories on some of the most fascinating moments in history (USSR, Contras, etc.). And, there are entries that show the humorous side of Ronald Reagan. One recurring theme in these diaries is Ronald Reagan's undying love for his wife Nancy. It comes through in almost every entry. It shows that Ronald Reagan had old fashioned and refreshing values. We will not see the likes of him again. I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down.

This book depicted who I believe is the real Ronald Reagan. He was smart, compassionate, tough when needed and he read people very well. He truly adored his wife and loved the United States of America. His messages proved him to be a good friend and showed his great respect for those who deserved respect. This book was also a good review of our recent history. Well done.

I didn't imagine it would be as thick as it is, so was pleasantry surprised. Looks very nice and well made, (hardback with bold silver font on front and side) came with the cover shown in photo but I think it looks smarter without. The writing is very clean and easy to read and I love the photo choice and captions along with them. Ronald Reagan did a great job of keeping a diary for his 8 years of presidency and Douglas Brinkley did a great job of editing and creating this book.

Could not have been better chronicled.

Demonstrates what a wonderful person and one of the greatest presidents of the USA

Excellent read regardless of your political leanings. It gives rare insight not only to this President, but also the Presidency itself.

An honest insight to the Regan yearsOne thing that struck me was how much he loved his wife Nancy ... A good read