Description
Book SynopsisExamines Ronald Reagan's political development from New Deal liberal to conservative Republican. This book argues that Reagan's presidency cannot be fully understood and evaluated without significant attribution to the spiritual, political, and economic beliefs that he formed during his journey from Democrat to Republican.
Trade ReviewRonald Reagan’s Journey is an important book, a significant addition to our growing knowledge of Ronald Reagan. -- Martin Anderson, Keith and Jan Hurlbut Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Everyone knows that Ronald Reagan started as a 'New Deal Democrat' and ended as a conservative Republican. But what, exactly, does that mean? And how did it happen? In Ronald Reagan’s Journey, Edward Yager answers those questions in a systematic, scholarly fashion for the first time. He fills an important gap in our understanding of one of the most important presidents of the twentieth century. -- Andrew E. Busch, Claremont McKenna College and author of Reagan?s Victory: The Presidential Election of 1980 and the Rise of the Right
The period 1945-62 was a critical stage in the political-ideological development of Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, the 1980s president, cannot be understood without understanding his transformation in this period. Reagan's life was a journey-a series of journeys; yet, the journey he traveled from 1945-62 was one of the most important of those journeys, and also one of the most neglected, until this very important book. This was the sojourn that set Reagan upon the course that took him to the presidency.This is a unique, fair, non-partisan, balanced, and generally valuable work that stands apart in the vast Reagan literature-a crucial contribution to the field. The book is consistently insightful and well-written. It is sophisticated, nuanced, careful,comprehensive, balanced, and thoughtful. Yager has done a superb job.. -- Paul Kengor, Grove City College and author of God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life
The period 1945-62 was a critical stage in the political-ideological development of Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, the 1980s president, cannot be understood without understanding his transformation in this period. Reagan's life was a journey-a series of journeys; yet, the journey he traveled from 1945-62 was one of the most important of those journeys, and also one of the most neglected, until this very important book. This was the sojourn that set Reagan upon the course that took him to the presidency. This is a unique, fair, non-partisan, balanced, and generally valuable work that stands apart in the vast Reagan literature-a crucial contribution to the field. The book is consistently insightful and well-written. It is sophisticated, nuanced, careful, comprehensive, balanced, and thoughtful. Yager has done a superb job. -- Paul Kengor, Grove City College and author of
God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Early Years Chapter 3 The Communist Threat Chapter 4 The "Encroaching" Federal Government Chapter 5 Family and Friends Chapter 6 Intellectuals Chapter 7 The Journey and its Meaning
