Early Reagan

by Anne Edwards

Book Overview

An in-depth portrayal of Reagan's pre-government years, this book uncovers his formative years: childhood poverty, film stardom, and his politicization via the Screen Actors Guild. Edwards interviewed... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688060501
• ISBN13: 9780688060503
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 617 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A great read for all Reagan aficionados

Anne Edwards depicts Ronald Reagan and his early years as well as any author whom I have read, including Ronald Reagan, himself. In his two autobiographies, "Where's the Rest of Me" and "An American Life," Reagan gave us a glimpse of his early years and of Reagan, himself, as he saw things and as he saw himself. Thanks to Ms. Edwards' in-depth research and extensive interviews, we now get to see Ronald Reagan and his life and times through the eyes of those who grew up with him, watched him grow up, went to school with him, worked with him, or simply knew him during his formative years. I was particularly taken with the thoroughness of Chapters 1-13, which covered the growing-up and coming-of-age years. Where else could one learn that Ronald Reagan first applied for a library card (or number) at the age of ten, on December 20, 1921, that he was given number #3695, that he averaged two books a week, that they were mostly adventures, and that he usually checked them out on weekends? Or, that his mother, Nelle, was thought my many in Dixon to be a faith healer? Or that the log on which he notched his 77 "saves" as a lifeguard at Lowell Park was washed away years later when the Rock River flooded. These early chapters were presented in a delightfully even-handed manner. But, beginning with Chapter 14 the author seemed to change her tenor. Much to my dismay, she appeared to abandon her previous objectivity and become a critic of both the Senate Select Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), throwing in her own pejoratives, and of Reagan's motion pictures and career in general. Even so, however, she provides the most detailed and complete explanation of this period of Reagan's life that I have thus far come across. In the early chapters of the book,1-13, the author paints a vivid and thoughtful picture of the young Ronald Reagan. Anyone seeking to understand Reagan, the man, will certainly find these chapters to be enjoyable and enlightening. Those interested in all aspects of Reagan's life and career will find the remainder of the book to be equally well researched and just as informative. And, because of the author's thoroughness and attention to detail, the reader will likely be able to put many events during Reagan's early life in proper perspective. Bottom line: This is a great book.