Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

By Edmund Morris

Book Overview

The only biography ever authorized by a sitting President--yet written with complete interpretive freedom-- Dutch is as revolutionary in method as it is formidable in scholarship. Thirteen years of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394555082
• ISBN13: 9780394555089
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 896 Pages
• Weight: 2.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.8" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

A Fresh Approach with Interesting Insights

I initially shied away from reading Edumund Morris' "Dutch" because I disapproved of the idea of mixing history of an American president with fictional information which actually had the author becoming a friend of the youthful Ronald Reagan in his Illinois days.I was also aware that Morris had won a Pulitzer for his fine biography on the young Theodore Roosevelt, and so I finally decided to give him a chance. The more I read the clearer it was why Morris took a novel approach to history in the case of Reagan. Since after meeting Reagan many times and researching his life Morris decided that he was a complex figure but someone who was too boring to do a conventional book on such as that about Roosevelt, he decided that weaving some fiction and personal commentary would provide the ticket.This technique would not work with just any historical figure, but Reagan affords a unique case in point. His presence and oratorical skills developed over a lifetime of acting make Reagan a formidable influence in the right settings, such as speaking to a huge crowd in Berlin and exhorting, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" In his personal life, however, as well as in administrative situations as a governor of California and president, he could seem remote and distant. Morris explains why, tracing Reagan back to difficult roots in Illinois with an alcoholic father. He sought to create his own world on the one hand while keeping a distance from people to avoid hurt, a classic response to children who have had to bear difficult early home lives.Rather than providing a regular biography, Morris focuses on the impact Reagan has had on people, which is the most fascinating part of his legacy. He uses letters to his son Gavin to depict the response of angry young men of the period. The famous screenwriter and director Phillip Dunne is also used to prove a point as Morris uses his friendship to draw the Hollywood figure into the picture. He relates what liberals thought of Reagan through the years as the future president gravitated from flaming liberal to staunch conservative.This is the personal side of Reagan interestingly explored. For those wanting a regular biography the works of authors such as Lou Cannon and Bob Schieffer are more valuable, but for a character study of an interesting and highly unusual figure who achieved a great impact on the world, this is a work that provides highly worthwhile reading.

Hero

I read this biography a couple of years ago and was very moved by it then. I am now buying a copy on tape for my grandmother, who I know will also appreciate the story of one of the greatest Presidents of our time, particularly in the midst of the election debacle. Readers have complained that there is too much text devoted to the biographer's own life, but I believe that it really adds to the impact of the story. You will find that you have a greater understanding of the times in which Reagan grew up, went to school (and became a Democrat), went to Hollywood (still a Democrat), entered public office (became a Republican..."I didn't leave the Democratic party...the party left me!")and went on to become our President. I can remember exactly where I was, as a little girl in third grade, when Reagan was shot. The story of his survival and recovery is amazing, particularly as told by an observer, one who was both close by and also an ordinary American watching the coverage on television. At the close of the book, we read about Reagan's decline into Alzheimer's and it broke my heart. Having just read about his amazing accomplishments, and blunders! in office (great in-depth coverage of his relationship with the then-Soviet Union), I cried over the description of the way in which he was eventually forced to abandon his full life. Reagan has been misunderstood by many Americans, particularly, but not only, the Left. He's been blamed for the arms race rather than credited for staving off such a confrontation, which he did. He's been blamed for the economy in the 80s rather than credited with the booming market we enjoy today, which is a result of both the market's cyclical nature and Reaganomics (not Clinton as he would like us to believe). This book was written for any American who is still proud of their country and wants to believe the best about its people. Reagan is a great inspiration and one of my personal heroes. By the way, I plan to read Edmund Morris'Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Teddy Roosevelt next. Enjoy! And then buy a copy for your grandmother.

Non-sterile treatment of a fascinating subect

Despite the carping of those more interested in establishing a cult of personality around an important, but imperfect Ronald Reagan, this book is a dynamic exploration of the vigor and frailties of a substantial, if not overly complex president. It is perhaps not politically correct to point out Reagan's almost daily chameleon-like transition from vapid teller of half-lies to "great helmsman" in the final moments of the victorious struggle against the Soviet Union on one hand and the confrontation against the Great Society and common men on the other. But Edmund Morris benefits his subject with his unorthodox technique that supercedes the tired and trite treatment produced by earlier sycophantic hagiographers, particularly Dinesh D'Souza. Morris's technique does not obscure the relevant facts, but accentuates them. And it is the facts that are important here. Although it is early in the game to pronounce on the veracity of all the included material (the book has been officially released for only 2 days as I write this), preemptive efforts by George Will and others to refute these facts have already been roundly disproved. It is an honorable work. These truths may not always be pleasant. But it is important to have a book that faces them boldly and without flinching. Morris gives a sympathetic treatment of a man whose love of his country and the spotlight will outlast the failed and discredited policies of those who have hijacked his legacy.

A thorough documentation of one of our last great leaders

Edmund Morris has spent years documenting the life and times of this country's most recent, great leader, Ronald Reagan. Morris spends a great deal of time detailing Reagan's interpersonal relationships with his family and friends. He begins with Reagan's formative years and how his own father, an alcoholic, affected him through adulthood. Reagan's life in Hollywood, and later in politics, is written in elegant prose with honest introspection. Morris, who was granted numerous personal interviews and unparalleled access to a sitting president, paints a historic picture of a man who was long on courage and morality. A man steeped in strengths, yet with faults that manifested themselves in his private interactions with close friends. This book is an accurate read about a President that was one of the most popular men to hold the office, who will be remembered as being responsible for taking down the "evil empire" one brick at a time.