First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir

By Maureen Reagan

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316736317
• ISBN13: 9780316736312
• Release Date: April 1989
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 444 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 22 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

perky and precious

Maureen Reagan was a savvy, energetic, loyal Republican political operator who happened to be the daughter of our 40th president. She's written a lively memoir that sheds new light on her father during her childhood and early adult years, as well as some revelations regarding the behind-the-scenes battles at the White House. Certain folks don't come off very well. Some, like Don Regan, are no surprise, but Mike Deaver? Maureen lived life to the fullest despite some hard setbacks that didn't slow her down. If you read one book by a Reagan child, avoid everything written by Patti Davis, consider Michael's books, but pick this one.

The love of this daughter for her father shines through

You're going to like this author. She writes in an easy going, light hearted style, which makes for enjoyable reading. And in telling her story, she also tells much of the story of Ronald Reagan with an insight and depth of understanding which only a Reagan family member could possess. Her memoir, then, give us, the reader, a fly-on-the-wall's view of what it was really like to be Ronald Reagan's daughter; what President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, were really like behind closed doors; how many historically important decisions were made in the privacy of the Reagan home; and what Maureen Reagan really thought about some of those who came in contact with her or her father during Reagan's years in public life. Pulling no punches, Maureen tells it like it really was and shines the light of truth on some interesting aspects of Reagan family life and some events about which many have written, but about which few have any real knowledge. But Maureen had an interesting and challenging life and career of her own. She was the daughter of two famous movie stars and a child of divorce who spent most of her youth in boarding schools. Married at twenty, she found herself in a physically abusive relationship which she couldn't talk about and which she was afraid to end for fear that she would be killed. (Chapter 6 is a must read for anyone in such a situation.) Freed of that marriage, she struggled to make her way in the world, working at various times as a singer, an actress, in public relations, as a radio talk show host, and more often than not as a volunteer campaign worker for the Republican Party. But when her father finally entered the political arena to run for governor of California she was prevented from campaigning on his behalf because those running his campaign feared that news of his earlier divorce would hurt his chances. Maureen and her brother Michael were forced to become invisible "non-persons." But even then, Maureen remained politically active behind the scenes by supporting other Republican candidates for office. At the same time, she continued to pursue a career in show business; but as she said, she had three strikes against her - Ronald Reagan's acting career, Jane Wyman's acting career, and Reagan's conservative politics. Maureen did, however, find minor roles and extensive work in TV commercials. Finally, she found her real role in life as an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) activist, consultant on women's affairs, and an expert on international trade. Then, at long last, in 1980, she got her wish. She was allowed to campaign for her father, and she campaigned vigorously, not just then, but for the remainder of his political life. In 1985, she was chosen to chair the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations World Conference for the UN Commission on the Status of Women, became the U.S representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and went on to be appointed co-chairman of the Republican National Committee. Al