Although he left office nearly 20 years ago, Ronald Reagan remains a potent symbol for the conservative movement. The Bush administration frequently invokes Reagan's legacy as it formulates and promotes its fiscal, domestic, and foreign policies. His name is a watchword for campus conservatives who regard him in a way that borders on hero worship. Conservative media pundits often equate the term Reagan-esque with personal honor, fiscal rectitude, and unqualified success in dealing with foreign threats. But how much of the Reagan legacy is based on fact, how much on idealized myth? And what are the reasons - political and otherwise - behind the mythmaking? Deconstructing Reagan is a fascinating study of the interplay of politics and memory concerning our fortieth president. While giving credit where credit is due, the authors scrutinize key aspects of the Reagan legacy and the conservative mythology that surrounds it.

Michael Schaller supplies the historical background to show how the US transformed Japan from enemy to ally, covering the crucial years from 1945 to 1973 in which Japan emerged as a regional and global economic power. Schaller focuses on political, strategic, and economic relations, illuminating the connections between America's early trade policies toward Japan and the desire to secure the country as a bulwark against Communism in Asia.

Although he left office nearly 20 years ago, Ronald Reagan remains a potent symbol for the conservative movement. The Bush administration frequently invokes his legacy as it formulates and promotes its fiscal, domestic, and foreign policies. His name is watchword for campus conservatives who regard him in a way that borders on hero worship. Conservative media pundits often equate the term "Reagan-esque" with personal honor, fiscal rectitude, and unqualified success in dealing with foreign threats. But how much of the Reagan legacy is based on fact, how much on idealized myth? And what are the reasons - political and otherwise - behind the mythmaking? "Deconstructing Reagan" is a fascinating study of the interplay of politics and memory concerning our fortieth president. While giving credit where credit is due, the authors scrutinize key aspects of the Reagan legacy and the conservative mythology that surrounds it.

A brief but comprehensive and non-polemical overview of the presidency that revolutionized politics. Written from a historian's perspective, this book treats the legacy of Reagan as well as the events of his administration.

In this short biography, Michael Schaller, acclaimed historian of the American political right, offers readers a poignant account of Ronald Reagan's life and achievements, from his small-town upbringing in rural Illinois to his cinematic success in Hollywood, entry into politics as governor of California, and meteoric rise to the White House, where he served for eight years. The polarizing Great Communicator oversaw many developments that changed the face of American politics and life-the Iran-Contra Affair, the establishment of "Reaganomics," the largest military buildup in peacetime US history--and as such remains a figure about whom much is written and much has yet to be discovered. Schaller revisits each of these episodes during and leading up to the Reagan presidency, taking into account the latest scholarship and research. In doing so, he makes clear their significance at the time and in later years.
While most presidential biographies approach 1,000 pages, this succinct narrative comes in at just over 100 pages, continuing the tradition of excellence in brevity established by James McPherson's New York Times bestseller Abraham Lincoln and Alan Brinkley's recent short biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Schaller's biography of Ronald Reagan will be available in time to commemorate the centennial of Reagan's birth, an opportune time to reflect on the accomplishments of America's fortieth president.

'A fascinating account... This volume will be indispensable to all who seek to understand the more recent chapters in the historic struggle between the two superpowers.' New York Times