The Reagan I Knew by William F. Buckley Jr.

From the Publisher

In The Regan I Knew, the late William F. Buckley Jr. offers a reminiscence of thirty years of friendship with the man who brought the American conservative movement out of the political wilderness and into the White House. Ronald Reagan and Buckley were political allies and close friends throughout Reagan’s political career. They went on vacations together and shared inside jokes. When Reagan was elected president, Buckley wrote him to say that Reagan should not offer him any position in the new administration; Reagan wrote back saying he had hoped to appoint Buckley U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (then under Soviet occupation). For the rest of his term, Reagan called Buckley “Mr. Ambassador.” On the day the Soviets withdrew, he wrote Buckley to congratulate him for single-handedly driving out the Red Army “without ever leaving Kabul.”

Yet for all the words that have been written about him, Ronald Reagan remains an enigma. His former speechwriter Peggy Noonan called him “paradox all the way down,” and even his son Ron Reagan despaired of ever truly knowing him. But Reagan was not an enigma to William F. Buckley Jr. They understood and taught each other for decades, and together they changed history.

This book presents an American political giant as seen by another giant, who knew him perhaps better than anyone else. It is the most revealing portrait of Ronald Reagan the world is likely to have.

Publishers Weekly

Buckley worked on this book-commemorating his 30-relationship with Ronald Reagan-up to his final days. He struggles to paint a picture of a more private Reagan, but the book sheds little fresh insight; instead, it is a scattershot compilation of Buckley's reminiscences and reprinted correspondence between the author and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Malcolm Hillgartner performs a good balancing act, shifting from the essays to the letters with subtle changes that clearly indicate whose letter is being read. His most impressive feat is creating a clear yet subdued voice within the reading to indicate when footnotes or asides for clarification are being made. A Basic Books hardcover. (Jan.)

Karl Helicher - Library Journal

Buckley, the icon of conservative intellectuals, founder of the National Review and host of Firing Line, wrote almost 50 books and completed most of this one before his death. It offers a compilation of his correspondence with Ronald and Nancy Reagan during a friendship that began in 1961, narratives about Reagan's entire political career, a sampling of Buckley's columns, and an engaging foreword by Buckley's son, the popular novelist Christopher Buckley. The book does not live up to its promotional copy as "the most revealing portrait of Ronald Reagan the world is likely to have," because Ronald Reagan's responses to Buckley's letters are focused on politics and daily events and less introspective than they are humorous. Nevertheless, Buckley has written an enjoyable account of the Reagan years and the camaraderie he shared with the Reagans. He concludes that Reagan's legacy is his opposition to big government, his role in the fall of the Soviet Union, and his having been the nicest person to have been President. Recommended for most public libraries.

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Table of Contents