4.5 out of 5 stars, as you might find it a boring slog through a person's not that all revealing day planner/diary.

A judicious and nice selection of Ronald Reagan's diary entries from his time in office. These are mainly just a rehashing of everything he did on a particular day, but sometimes there is some analysis and oftentimes seeing what information is crossing Reagan's desk is helpful in realizing what is going on in his thinking and his administration. Case in point, when you realize that from the very beginning, 1981, evidence is crossing Reagan's desk that the communists in Cuba and in the Soviet Union are providing weapons and other supplies to the communists in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras, you realize why Reagan was so gung-ho about covert operations in the area and aid to the Contras. Without that bit of context, and liberal writers and professor often fail to mention Soviet/Castro money in these countries, it seems as if America is the only nation doing the "meddling" in Central America. well, no, they weren't. Also, you realize that Reagan was (p. 345) concerned about AIDS early on (liberals to this day want to "blame" Reagan for AIDS, for some reason) and that he (p. 434) was starting to not remember things in 1986, and it baffled him. You learn, as every Reaganite already knows, that he (a) really loved Nancy, (b) his children Ron and Patti are ungrateful ne'er-do-wells, and (c) Reagan was never the simple, smiling, dunce liberals believed then and still believe now. All-in-all, good if you can get cheap, especially as you can read the diary entries online now. Good intro, nice photographs, good glossary and index. ( )

I'm not typically into politics or biographies, but I have to admit, I loved this. ( )

Maybe if I'd kept reading longer I would have gotten into this book, but it was just so unbelievably dull and boring... It's one of the few books I gave up on. I read quickly, but there are so many books I'd rather be reading. ( )

**NOTE**
Ok, so I was already teary eyed when I got the RAK because that is so sweet. And I tried reallly hard to not open them yet so I could do it on camera. But I couldnt. This has been on my wishlist since it CAME OUT! I totally cried a little just now. Such an awesome RAK. I love it so much! I feel so blessed for all of my internet friends, I am just beside myself.

The book is an edited version of the daily diaries Reagan kept while he was president. They're short bullet entries. There are quite a few missed days; I guess that the editor did not believe them germane. The book showed the life of the most powerful person on the planet. His devotion to Nancy is remarkable. I was impressed at his response to the liberal press of the time--he seemed to hold no animosity, but rather viewed it as a contest: "I won that round" says he. Further, he seems to know when he had an impact with people...or not...and commented on same. His ups and downs with the Soviets show raw emotion and dedication to the people of both nations. The book shows that the RR who spoke to us on TV was for real. ( )