Max Boot, historian and foreign-policy analyst, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post. His New York Times bestseller The Road Not Taken was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
"Max Boot's Reagan biography is superb--in my judgment, definitive. He has achieved what Edmund Morris could not--a coherent and compelling portrait of an enigmatic and elusive figure, one which is also notably fair-minded.--Richard North Patterson, political commentator This comprehensive biography--relying on a decade of research, unearthed records, and revealing interviews--separates man from myth, offering a compelling and clear-eyed portrait of this consequential president and the country he shaped.--Karen Tumulty, author of The Triumph of Nancy Reagan This is a timely and fascinating book, just what we need to understand, and perhaps transcend, our current age of political paralysis and polarization. Understanding Reagan is key to understanding our politics today.--Walter Isaacson, author of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs Well researched and reported accurately. Ronald Reagan was a complicated man, yet a caring one. Max Boot beautifully catches the essence of who he was.--Stuart K. Spencer, Ronald Reagan's political consultant, 1966-1984 An unabashed revisionist history of the 40th president of the U.S....The amount of research Boot conducted is immense, and his portrait of Reagan is enhanced not only by the passage of time since Reagan's administrations, but by the author's 100+ forthright interviews and the availability of more archival materials....Boot's account of the life and times of Reagan is, as promised, no hagiography...A prodigiously researched, satisfying presidential bio.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Using newly released documents and the perspective of decades, Boot portrays Reagan as a principled conservative, but also a pragmatist who thoughtfully compromised to attain achievable results...Boot's clear-headed biography brims with insightful anecdotes and clears away myth to give a more solid portrait of a remarkable politician.--Booklist, starred review This is the definitive Reagan biography that so many of us have been waiting for. Max Boot clears away the myths and presents the real Ronald Reagan, with all of his strengths and also his shortcomings. If you like biographies, you'll love Reagan: His Life and Legend.--General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former CIA director"