Diggins makes a statement at the end that Mr. Reagan was a president ......"politically wise, humane, and magnanimous." My assessment from this reading is that he was politically expedient rather than wise and that, if you wish to believe that he was humane and magnanimous, ask any of the mentally sick people who cannot get the help they need anymore. Sure, the help they could get may not have been very good but it kept them warm and clean and off the streets. And Hayek has a lot to answer for. ( )

Why the low rating? Because I really did not want to read a biography about Ronald Regan. I admit that I went into this book with a scene from The Boondocks in mine- the scene where Huey tells everyone at the dinner party that Ronald Regan is the devil. In short, I feel that this was a fairly balanced account of his life, though I do feel that to compare Regan with Lincoln is stretching it a bit. Regan came off in this book as a happy and carefree grandfather who feels as if everything is going to be okay. That, of course, doesn’t meld well with the culture of selfishness that his policies supported while at the same time cutting welfare off as a parasite to the economy and to America. The Regan years are very much the years of fast paced, caffeine fueled personal economic battles (just watch the movies of that time) and the chant of “Me, Me, Me.” And yes, I also know why Huey would call Regan the devil. It makes sense now. ( )