The book begins with the former president’s death, carefully described by news commentator Bill O’Reilly. With hardly a pause, Robert Petkoff picks up the narrative using somber tones as the book’s chronology jumps all the way back to Reagan’s film career. Petkoff increases the pace of the narrative when describing exciting and tense episodes in Reagan’s later life, including his governorship in California, 1967-1975; his presidency, 1980-1989; the attempted assassination by John Hinckley, Jr., in 1981; and his death in 2004. Political events, verbal gaffes, and repetitive speeches are recounted in Petkoff’s steady tones. Petkoff holds listeners’ attention throughout this account of Reagan’s life and times. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
In many ways, Ronald Reagan has never really left us—politics aside, the impression he made on both the Republican Party and the American imagination remains as potent and powerful as ever.
September is back-to-school time, but even if you’re long graduated, it’s a good month for learning new things and hearing new stories. This month’s top picks in history paint fascinating portraits of presidents, heroes, cities, and wars, and transport readers to some of the last century’s most critical turning points. Take yourself back to school […]
October’s top picks in history are all about people, the best and the worst of them. From the mass hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials, to the inspirational friendship of fighter pilots during the Korean War, to a close study of the Nixon aide who disclosed the taping system that led to Nixon’s downfall, this month’s books take […]
In Killing the Rising Sun, the sixth book in his best-selling history series, Bill O’Reilly once again brings a fresh angle to a well-known chapter of history. The end of World War II in the Pacific and the dropping of the first atomic bomb is familiar to most Americans, but looking past the sides of history we’re […]