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Reagan
- The Life
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
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A hundred years after his inauguration, Woodrow Wilson still stands as one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, and one of the most enigmatic. And now, after more than a decade of research and writing, Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg has completed Wilson - the most personal and penetrating biography ever written about the 28th President. This is not just Wilson the icon - but Wilson the man.
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Well Written & Narrated But Too Much Hero Worship
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By: A. Scott Berg
Publisher's summary
From master storyteller and New York Times best-selling biographer H. W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the first full life of Ronald Reagan since his death.
Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty. Reagan sought to restore democracy by bolstering capitalism. In Brands' telling, how Reagan, who voted four times for FDR, engineered a conservative transformation of American politics is both a riveting personal journey and the story of America in the modern era.
Brands follows Reagan as his ambition for ever-larger stages compelled him from a troubled childhood in small-town Illinois to become a radio announcer and then the quintessential public figure of modern America, a movie star. In Hollywood, Reagan edged closer to public service as the president of the Screen Actors' Guild before a stalled film career led to his unlikely reinvention as the voice of General Electric and a spokesman for corporate America. Reagan follows its subject on his improbable political rise, from the 1960s, when he was first elected governor of California, to his triumphant election in 1980 as president of the United States. Brands employs archival sources not available to previous biographers and dozens of interviews with surviving members of the administration. The result is an exciting narrative and a fresh understanding of a crucially important president and his era.
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- By: Chris Matthews
- Narrated by: Chris Matthews
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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They were the political odd couple - the two most powerful men in the country, a pair who "couldn't be more different or more the same." For six years, Matthews was on the inside, watching the evolving relationship between President Reagan and Speaker of the House O’Neill. Drawing not only on his own remarkable knowledge but on extensive interviews with those closest to his subjects, Matthews brings this unlikely friendship to life in his unique voice.
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I didn't want it to end
- By Jim on 10-06-13
By: Chris Matthews
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The Restless Wave
- Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations
- By: John McCain, Mark Salter
- Narrated by: John McCain, Beau Bridges
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In a time when Washington, DC and the country are more polarized than they have been for decades, John McCain is the rare public figure who has earned the respect of people on both sides of the aisle. He is a model for bipartisanship and political integrity. In his 40 years in politics, McCain has never been afraid to buck trends or ruffle a few feathers. His words are more important today than ever.
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A true patriot
- By Diane Peresie on 05-29-18
By: John McCain, and others
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Three Days in January
- Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier, Danny Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In this debut history from one of America's most influential political journalists, Bret Baier casts the three days between Dwight Eisenhower's prophetic "farewell address" on the evening of January 17, 1961, and his successor John F. Kennedy's inauguration on the afternoon of January 20 as the final mission of one of modern America's greatest leaders.
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Gently In Manner, Strongly In Deed...
- By Gillian on 01-20-17
By: Bret Baier, and others
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Three Days in Moscow
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In Three Days in Moscow, Baier explores the dramatic endgame of America’s long struggle with the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan’s central role in shaping the world we live in today. On May 31, 1988, Reagan stood on Russian soil and addressed a packed audience at Moscow State University, delivering a remarkable - yet now largely forgotten - speech that capped his first visit to the Soviet capital.
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Amazing!
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-20-18
By: Bret Baier, and others
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The Netanyahu Years
- Translated by Ora Cummings
- By: Ben Caspit
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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A portrait of the current Israeli prime minister, one of Israel's more noticeable leaders in recent decades. Benjamin Netanyahu is currently serving his fourth term in office as prime minister of Israel, the longest serving prime minister in the country's history. Now Israeli journalist Ben Caspit puts Netanyahu's life under a magnifying glass, focusing on his last two terms in office.
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weak
- By kay on 06-11-18
By: Ben Caspit
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Camelot's Court
- Inside the Kennedy White House
- By: Robert Dallek
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Fifty years after John F. Kennedy's assassination, presidential historian Robert Dallek, whom The New York Times calls "Kennedy's leading biographer", delivers a riveting new portrait of this president and his inner circle of advisors, their rivalries, personality clashes, and political battles. In Camelot's Court, Dallek analyzes the brain trust whose contributions to the successes and failures of Kennedy's administration - including the Bay of Pigs, civil rights, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam - were indelible.
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Well Researched but Critically Flawed
- By brent lloyd on 02-08-22
By: Robert Dallek
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LBJ's 1968
- Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval
- By: Kyle Longley
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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1968 was an unprecedented year in terms of upheaval on numerous scales: political, military, economic, social, cultural. In the United States, perhaps no one was more undone by the events of 1968 than President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Kyle Longley leads his listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of what Johnson characterized as the 'year of a continuous nightmare'. Longley explores how LBJ perceived the most significant events of 1968, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Worst year in my lifetime - LBJ tragedy of his own making - but not according to this Author.
- By charles wartelle on 05-17-19
By: Kyle Longley
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Reagan's Secret War
- The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster
- By: Martin Anderson, Annelise Anderson
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Martin and Annelise Anderson drew upon their access to more than eight million classified documents housed within the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. What emerges from this treasure trove of material is evidence that Reagan intended from his first days in office to bring down the Soviet Union, that he considered eliminating nuclear weapons his paramount objective, and that he was the principal architect of the policies that brought the Soviets to the nuclear-arms negotiating table.
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IMPORTANT HISTORICAL INFORMATION
- By Byron on 06-19-12
By: Martin Anderson, and others
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Roosevelt's Second Act
- The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War
- By: Richard Moe
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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On August 31, 1939, nearing the end of his second and presumably final term in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was working in the Oval Office and contemplating construction of his presidential library and planning retirement. The next day German tanks had crossed the Polish border; Britain and France had declared war. Overnight the world had changed, and FDR found himself being forced to consider a dramatically different set of circumstances.
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Puts listener in the moment.
- By Jake on 05-16-14
By: Richard Moe
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Ronald Reagan is an American success story. From modest beginnings in a small midwestern town to a distinguished career in films and television, he lived the American dream; as governor of California and as the centurys most popular president, he embodied and revitalized the American spirit.
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Restored my hope that American can again be great!
- By Greg on 07-31-12
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Reagan
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More than five years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews and access to previously unavailable documents, and infused with irresistible storytelling charm, Bob Spitz's Reagan stands fair to be the first truly post-partisan biography of our 40th president, and thus a balm for our own bitterly divided times. Absorbing and richly detailed, it is a revelatory chronicle of the full arc of Ronald Reagan's epic life - giving full weight to the Hollywood years, his transition to politics and successful run as California governor, and ultimately, his iconic presidency.
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Pretty obvious this was written by a Democrat
- By Amazon Customer on 11-04-19
By: Bob Spitz
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Traitor to His Class
- The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
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A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
By: H. W. Brands
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The Reagan Diaries
- Extended Selections
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
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During his two terms as the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded, by hand, his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine day-to-day occurrences of his presidency. Now, nearly two decades after he left office, this remarkable record, the only daily Presidential diary in American history, is available for the first time.
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True American Hero
- By Stephen on 06-21-07
By: Ronald Reagan
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The Peacemaker
- Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink
- By: William Inboden
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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With decades of hindsight, the peaceful end of the Cold War seems a foregone conclusion. But in the early 1980s, most experts believed the Soviet Union was strong, stable, and would last into the next century. Ronald Reagan entered the White House with no certainty of what would happen next, only an overriding faith in democracy and an abiding belief that Soviet communism—and the threat of nuclear war—must end. The Peacemaker reveals how Reagan’s White House waged the Cold War while managing multiple crises around the globe.
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a very good book
- By Dale Sarver on 01-09-23
By: William Inboden
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T.R.
- The Last Romantic
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Matt Kugler
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Lauded as "a rip-roaring life" (Wall Street Journal), T.R. is a magisterial biography of Theodore Roosevelt by best-selling author H. W. Brands. In his time, there was no more popular national figure than Roosevelt. It was not just the energy he brought to every political office he held or his unshakable moral convictions that made him so popular, or even his status as a bona fide war hero. Most important, Theodore Roosevelt was loved by the people because this scion of a privileged New York family loved America and Americans.
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Too much opinion
- By Jen Daniels on 01-26-20
By: H. W. Brands
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An American Life
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
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Ronald Reagan is an American success story. From modest beginnings in a small midwestern town to a distinguished career in films and television, he lived the American dream; as governor of California and as the centurys most popular president, he embodied and revitalized the American spirit.
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Restored my hope that American can again be great!
- By Greg on 07-31-12
By: Ronald Reagan
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Reagan
- An American Journey
- By: Bob Spitz
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 32 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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More than five years in the making, based on hundreds of interviews and access to previously unavailable documents, and infused with irresistible storytelling charm, Bob Spitz's Reagan stands fair to be the first truly post-partisan biography of our 40th president, and thus a balm for our own bitterly divided times. Absorbing and richly detailed, it is a revelatory chronicle of the full arc of Ronald Reagan's epic life - giving full weight to the Hollywood years, his transition to politics and successful run as California governor, and ultimately, his iconic presidency.
-
-
Pretty obvious this was written by a Democrat
- By Amazon Customer on 11-04-19
By: Bob Spitz
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Traitor to His Class
- The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
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A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
By: H. W. Brands
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The Reagan Diaries
- Extended Selections
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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During his two terms as the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan kept a daily diary in which he recorded, by hand, his innermost thoughts and observations on the extraordinary, the historic, and the routine day-to-day occurrences of his presidency. Now, nearly two decades after he left office, this remarkable record, the only daily Presidential diary in American history, is available for the first time.
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True American Hero
- By Stephen on 06-21-07
By: Ronald Reagan
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The Peacemaker
- Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink
- By: William Inboden
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 23 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With decades of hindsight, the peaceful end of the Cold War seems a foregone conclusion. But in the early 1980s, most experts believed the Soviet Union was strong, stable, and would last into the next century. Ronald Reagan entered the White House with no certainty of what would happen next, only an overriding faith in democracy and an abiding belief that Soviet communism—and the threat of nuclear war—must end. The Peacemaker reveals how Reagan’s White House waged the Cold War while managing multiple crises around the globe.
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a very good book
- By Dale Sarver on 01-09-23
By: William Inboden
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T.R.
- The Last Romantic
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Matt Kugler
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lauded as "a rip-roaring life" (Wall Street Journal), T.R. is a magisterial biography of Theodore Roosevelt by best-selling author H. W. Brands. In his time, there was no more popular national figure than Roosevelt. It was not just the energy he brought to every political office he held or his unshakable moral convictions that made him so popular, or even his status as a bona fide war hero. Most important, Theodore Roosevelt was loved by the people because this scion of a privileged New York family loved America and Americans.
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Too much opinion
- By Jen Daniels on 01-26-20
By: H. W. Brands
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The General vs. the President
- MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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From master storyteller and historian H. W. Brands comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America's future in the aftermath of World War II.
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A Vivid Dramatic Accounting
- By Jean on 11-11-16
By: H. W. Brands
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Andrew Jackson
- His Life and Times
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The most famous American of his time, Andrew Jackson is a seminal figure in American history. The first "common man" to rise to the presidency, Jackson embodied the spirit and the vision of the emerging American nation; the term "Jacksonian democracy" is embedded in our national lexicon. With the sweep, passion, and attention to detail that made The First American a Pulitzer Prize finalist, historian H.W. Brands shapes a historical narrative that's as fast-paced and compelling as the best fiction.
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Very Thorough
- By Eric on 02-07-06
By: H.W. Brands
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Dutch
- A Memoir of Ronald Reagan
- By: Edmund Morris
- Narrated by: Edmund Morris
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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This book, the only biography ever authorized by a sitting President - yet written with complete interpretive freedom - is as revolutionary in method as it is formidable in scholarship. When Ronald Reagan moved into the White House in 1981, one of his first literary guests was Edmund Morris, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Theodore Roosevelt. Morris developed a fascination for the genial yet inscrutable President and, after Reagan's landslide reelection in 1984, put aside the second volume of his life of Roosevelt to become an observing eye and ear at the White House.
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Painful
- By john on 02-06-13
By: Edmund Morris
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The Man Who Saved the Union
- Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 27 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous brief presidency of Andrew Johnson, America turned to Grant again to unite the country, this time as president. In Brands' sweeping, majestic full biography, Grant emerges as a heroic figure who was fearlessly on the side of right.
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Underrated hero
- By Tad Davis on 12-22-12
By: H. W. Brands
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Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
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Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
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Reagan in His Own Voice
- Ronald Reagan's Radio Addresses
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Original Recording
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From 1975 to 1979 Ronald Reagan gave more than 1,000 daily radio broadcasts, the great majority of which he wrote himself. These addresses transform our image of Reagan, and enhance and revise our understanding of the late 1970s - a time when Reagan held no political office, but was nonetheless mapping out a strategy to transform the economy, end the Cold War, and create a vision of America that would propel him to the presidency.
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I LOVED this -common sense in Reagan's own voice
- By Michael R. Ditson on 06-10-04
By: Ronald Reagan
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American Colossus
- The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 23 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In a grand-scale narrative history, the bestselling author of two finalists for the Pulitzer Prize now captures the decades when capitalism was at its most unbridled and a few breathtakingly wealthy businessmen utterly transformed America from an agrarian economy to a world power.
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8 Thoughts on 'American Colossus'
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: H. W. Brands
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Heirs of the Founders
- The Epic Rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 1800s, three young men strode onto the national stage, elected to Congress at a moment when the Founding Fathers were beginning to retire to their farms. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, a champion orator known for his eloquence, spoke for the North and its business class. Henry Clay of Kentucky, as dashing as he was ambitious, embodied the hopes of the rising West. South Carolina's John Calhoun, with piercing eyes and an even more piercing intellect, defended the South and slavery.
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Excellent
- By Jean on 12-04-18
By: H. W. Brands
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Destiny and Power
- The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush
- By: Jon Meacham
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the 41st president and his family, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times.
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Fair and insightful
- By Jean on 12-02-15
By: Jon Meacham
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Our First Civil War
- Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels? That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution.
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Not a fresh take on the Revolution
- By James on 01-05-22
By: H. W. Brands
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FDR
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 32 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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One of today's premier biographers, Jean Edward Smith, has written a modern, comprehensive, indeed ultimate book on the epic life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This is a portrait painted in broad strokes and fine details. We see how Roosevelt's restless energy, fierce intellect, personal magnetism, and ability to project effortless grace permitted him to master countless challenges throughout his life. Smith recounts FDR's personal battles and also tackles head-on and in depth the numerous failures and miscues of Roosevelt's political career.
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Interesting but flawed
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-15-13
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Speaking My Mind
- Selected Speeches with Personal Reflections
- By: Ronald Reagan
- Narrated by: Ronald Reagan
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
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One man, more than any other, has helped define the most important issues of our time. His name is Ronald Reagan, one of our nation's most powerful and popular Presidents. This extraordinary audio collection includes historical excerpts from selected addresses that span his political career, laying out his vision for America and the world.
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Speaking My Mind
- By KJM on 12-16-07
By: Ronald Reagan
What listeners say about Reagan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jack Merritt
- 07-30-15
Very little about Reagan
I thought I was going to hear a bio of President Reagan, but surprisingly, this is not the case. The author continually drifted into historical tangents with nothing to do with Ronald Reagan. I understand some background needs to be included to let the reader understand the subject but there is more written about others than the subject.
I enjoy history so it was not painful and sometimes even enjoyable but I just don't feel like I know President Reagan better than I knew before the book.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Trey S.
- 03-16-17
Disappointed
What would have made Reagan better?
If you want to hear an account of Reagan's life filled with veiled condescension, that asserts that he became president because he enjoyed attention, makes excuses for Jimmy Carter, and at times comes close to fawning over Mikhail Gorbachev, then this is your book.
Would you ever listen to anything by H. W. Brands again?
No. Not an objective narrative.
What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The reader did an excellent job.
What character would you cut from Reagan?
NA
Any additional comments?
I did not want to read a gushing sonata to Reagan, but the book's obsessive coverage of the debunked conspiracy theory that Reagan colluded with Iran to be elected especially turned me off. I would not recommend this book.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Scott
- 08-24-15
Where's the beef?
What did you like best about Reagan? What did you like least?
This bio is rich in information but scant in insight. The author had his work cut out for him – Reagan was famous for being inscrutable, even to those closest to him. Hence, this bio relies heavily on the public record as well as Reagan’s speeches and interviews for material Brands does a good job chronicling Reagan’s presidency – there is rich behind the scenes details of the Reykjavik summit in particular, but you get the sense that Reagan’s aides and confidants either weren’t interviewed for the book or weren't in the mood to talk. What you get is a detailed but superficial (though not uncritical) bio but perhaps that is the best that can be expected, especially since the right has made Reagan such a venerated, unassailable figurehead. Readers hoping for a view into what made Reagan tick, or his personal life, will likely come away disappointed.
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8 people found this helpful
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- AG Bell
- 07-10-15
Lacks depth and analysis
If you're a fan of biographers like Manchester, Goodwin, and Caro I think you will find this a bit thin. When I think of Reagan, the most obvious question that comes to mind is how did he go from a washed up actor to a two term president? How did he acquire his world view and vision? His management skills? His skills as a negotiator? I've read the book, and I have a very cursory idea of Reagan's metamorphosis. He obviously read a lot - but what were his sources? He negotiated as part of his role with the screen actor's guild, but we need more specific examples. He wrote a lot - how were his radio speeches created? What lead to him becoming such a political force? To me those are core questions that any serious study of the man should seek to elucidate.
Overall the book provides a very surface treatment of RR's life, almost like a Reader's Digest article in long form. You'll see the high points and know the timeline, but not much else. It's fine for what it is, but I have no where near the insight into Reagan that I feel I received with Lyndon Johnson thanks to Caro. Lastly, I found the narration extremely tedious, with the same cadence and intonation repeated over and over again.
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7 people found this helpful
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- My Name
- 05-31-15
Comprehensive, fast-paced and well told
This is a very interesting book that never gets bogged down. Although 30+ hours long, Brands narrative and Hoye's performance move along at a quick pace and I was left wanting more. Author H.W. Brands spends relatively more time on two aspects of Reagan's presidency: his face-to-face negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev in Iceland and the mismanagement that led to the Iran-Contra affair, both of which were fascinating, but for different reasons.
One cannot help buy compare any presidential biography with Robert Caro's soon-to-be five volume biography on Lyndon Johnson. Caro's LBJ is to presidential biographies as Beethoven's 9th symphony is to later symphonic works--they are the gold standard. Brands does not provide the depth or context that Caro does and there were times when I wish he did. For example, I would have liked Brands to provide a contextual analysis of deterrence and nuclear weapons--a recurring topic in this book--in the same way that Caro provided background on Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the life-changing impact of rural electrification in southwest Texas.
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7 people found this helpful
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- familyman1
- 03-04-16
Great man but seemingly biased author
The story was very good. And very thorough and I learned a lot I did not know. However, the author took many liberties in relating the presumed thoughts and motives behind Reagan and others in the story. He interlace them to seem like facts but clearly seems to be the authors Bias toward directing blame toward and deflecting credit from Reagan whenever possible.
However, the story had enough great attributes of Reagan that the bias disbursed throughout would only mildly annoy the fan of Reagan, while at the same time act to entertain the critics of Reagan. It's unfortunate when authors let their own biases creep into nonfiction books like this. In this respect, at times it had more of a feel of historical fiction. In spite of this, still probably worth listening to.
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- Kevin Raybon
- 06-02-15
Strong Biography - Terrible Narration
Listening to this has been painful. The narrator is obviously all about himself and not about conveying the story to the listener.
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- Benny Profane
- 06-01-21
Good insights into challenging subject
Spoiler alert!
It's amazing that SDI played such a significant -- and ultimately positive -- role in history. As one of the people who mocked the idea of "Star Wars" when Reagan his gang spoke of it, you'll learn here it played a critical part in bringing Gorbachev to the table... and breaking him down in negotiations. Even if, perhaps, sacrificing it could have led to an even better outcome.
Second, I've noticed some folks claiming "bias" by the author. My guess is these are purists on the right wing who don't want to know anything bad about their hero. Brands is a pro (see his list of biographies). This is a well-wrought picture of a challenging subject.
The best take-away you'll get is that Reagan was to the right of the mainstream BUT he also was a pragmatist. He got stuff done. He also fit perfectly with his time. We needed an optimist in the 1980s. His, "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!" speech came from him, not a speech writer. He deserves significant credit for the fall of Soviet communism. For real. It probably would have happened without him... but it did happen with him.
Reagan's life trajectory was always interesting -- second-tier actor to president -- but it's also clear that his affable remoteness made him a difficult subject to psychoanalyze. He didn't have many close friends. His first marriage possessed about a quarter inch of depth. Nancy is a piece of work, from her aggressive pursuit of Reagan, to her astrology, to her clashing with cabinet members, most notably Don Regan.
And Iran–Contra was a real mess, though I think Brands does a pretty thorough job of showing that Reagan's hands-off management style allowed the scandal to happen without Reagan's knowledge. You get a full picture of how Poindexter and North were truly criminal actors and not "heroes" as some have pretended.
I'm a left-of-center guy but I think we need to respect honest ideological opponents. Reagan was far from perfect, far for the super hero as many on the right portray, but he certainly was a successful, important president. I think Brands' parallel with FDR, whom Reagan voted for three times, makes sense, as ideological opposites but fully aligned in style, talents and love of country.
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- Jose
- 08-21-15
Reminds you why Reagan was great
Hoye as Narrator is ok but not great
The book is a balanced look at Reagan. He got old in office, no doubt. He should have been president in the 1970s...while at his peak. But boy did the old man save America.
The Paul Volcker anecdote is worth the entire book. "Why do we need a Federal Reserve?" Everybody needs to ask that question.
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- Scott Wozniak
- 06-23-15
Thorough and thoughtful
This long biography captured the life of Ronald Reagan with honesty, fairness, and warmth. It's not biased toward a political persuasion. It mixes personal moments and global issues beautifully.
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