From AudioFile
Written and read with warmth, this biographical portrait of Ronald Reagan presents an admiration for Reagan not evident in her memoir of her time in his administration. Peggy Noonan, best known as a wordsmith for Reagan and Bush Senior, is also an excellent reader. Her voice is clear and pleasing to the ear, and she successfully communicates the emotive intent of her words. A New Yorker, her voice is upper-class mid-town Manhattan. This book is not pure biography because she also describes in detail her interaction with Reagan. A touching passage is her description of seeing Reagan in 1994 and introducing her young son to the president who no longer remembered her. M.L.C. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM OUR EDITORS

Peggy Noonan, former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, writes about her former boss and why he is so beloved by millions of Americans. Noonan writes, "Presidents tend to come from something." Where did Ronald Reagan come from? What inspired him? What was the secret of his success as president? According to Noonan, it was the strength of his character.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

No one has ever captured Ronald Reagan like Peggy Noonan. In When Character Was King, Noonan brings her own reflections on Reagan to bear as well as new stories - from Presidents George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, his Secret Service men and White House colleagues, his wife, his daughter Patti Davis, and his close friends - to reveal the true nature of a man even his opponents now view as a maker of big history. Marked by incisive wit and elegant prose, When Character Was King will both enlighten and move readers. It may well be the last word on Ronald Reagan, not only as a leader but as a man.

FROM THE CRITICS

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