Review

This mammoth collection of previously unpublished radio addresses (as well as a set of occasional papers and speeches) delivered by Ronald Reagan between 1975 and 1979 is intended once and for all to dispel all disparagement of his intellect by liberals, and, by extension, of his presidency as a whole. Opponents on the left (and, during and after his term in office, several members of his cabinet staff) depicted Reagan as an uninformed and passive actor who obligingly took his mark, delivered his lines with an amiable wink, and never quite tumbled to the fact that the roles of B-movie star, GE pitchman, and President of the United States might demand different faculties or carry varying historical weight. The editors—two of them former White House advisers—are at some pains to establish that Reagan himself wrote these addresses, and that he had synthesized his bestselling blend of good cheer, fervent belief in free markets, anti-government rhetoric, and messianic faith in the United States' worldwide mission well before he reached the White House.	1
Indeed, the cumulative weight of these speeches, most of them lasting two pages or so, makes it clear that Reagan was no one's mouthpiece. His ideas, the product of wide (if sometimes idiosyncratic) reading and avid curiosity about the particular topics that interested him, are philosophically consistent and broadly applied. Divided into large sections on foreign policy (subdivided into sections on communism, defense policy, human rights, and the third world), domestic policy (covering, among other areas, education, the environment, health care, and social security), and miscellaneous other writings (spanning 1925 to 1994), the book covers Reagan's thought comprehensively. There is so much here, in fact, that it becomes difficult to imagine assigning all or even much of it for any course—save, perhaps, for a survey of modern conservative thought. Still, taken in parts, samples of this book could certainly furnish helpful fodder for any course in American history. In addition to laying out Reagan's social, political, and cultural assumptions at length, it provides a valuable window into the events and emotions that shaped the emergent conservative consensus on the issues of the late 1970s. To the analysts Reagan was reading, Communism was on the march and was disturbingly successful at winning the war for hearts and minds worldwide (even if it offered repeated proof of its cruelty), while America simply sat by and refused to do its duty. America's defenses were down and its potential choked by cripplingly high taxes and an unreasonable faith in government as the cure for all ills. In showing this, the book also documents the formation of what would be called neo-conservatism, perhaps the dominant 80s' ideology.	2
Not all of the selections have retained their topicality; though accessible to any reader of advanced high-school age or beyond. More than a few talks are caught up in momentary editorial-page controversies or demand more detailed elucidation than the editors provide. For instance, an early speech in which Reagan decries the U.S.'s failure to recognize the newly-elected government of Zimbabwe (p.,17) is meaningless to present-day readers without several paragraphs' worth of clarification. But his discussions of the savagery in Cambodia or the necessity for augmented missile defense require comparatively less explication and would make excellent handouts to a class. Moreover, an extremely useful accompanying CD conveys the experience of hearing Reagan actually deliver these talks, without which any understanding of his appeal is necessarily incomplete. Hollywood had taught him not just how to put a line across but how to craft ideological and emotional clarity that would underscore his positions. "It's good to be reminded that..." he often concludes, while sketching an appealing vision of America as uniquely suited to seize a global role and pursue justice, or while returning again and again to John Winthrop's vision of the "city on a hill." In these ways Reagan located his political views deep within a certain vision of the course of American history. However, the book does not present adequate context to rise above its editors' hagiographic intentions—for one thing, they do not correct sufficiently for Reagan's notorious preference for the vivid, sometimes imaginary anecdote—for another, they brush over morally difficult issues, such as Reagan's stubborn support for South African apartheid. Nevertheless, it provides as thorough a demonstration of the breadth and coherence of his thinking as anyone is likely to need.	3
University High School, San Francisco Jesse Berrett

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