The Reagan I Knew

by William F. Buckley Jr. Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

Overview

No two people were more important to American conservatism in the postwar era than William F. Buckley Jr. and Ronald Reagan. Buckley's writings provided the intellectual underpinnings, while Reagan brought the conservative movement out of the wilderness and into the White House.

The pair met in 1961 when Reagan introduced a speech by Buckley. When nobody could turn on the microphone, Reagan climbed out a window, walked along a ledge to the locked control room, broke in, and flipped the correct switch. Buckley later described this moment as "a nifty allegory of Reagan's approach to foreign policy: the calm appraisal of a situation, the willingness to take risks, and then the decisive moment leading to lights and sound."

For over thirty years, the two men shared jokes and vacations, advised each other on politics, and counseled each other's children. When Reagan was elected president, Buckley wrote him to say that Reagan should not offer him any position in the new administration; Reagan wrote back saying he had hoped to appoint Buckley US Ambassador to Afghanistan (then under Soviet occupation). For the rest of his term, Reagan called Buckley "Mr. Ambassador." On the day the Soviets withdrew, he wrote Buckley to congratulate him for single-handedly driving out the Red Army "without ever leaving Kabul."

Yet for all the words that have been written about him, Ronald Reagan remains an enigma. His former speechwriter Peggy Noonan called him "paradox all the way down," and even his son Ron Reagan despaired of ever truly knowing him. But Reagan was not an enigma to William F. Buckley, Jr. They understood and taught each other for decades, and together they changed history.

The Reagan I Knew traces the evolution of an extraordinary friendship between two American political giants.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Library Journal
“Buckley has written an enjoyable account of the Reagan years and the camaraderie he shared with the Reagans.”

National Review
"There are layers of bittersweet melancholia in Bill Buckley's memoir of his 30-year friendship with Ronald Reagan. The Reagan I Knew is Buckley's final book; indeed, he was working on the finishing touches the day he died in February. The memory of Reagan, and especially the élan of ascendant conservatism in the 1970s and 1980s that Buckley's memoir rekindles, burns hotter now that conservatives find themselves in the political wilderness again."
 

Philadelphia Inquirer
"The story of the Buckley-Reagan friendship is a compelling one, and the book is an entertaining look back at the Reagan era."
 

Arkansas News
"Like any memoir, there are remembrances containing wonderful details, but Buckley adds to its richness by including a vast array of personal letters, including those between Buckley and Nancy Reagan—they shared a tight bond."
 

Deseret Morning News
"In this slim, often intimate, sometimes poignant book, Buckley, who died last February, chronicles the rise of Reagan, his governorship, his presidency and his sunset years"
 

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169664607
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/13/2008
Edition description:	Unabridged

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