What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era

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Overview

On the hundredth anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth comes the twentieth-anniversary edition of Peggy Noonan’s critically acclaimed bestseller What I Saw at the Revolution, for which she provides a new Preface that demonstrates this book’s timeless relevance. As a special assistant to the president, Noonan worked with Ronald Reagan—and with Vice President George H. W. Bush—on some of their most memorable speeches. Noonan shows us the world behind the words, and her sharp, vivid portraits of President Reagan and ...
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More About This Book

Overview

On the hundredth anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth comes the twentieth-anniversary edition of Peggy Noonan’s critically acclaimed bestseller What I Saw at the Revolution, for which she provides a new Preface that demonstrates this book’s timeless relevance. As a special assistant to the president, Noonan worked with Ronald Reagan—and with Vice President George H. W. Bush—on some of their most memorable speeches. Noonan shows us the world behind the words, and her sharp, vivid portraits of President Reagan and a host of Washington’s movers and shakers are rendered in inimitable, witty prose. Her priceless account of what it was like to be a speechwriter among bureaucrats, and a woman in the last bastion of male power, makes this a Washington memoir that breaks the mold—as spirited, sensitive, and thoughtful as Peggy Noonan herself.

The political memoirs of Ronald Reagan's and George Bush's favorite speechwriter.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Noonan left a job as writer for Dan Rather at CBS-TV to join Reagan's White House as a speechwriter; later she helped Geoge Bush defeat Michael Dukakis, devising such catch phrases as ``a thousand points of light.'' Part political memoir, part autobiography, this conversational, effusive, anecdotal reminiscence offers a reverential portrait of ex-president Reagan ``probably the sweetest, most innocent man ever to serve in the Oval Office'' that at times borders on embarrassing, schoolgirlish adulation. Not surprisingly, perhaps, she gives us Reagan's view of himself instead of detached analysis. She discusses White House in-fighting, the 1984 presidential campaign, key speeches she wrote or helped shape, her clash with Don Regan, the drive to win public support for the contras. There are cameos of Pat Buchanan, Larry Speakes, Andy Rooney, Bill Moyers and others, along with an extended defense of conservative ideology and policies. First serial to New York Times Magazine, Mirabella and Saturday Evening Post; BOMC altenate. Mar.
Booknews
Noonan was a special assistant and speechwriter for the president. This is her account of life in Washington during the Reagan years. Surprisingly (for a speechwriter) she tells a good story--perceptive, witty, and stylish--she's at her best on Donald Regan and Nancy Reagan. No references or notes. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780812969894
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 10/14/2003
  • Edition description: Reprint
  • Pages: 384
  • Sales rank: 257,027
  • Product dimensions: 5.18 (w) x 8.01 (h) x 0.80 (d)

Meet the Author

Peggy Noonan was a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986; in 1988, she was chief speechwriter to Vice President George Bush during his campaign for presidency; in 1989, she left Washington, D.C., for her native New York, where she completed her first book, the bestselling What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Years. Since that time, her articles and essays have appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, and many other publications. She is also author of The Case Against Hillary Clinton, a #1 New York Times bestseller. Currently, she is a columnist and contributing editor at The Wall Street Journal and a political contributor for Fox News. She lives in New York City.
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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 12, 2005

    LADY OF LEADERSHIP

    PEGGY NOONAN WAS ONE OF PRESIDENT REAGANS TOP SPEECH ADVISORS ' THIS IS ONE OF HER FIRST BOOKS AND IT HAS ALOT OF GREAT INSIGHT INTO ALOT OF THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS AND TOP CONSERVATIVES TO SEE ALOT OFTHE COLD WAR AND FREEDOM. THIS BOOK OF PEGGY NOONAN WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT FOR A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 25, 2005

    The Legacy of Ron

    I loved this book. I served during the Reagan era. I came of age during the Reagan era. Peggy Noonan captures the warmth of the Reagan presidency. Those were simple days when you were secure in knowing your president was wise, courageous, and competent. Noonan doesn't have to over write her subject; her subject is only faintly visible to the reader, yet the feeling is genuine and easily conveyed. I read this book originally right after Reagan left office. Now that I'm older and wiser and the Gipper has passed away, this book is pure nostalgia for my generation.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 12, 2004

    This book will hold your attention.

    Like the chapter in Hamilton Jordans book about how the roof came down for President Carter in 1980, this book is a must read for people who love behind the scenes politics. Noonan is a first class writer.

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