Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan

I initially shied away from reading Edumund Morris' "Dutch" because I disapproved of the idea of mixing history of an American president with fictional information which actually had the author becoming a friend of the youthful Ronald Reagan in his Illinois days.I was also aware that Morris had won a Pulitzer for his fine biography on the young Theodore Roosevelt, and so I finally decided to give him a chance. The more I read the clearer it was why Morris took a novel approach to history in the case of Reagan. Since after meeting Reagan many times and researching his life Morris decided that he was a complex figure but someone who was too boring to do a conventional book on such as that about Roosevelt, he decided that weaving some fiction and personal commentary would provide the ticket.This technique would not work with just any historical figure, but Reagan affords a unique case in point. His presence and oratorical skills developed over a lifetime of acting make Reagan a formidable influence in the right settings, such as speaking to a huge crowd in Berlin and exhorting, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" In his personal life, however, as well as in administrative situations as a governor of California and president, he could seem remote and distant. Morris explains why, tracing Reagan back to difficult roots in Illinois with an alcoholic father. He sought to create his own world on the one hand while keeping a distance from people to avoid hurt, a classic response to children who have had to bear difficult early home lives.Rather than providing a regular biography, Morris focuses on the impact Reagan has had on people, which is the most fascinating part of his legacy. He uses letters to his son Gavin to depict the response of angry young men of the period. The famous screenwriter and director Phillip Dunne is also used to prove a point as Morris uses his friendship to draw the Hollywood figure into the picture. He relates what liberals thought of Reagan through the years as the future president gravitated from flaming liberal to staunch conservative.This is the personal side of Reagan interestingly explored. For those wanting a regular biography the works of authors such as Lou Cannon and Bob Schieffer are more valuable, but for a character study of an interesting and highly unusual figure who achieved a great impact on the world, this is a work that provides highly worthwhile reading.

I read this biography a couple of years ago and was very moved by it then. I am now buying a copy on tape for my grandmother, who I know will also appreciate the story of one of the greatest Presidents of our time, particularly in the midst of the election debacle. Readers have complained that there is too much text devoted to the biographer's own life, but I believe that it really adds to the impact of the story. You will find that you have a greater understanding of the times in which Reagan grew up, went to school (and became a Democrat), went to Hollywood (still a Democrat), entered public office (became a Republican..."I didn't leave the Democratic party...the party left me!")and went on to become our President. I can remember exactly where I was, as a little girl in third grade, when Reagan was shot. The story of his survival and recovery is amazing, particularly as told by an observer, one who was both close by and also an ordinary American watching the coverage on television. At the close of the book, we read about Reagan's decline into Alzheimer's and it broke my heart. Having just read about his amazing accomplishments, and blunders! in office (great in-depth coverage of his relationship with the then-Soviet Union), I cried over the description of the way in which he was eventually forced to abandon his full life. Reagan has been misunderstood by many Americans, particularly, but not only, the Left. He's been blamed for the arms race rather than credited for staving off such a confrontation, which he did. He's been blamed for the economy in the 80s rather than credited with the booming market we enjoy today, which is a result of both the market's cyclical nature and Reaganomics (not Clinton as he would like us to believe). This book was written for any American who is still proud of their country and wants to believe the best about its people. Reagan is a great inspiration and one of my personal heroes. By the way, I plan to read Edmund Morris'Pulitzer Prize-winning book on Teddy Roosevelt next. Enjoy! And then buy a copy for your grandmother.

The first time through this book I was left with a disappointment at Morris's use of a fictional character as a narrative device. However, after completing, and then going back over passages of this book, I have discovered the underlying truth that Morris was trying to say about Reagan. Here is a man who loved his country and selflessly served its interests without the vanity and lust for legacy that so often taints the actions of our national leaders. Morris writes this book honestly, without any attempt to write to the audience (i.e. Reagan lovers like myself). Instead, he reports Reagan's life and actions as he witnessed him, away from the scripts, camaras, and speech writors. We knew Reagan as he communicated to us on television and the nightly news. There was more to this man, and Morris brings it out as honestly as he saw it.The richness of this mans heart is not lost in Morris's biography, but we are also shown the realities of his mental frailty later in life; his disgust for policy details; his rush to judgement; and, finally his sometimes lack of understanding about key foreign events. Reagan made some mistakes, as you and I and every other human would also have. Morris does not exploit these misjudgments to mock Reagan as others have done, instead, he tells the story of a man who loved his country, unshakably stood for principle, and led this America in such a way that the American people loved him like no other President in this century, save perhaps FDR. Morris writes this book with an almost burdensome love for Reagan. Not blind love, or not a devotion that borders on propaganda, but a love that one would show towards their grandfather, a love that also sees the strengths and weaknesses. This love is palpable, especially in his closing chapters. Yes, Morris, at times lashes out at Reagan, criticizes Reagan and questions his intelligence, but these criticisms are balanced.The author is close to the subject - he doesn't allow the reader to forget him (to the criticisms of many), but in this closeness emerges a dialogue that touches Reagan and offers to the reader a man who many scarcly knew, but loved.I found it hard to get passed the fictional character at first, but save this one failed literary device, Morris wrote a masterpiece.

Despite the carping of those more interested in establishing a cult of personality around an important, but imperfect Ronald Reagan, this book is a dynamic exploration of the vigor and frailties of a substantial, if not overly complex president. It is perhaps not politically correct to point out Reagan's almost daily chameleon-like transition from vapid teller of half-lies to "great helmsman" in the final moments of the victorious struggle against the Soviet Union on one hand and the confrontation against the Great Society and common men on the other. But Edmund Morris benefits his subject with his unorthodox technique that supercedes the tired and trite treatment produced by earlier sycophantic hagiographers, particularly Dinesh D'Souza. Morris's technique does not obscure the relevant facts, but accentuates them. And it is the facts that are important here. Although it is early in the game to pronounce on the veracity of all the included material (the book has been officially released for only 2 days as I write this), preemptive efforts by George Will and others to refute these facts have already been roundly disproved. It is an honorable work. These truths may not always be pleasant. But it is important to have a book that faces them boldly and without flinching. Morris gives a sympathetic treatment of a man whose love of his country and the spotlight will outlast the failed and discredited policies of those who have hijacked his legacy.

Edmund Morris has spent years documenting the life and times of this country's most recent, great leader, Ronald Reagan. Morris spends a great deal of time detailing Reagan's interpersonal relationships with his family and friends. He begins with Reagan's formative years and how his own father, an alcoholic, affected him through adulthood. Reagan's life in Hollywood, and later in politics, is written in elegant prose with honest introspection. Morris, who was granted numerous personal interviews and unparalleled access to a sitting president, paints a historic picture of a man who was long on courage and morality. A man steeped in strengths, yet with faults that manifested themselves in his private interactions with close friends. This book is an accurate read about a President that was one of the most popular men to hold the office, who will be remembered as being responsible for taking down the "evil empire" one brick at a time.