The Reagan Presidency: Ten Intimate Perspectives of Ronald Reagan

The Reagan Presidency: Ten Intimate Perspectives of Ronald Reagan is part of a continuing Miller Center series of presidential portraits. This volume of the series examines the political forces and personal characteristics that shaped the Reagan presidency. Cabinet members, a counsel to the president, scholars, journalists, a chief of staff, and other professionals in the administration attended Miller Center forums to discuss important domestic and international issues from the Reagan presidency. Their vast professional and political experience and firsthand accounts provide an intimate perspective on Reagan’s presidency and serve as a source of information and reference for historians of the administration. As it did with previous oral histories, the Miller Center hosted representatives from the press, public service, and academia. The forum audiences included supporters and critics of the administration and scholars of presidential politics. Their participation not only sparked debate on important aspects of the Reagan presidency but also broadened and enhanced this discussion of governance. This book addresses the essential themes of the Reagan presidency: governance, the role of communication, domestic policy, international trade, international policy, and post-Cold War strategy. The book examines Reagan’s leadership style, analyzes the role of the media in presidential politics, explores the Reagan administration’s unique policy challenges, and reviews the effects of their policy choices. The volume concludes with an assessment of Reagan’s administration and its place in the history of contemporary presidents.