 | This was an interesting read. For a number of years in the late 1970's, Reagan had a radio show where have gave what appears to be about a 5 minute speech. He wrote most of them, and this book is full of them. Each one shows the text, including edits. It has a few copies of the originals as well.
Most of the book focuses on the cold war, Soviet Union, and all the trouble in the world at the time. Through the book, you start to see how his own ideas of foreign policy differed so much from much conventional wisdom, the Democrats, and especially the Carter administration. He promoted a foreign policy based on national interests, supporting allies, and a strong military to avoid war. He contrasts this with those who thought we could negotiate with our enemies, those who sacrified our allies for non-existent diplomatic gains, and those who thought war happened through misunderstandings and feelings of fear on the other side (thus, the unilateral disarmament).
I found the book very interesting and insightful.
There were a few problems in the book. For one, Reagan was religious. He's got one broadcast in there about how atheists forced prayer out of school and want "In God We Trust" off of the money, and he angrily demands to know why atheists can't just mind their own business!!! His religion pops up a lot, and you get the sense that one of his major problems with the Soviet Union is that they were atheistic.
Mostly, it avoids that kind of stuff and focuses on all of the events of the day, from Reagan's principled point of view.
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Reagan, In His Own Hand by Ronald Wilson Reagan
