The Notes - by Ronald Reagan (Hardcover)

About the Book

From the bestselling editor of "The Reagan Diaries" come the newly disclosed notebooks of Ronald Reagan that bring to light his most intimate thoughts and favorite quotations.

Book Synopsis

Ronald Reagan left behind a legacy that America willnever forget. Now, in this one-of-a-kind collection of his most intimatethoughts, his favorite quotations by others, and his own most collectiblejokes, all culled from a newly disclosed set of personal notecards he keptthroughout his life and career, fans and admirers of the fortieth presidentwill find a unique window of insight into the soul of an American icon. Editedby Douglas Brinkley, editor of #1 NewYork Times bestseller The ReaganDiaries, this indispensible Reagan retrospective is perfect for fathers, graduates, and anyone looking to find inspiration in the thoughts and musingsof a great American leader.

From the Back Cover

Ronald Reagan's The Notes is a fascinating window into the mind of our fortieth president and the writers and thinkers to whom he turned for advice, inspiration, humor, and hope. Collected by the Ronald Reagan Foundation, the book includes both Reagan's own writing and his favorite quotations, proverbs, and excerpts from speeches, poetry, and literature. The breadth of these notes sheds light on a man who was deeply engaged with the arts, culture, and politics, from his time as one of the nation's most popular actors to later years as one of its most beloved presidents. Known as the "Great Communicator," Reagan sought wisdom from a wide-ranging set of political figures, philosophers, novelists, and poets, including Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster, John F. Kennedy, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Mohandas Gandhi, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Mark Twain, and Thomas Wolfe.

While the number one New York Times bestselling Reagan Diaries detailed daily life inside the Oval Office, The Notes encapsulates a lifetime of reflections on work, marriage, and family in classic one-liners such as "Flattery is what makes husbands out of bachelors" and "Money may not buy friends, but it will help you to stay in contact with your children." Reagan's own writing--his jokes, aphorisms, and insights into politics and life--is often surprising and reveals a view of the president that has rarely before been seen.

Historic, illuminating, and deeply captivating, The Notes is a remarkable collection of the thoughts of one of our most beloved presidents.

Review Quotes

"It's amazing what nuggets of information you can unearth deep within a book as jampacked as The Reagan Diaries." - Walter Pincus, The Washington Post

"Reading these diaries, Americans will find it easier to understand how Reagan did what he did for so long: by steady work, and a steadfast commitment to the job at hand. . . . They paint a portrait of a president who was engaged by his job and had a healthy perspective on power." - Jon Meacham, Newsweek

"The chief executive who emerges from these pages has a capacious attention to and knowledge of this country and the world. . . . Reagan the diarist is at home with himself, unself-consciously comfortable. . . . Two things run through the diaries like a thread: One is a kind of gee-whiz everyman's delight in finding himself in such interesting and enjoyable circumstances; the other is his love for and reliance on Nancy." - Tim Rutten, The Los Angeles Times

"These are amusing and enlightening diaries. . . . I quite simply couldn't put them down." - Christopher Hitchens, The Times

"This volume provides an illuminating glimpse into Reagan's mind. . . . The entries show the directness of Reagan's thought and his uncanny ability to make a point." - The Daily

"These notes are wonderful things. . . . Although a few recent books have proclaimed to have finally uncovered the real Reagan, there's a chance we'll never get any closer than in these scribbles, which reveal so much." - Christopher Buckley, Bloomberg News

"Now with the discovery of his note cards, we can better appreciate just how hard Reagan himself labored to be clear and convincing--and, yes, sometimes funny--to his many audiences." - The American Spectator

"This is a book to return to often and sample the collected wisdom found there that buttressed a remarkable man's vision." - The Washington Times

"The book offers a window into the mind of the nation's 40th president and displays the effort he made behind the scenes to hone his performance as a speechmaker and storyteller driving home a conservative political philosophy." - USA Today