President Ronald Reagan’s famous address to the Houses of Parliament is now considered—in its spirit if not in its actual words—to be the initial enunciation of his “Evil Empire” stance. In this important volume by two experienced rhetorical scholars, Robert C. Rowland and John M. Jones offer a historical-descriptive treatment that includes both rhetorical analysis and a narrative of the drafting of the speech. They consider Reagan’s focus on “ultimate definition,” “dialectical engagement,” and other rhetorical tools in crafting and presenting the momentous address. They also note the irony of Reagan’s use of Leon Trotsky’s phrase “ash-heap of history” to predict the demise of Communism. Rowland and Jones present three reasons for the importance of this speech. First, it offers new insights into President Reagan himself, through a view of his role in the drafting of the speech as well as the ideas it contains. Second, the speech is an act of rhetorical history, and its analysis helps recover a significant rhetorical artifact. Finally, the address ultimately expresses a rhetorical framework for the Cold War that systematically subverted the narrative, ideology, and values of Marxism. Although initial response to the speech was tepid, Reagan considered it one of his most important addresses, and the hindsight afforded by the fall of Communism a decade later lends validation to that view, the authors suggest. Reagan at Westminster: Foreshadowing the End of the Cold War will highly commend itself to students and scholars of rhetoric, the Presidency, and political communication.

No one has ever captured Ronald Reagan like Peggy Noonan. In When Character Was King, Noonan brings her own reflections on Reagan to bear as well as new stories—from Presidents George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, his Secret Service men and White House colleagues, his wife, his daughter Patti Davis, and his close friends—to reveal the true nature of a man even his opponents now view as a maker of big history. Marked by incisive wit and elegant prose, When Character Was King will both enlighten and move readers. It may well be the last word on Ronald Reagan, not only as a leader but as a man.

The author of Rise of the Vulcans presents a controversial analysis of the fortieth president's role in ending the cold war, in a provocative report that challenges popular beliefs, reveals lesser-known aspects of the Reagan administration's foreign policy, and cites the contributions of such figures as Nixon, Kissinger, and Gorbachev.

A new exploration of the relationship between the Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan administrations in domestic policy. Using recently released documentary material and extensive research interviews, James Cooper demonstrates how specific policy transfer between these 'political soul mates' was more limited than is typically assumed.

Before 1966, the idea of Reagan in politics provoked widespread scorn. To most people, he seemed a has-been actor, a right-wing extremist and a 'dunce'. Journalists therefore ridiculed his aspirations to be governor of California. No one, however, doubted his incredible ability to communicate with a crowd. In order to succeed in his campaign, Reagan had to be packaged as an outsider - an antidote to politics as usual. A highly sophisticated team of marketers and ad-men turned the scary right-winger into a harmless moderate who could attract supporters from across the political spectrum. Researchers meanwhile provided the coaching that allowed Reagan to seem well-informed - all of which led to Reagan winning the California governorship by a landslide. Gerard DeGroot here explores how, in the decade of consumerism, Reagan was marketed as a product. While there is no doubting his natural abilities as a campaigner, Reagan won in 1966 because his team of advisers understood how to sell their candidate, and he, wisely, allowed himself to be sold. Selling Ronald Reagan tells the story of Reagan's first election, when the nature of campaigning was forever altered and a titan of modern American history emerged.

The Essential Ronald Reagan covers the former president's birth and childhood in Illinois through his years in Hollywood. It delves into his growing involvement in politics, culminating in his election as governer of California, his two terms as president.

This brilliant analysis of the nature of democracy draws on the hard-earned lessons of the ancient Greeks.