With warmth and insight, Brown delves into the spiritual journey of America's 40th president and offers profound stories of God's providence in Ronald Reagan's life--from first making it as an actor to winning the presidency, from surviving an assassination attempt to eventually changing the face of world politics.

The New York Times–bestselling author’s biography reveals that President Reagan’s greatest virtue wasn’t allegiance to country, but allegiance to God. With warmth and insight, Reagan biographer Mary Beth Brown delves into the spiritual journey of America’s fortieth president and offers profound stories of the provisions God made in his life—from his early success as an actor to his historic presidential victory, and from surviving an assassination attempt to eventually changing the face of politics and the world. Drawing on Ronald Reagan’s own words and writings, as well as firsthand interviews with his family, friends, and co-workers, Brown weaves a magnificent story that inspires as it informs. Reagan’s strong devotion to God will encourage believers to enter public service, allowing their faith to motivate their actions, and will draw focus to Christ’s matchless sacrifice—which was forever near and dear to President Reagan’s heart.

Ronald Reagan is hailed today for a presidency that restored optimism to America, engendered years of economic prosperity, and helped bring about the fall of the Soviet Union. Yet until now little attention has been paid to the role Reagan's personal spirituality played in his political career, shaping his ideas, bolstering his resolve, and ultimately compelling him to confront the brutal -- and, not coincidentally, atheistic -- Soviet empire. In this groundbreaking book, political historian Paul Kengor draws upon Reagan's legacy of speeches and correspondence, and the memories of those who knew him well, to reveal a man whose Christian faith remained deep and consistent throughout his more than six decades in public life. Raised in the Disciples of Christ Church by a devout mother with a passionate missionary streak, Reagan embraced the church after reading a Christian novel at the age of eleven. A devoted Sunday-school teacher, he absorbed the church's model of "practical Christianity" and strived to achieve it in every stage of his life. But it was in his lifelong battle against communism -- first in Hollywood, then on the political stage -- that Reagan's Christian beliefs had their most profound effect. Appalled by the religious repression and state-mandated atheism of Bolshevik Marxism, Reagan felt called by a sense of personal mission to confront the USSR. Inspired by influences as diverse as C.S. Lewis, Whittaker Chambers, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, he waged an openly spiritual campaign against communism, insisting that religious freedom was the bedrock of personal liberty. "The source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material, but spiritual," he said in his Evil Empire address. "And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those who would enslave their fellow man." From a church classroom in 1920s Dixon, Illinois, to his triumphant mission to Moscow in 1988, Ronald Reagan was both political leader and spiritual crusader. God and Ronald Reagan deepens immeasurably our understanding of how these twin missions shaped his presidency -- and changed the world.

A biography examining the life of the fortieth president of the United States and the impact of his faith. Ronald Reagan is one of the most popular and beloved of modern presidents, and one of the greatest presidents in America’s history. But to most scholars, biographers, and critics, the man is still an enigma. What has made him so admired and so successful in all walks of life? The answer is simple. Even when he was the most powerful man in the world, Reagan put his faith and hope in a higher power. An uplifting biography of America’s fortieth president, Hand of Providence takes a decisive look at the powerful impact Reagan’s faith had on his ideas, motives, and actions. With warmth and insight, Mary Beth Brown delves into Reagan’s spiritual journey—through all of his doubts and despair and ultimate conviction. Brown offers profound stories of God’s provision in Reagan’s life—from first making it as an actor to winning the presidency, from surviving an assassination attempt to eventually changing the face of politics and the world.

Not since Lincoln has a sitting president addressed spiritual issues as frequently as President Ronald Reagan. Most of Reagan's biographers, however, overlook his strong religious convictions, writing about them either sparingly or disparagingly. In "Reagan's God and Country", Tom Freiling sets the record straight by giving you portions of every meaningful address Reagan gave in his public life about God, religion and morality. You'll discover how Reagan's moral compass was guided by an enduring faith in God and an optimistic faith in his fellow man. This is the first book to look at Reagan's spiritual oratory. It's the Great Communicator at his best.

"I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life." —Ronald Reagan Noted political commentator Michael Reagan, the son of Ronald Reagan and first wife Jane Wyman, has traveled across America, giving speeches and meeting the public. Time and time again, people tell him how much they love and miss his father, and what his presidency meant to them. In a world where role models are few and far between, Ronald Reagan’s legacy stands strong. In Lessons My Father Taught Me, Michael Reagan looks back over his years with his father and reflects on what he has learned from the greatest man he has ever known—and one of the greatest men the world has known. When Michael was growing up, his father would drive him out to his ranch. There Ronald Reagan taught Michael how to ride a horse, how to shoot a gun, and much more. As they drove together or did chores together, Michael’s father told him stories and taught him about life, love, family, faith, success, and leadership. Michael didn’t fully appreciate those lessons at the time, but years later he remembered—and he understood. Now, Michael Reagan shares his father’s wisdom and experience in this inspiring book.

"In this ambitious work, David Byrne analyzes the ideas that informed Ronald Reagan's political philosophy and policies. Rather than appraising his personal and emotional life, Byrne's intellectual biography goes one step further; it establishes a rationale for the former president's motives, discussing how thinkers such as Plato and Adam Smith influenced him. Byrne points to three historical forces that shaped Reagan's political philosophy: Christian values, particularly the concept of a universal kingdom of God; America's firm belief in freedom as the greatest political value and its aversion to strong centralized governments; and the appeasement era of World War II, which stimulated Reagan's aggressive and confrontational foreign policy. Byrne's account of the fortieth president augments previous work on Reagan with a new model for understanding him. Byrne shows how Reagan took conservatism and the Republican Party in a new direction, departing from the traditional conservatism of Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk. His desire to spread a "Kingdom of Freedom" both at home and abroad changed America's political landscape forever and inspired a new conservatism that persists to this day. "--