I am not much of a history buff, but there are certain people in history that I find myself drawn to learn more about, they have a bit of mysticism to me that draws me to want to learn more about them: Lincoln, Katherine Hepburn, Reagan, Hilary Clinton, to name a few. It's not so much what they accomplished, or what they stand for, because, as I've already said, I'm not a history buff and other than the broad and well known basics, I actually don't know a lot about them, their times, or their accomplishments.

Reagan is to me one of the oddest ones for me to be drawn to because, of all the people whose history I want to know more of, his one of the ones I know least about to start with. He was the president when I was a child, but I was too young to remember his election and really too young to even remember the major historical events that occurred during his presidency - especially since I don't really pay any attention to that kind of thing on a general basis.

To this end though, reading his diary was perfect (acutally listening to it on audio). What I really wanted to learn about was the man himself: what were his thoughts behind all the big decisions, what makes him the kind of person that people still talk about today, the kind of person that can be an actor and later the president, and in that I was not disappointed.

This diary was certainly very abrupt and basic, even at many times dry. There was not a lot of detail into the historical events of which Reagan discusses and alludes to, it is assumed you know these things, and so much of this went over my head. But, throughout it all, you get a real feel for how very thoughtful and compassionate Reagan was. He was smart, insightful, and certainly a man of convictions. I think this is why I was drawn to want to learn more about him. In today’s political environment, it is a rare and almost unheard of event to find a man who stands by his promises, works to fulfill them, holds his ground even when those closest to him are pushing for him to give in, all because he made a promise he believed in and he intends to fulfill it. This is not an easy accomplishment for anyone, and I imagine it’s especially difficult for the president. He had a way about him that allowed him to deal with people on a personal level, even when facing a political battle. He could relate to his opponents and find ways to accomplish his goal without resulting to brute force. It seemed more important to him to accomplish the goal than to get credit for accomplishing it, and that I think is what made him so successful.

Reagan certainly didn’t get it perfect, and I know there are those out there who feel he botched the job completely, but in reading these diaries, you can see he meant well, and truly gave it his best shot. In this alone, I believe that makes him one of the most successful president’s in American history, and a memorable man. He wasn’t in it for the power and prestiege, he was in it to affect change for the greater good, and at least in my opinion he accomplished that better than many of the president’s that have come before and after him – including the current one.