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Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan

Michael K. Deaver

3.90 · Rating details · 106 ratings · 19 reviews

Candid, moving and insightful, Nancy is the most personal look at Nancy Davis Reagan ever published.

She was the daughter of a single mother. She was a Hollywood movie star. She is the wife of one of the greatest presidents of the twentieth century. She is a cancer survivor. And she now wages her greatest, unwinnable battle -- against her husband's Alzheimer's disease. Nancy Davis Reagan has led an extraordinary life; it has also been an extraordinarily private one. Now Mike Deaver, whose relationship with Mrs. Reagan dates back to the 1960s, shares the side of Nancy that only her intimates know.

Most people don't know the real Nancy Reagan, or their impression of her has been shaped by consistently negative press coverage. If you believe the mainstream press, all you would really know about Nancy is that she likes fancy clothes or that she has rich and powerful friends or that she was obsessed with trivialities like the White House's china. Pundits were equally tough on her, crowning her with ugly nicknames, the tamer ones being Queen Nancy, Iron Lady, Ice Lady, and Dragon Lady.

But the Nancy Reagan Mike Deaver has come to know over thirty-five years, the woman portrayed in Nancy, is far more complicated than the stereotype. No cardboard cutout, she is pure flesh and blood, a woman of immense will and fortitude. And in the Reagans' fifty-year marriage, Ron always received top billing, and she would have it no other way. She is convinced that her husband was one of the great men of the twentieth century -- a rare world leader who changed the tide of history. Still, Nancy has been no bit player in the story. Deaver believes that Reagan would not have risen to such distinction without Nancy at his side.

Reluctantly drawn into politics, the retired actress and housewife was at first intimidated, but then gradually embraced her role. To the president who was incapable of protecting himself from those who served him poorly and even wished him harm, Nancy Reagan would bring discipline. When it would come time for a momentous life decision, to wage a campaign for the White House, she would ask the tough questions. When his image might be tainted, she would fervently guard it, even at the expense of her own.

To Ronald Reagan the man, who always had trouble expressing intimacy, Nancy gave the gift of her unrestricted love. She was his respite, his comfort, his reward at the end of the day. Whenever she left him to travel, the leader of the free world was anxious as a schoolboy until she was safely home again. Now to a man no longer capable of looking after himself, Nancy is everything there is left to be: care-taker, guardian, nurturer of the Reagan legacy. ...more

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Hardcover, 224 pages

Published February 3rd 2004 by William Morrow (first published February 2004)

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· 106 ratings · 19 reviews

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Jan 20, 2015 Jean rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-book, biography, history, non-fiction, us-history

Michael Deaver is a long time Reagan staffer and he was the liaison between the Reagan staff and Nancy Reagan. Deaver states that Nancy Reagan had only one goal in life that was to support and protect Ronald Reagan. Deaver says her life was always about Ronnie.

The first part of the book covers her early life. She was born Anne Frances Robbins July 6 1921. Her nickname was Nancy. Nancy’s mother was the famous stage actress Edith Luckett (1880-1987) she did not know her father. In 1929 her mother ...more

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Feb 22, 2009 Kelly rated it liked it

This book was fine, but it's written by a friend of Nancy's and it really never loses that tone of, "oh, my friend, she's swell!" I'm looking forward to reading a more in-depth biography of the former first lady. ...more

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Nov 12, 2017 Fred Kohn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ronald-reagan

I really like Deaver's writing. I especially like that he tends to keep politics to a minimum in writing his biographies of the Reagans. I did find the swipes that he took at the Clintons annoying, but there weren't very many of those. ...more

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Aug 25, 2017 Sam rated it it was ok

Interesting to get a behind-the-scenes view of Nancy's role in Reagan presidency, but it's a little too much gushing over both of the Reagans. The author resorts to filling a lot of the last disc of the audiobook with letters and speeches she made -- felt like he ran out of material. ...more

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Jun 29, 2018 Julie rated it really liked it

Interesting, quick read.

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Jan 10, 2021 Dorry Lou rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed reading of this Nancy. I learned a lot about her that the public never knew.

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Mar 31, 2016 Sandi rated it liked it

Very selective incidents in this book! It's combination biography and memoir (that contains no bibliography nor contents pages) and aims to be a semi-hagiography.

Deaver is a good and facile writer. He does his best to present Mrs. Reagan in a positive light and often succeeds in clarifying choices she made as First Lady that were criticized by the media and the public.

The book does suffer from his continuous criticism of "the liberal media." Annoying, unnecessarily provocative, and petty.

Nancy Very selective incidents in this book! It's combination biography and memoir (that contains no bibliography nor contents pages) and aims to be a semi-hagiography.

Deaver is a good and facile writer. He does his best to present Mrs. Reagan in a positive light and often succeeds in clarifying choices she made as First Lady that were criticized by the media and the public.

The book does suffer from his continuous criticism of "the liberal media." Annoying, unnecessarily provocative, and petty.

Nancy was a professional actress and a well-educated woman who was alternately arrogant (tho' Deaver would disagree) and incredibly thin skinned. She was a very polarizing First Lady and was not universally liked or respected in that role. Her inability to convey a more positive façade was to a large extent hers and Deaver's. To his credit, Deaver gives a few examples of when he didn't perform at his best or his PR judgments were faulty.

All in all, this is a paean to the woman he calls "my best friend." Curiously, her bad relationships with her 2 biological children are never discussed; they barely rate a passing mention beyond their births. Nor are her chilly relations with her stepchildren discussed, especially with Michael, Ronald Reagan's son with Jane Wyman. He never mentions that in her great love for her husband there was no room for the children and they were largely raised in boarding schools from disturbingly young ages (as were Michael and Maureen Reagan).

Deaver mentions that Nancy avidly supported Foster Grandparents, but never mentions that she and the President, who took numerous vacations back at their California ranch (the "Western White House") annually never visited Michael Reagan's family living close by and didn't see Reagan's granddaughter Ashley until after the story broke in the media that they'd never visited their own grandchild!

Also, he claims that Nancy sat with Jane Wyman Maureen's funeral. Other books say that Jane was too frail to attend, and one claims that Jane and Michael sat on one side of the church and Nancy and her children sat on the other.

...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Jim B rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, nonfiction, celebrity

Read by the author with a soothing, easy-to-listen-to voice.

Deaver reveals Nancy Reagan as a woman who loved her husband totally and whether she agreed with him or not. (She didn't want him to run for office.) She made it her goal to help him succeed.

Deaver has always had a good relationship with her because from the first he gave her normal respect (wheras many regarded her as a problem or wouldn't give her information because she was "only" the wife).

Having lived through the media coverage of ...more

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May 09, 2013 Paul Lunger rated it it was ok

Michael Deaver's "Nancy: A Portrait of My Years with Nancy Reagan" is a somewhat quick biography of Nancy Reagan which is told by an individual who was for many years one of Ronald Reagan's closest advisers & someone who got to know Nancy very well. The story focuses on the important aspects of her life from the years in Sacramento in the governor's office through the Presidency & his eventual decline due to Alzheimer's disease. The book itself somewhat simplifies this period in time & through D ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

LOVED this sweet telling of Nancy Reagan's life. It was well-written and interesting. I am always wary of biographies that tend to be dry and factual--because a person's life is almost never dry. I loved this telling of their political and personal life, from her perspective--by one who knew her well. And when I got to the end...re-reading that letter that Reagan wrote to the country, and of her care for him in his last days--which ended up being ever so many more than they originally thought... ...more

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Aug 27, 2007 Karol rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2007, borrowed-library

It's hard for me to rate this book. I enjoyed it, but much of it was material and recollections that had already been included in the author's longer memoirs about the president. If I had read this one first, I might have given it a higher rating. Mr. Deaver worked with Nancy for many years and has some interesting insights into her personality and character, and how the media frequently mis-portrayed her (as they typically seem to do). Far from viewing her as angelic, he does portray her as a s ...more

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Mar 16, 2016 Barb Innes rated it liked it

After Mrs.Reagan died...I found I had purchased this book at the Library book sale. Meaningful book from one of President Reagan's closest advisors over 20+ years. Clear from this book how much Nancy loved her husband and very insightful. I forgot she was a backer of "Say no to Drugs" campaign. Having read this intimate portrayal of Nancy...
I am ready to read Bill O'Reilly's book on Killing Reagan! ...more

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Jun 11, 2010 Jean rated it it was amazing

Michael Deaver takes us to the heart and soul of Nancy Reagan. He takes us back to the beginning when she met her "Ronnie" to facing his cruel fate of Alzheimer's, learning all the way about how she possibly felt, looked and handled or didn't handle events and situations. But all the while serving as grand protector of her "Ronnie".

If your looking for a down to earth approach to learning about the woman behind the man then this is the book for you ...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Antonina Zaytseva rated it it was amazing

Prior to buying this book I decided to skim it in the bookstore. Before I knew it- I was consumed by the clear writing and my genuine interest in Reagan's powerful wife. I was intrigued to learn that Nancy was referred to as Dragon Lady and the big B word. My perception of her prior to this book was wrong. Read this book in one night. It's easy and fast. ...more

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Aug 24, 2008 Lc rated it it was amazing

"If I ache, it's because we are apart
and yet that can't be,
because you are inside and a part of me,
so we really aren't apart at all.
Yet I ache, but wouldn't be without the ache,
because that would mean being without you
and that I can't be, because I love you."

Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004)

A wonderful account of true love & friendship. ...more

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Aug 03, 2016 Mary Jo rated it it was amazing

This is a very well-written book about Nancy Reagan and her relationship with Ronald Reagan. Michael Deaver presents Nancy's story with class and affection. I have always been a fan of Nancy and Ronald Reagan, and this book just enhanced that and gave me even more reason to respect them both. ...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Heather rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book and found that although I had always admired her, I had a new respect for her as I read about some of the things she has accomplished.

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