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Library of American Biography
Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism
Jules Tygiel’s biography of Ronald Reagan engages students with the compelling story of the man who went from Hollywood actor to President of the United States. This balanced profile considers both the accomplishments and failures of Reagan’s presidency, as well as the contested legacy of his political career even after his death. Incorporating the latest scholarship, Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism examines Reagan both as an individual and in the larger context of the conservative movement.
The titles in the Library of American Biography Series make ideal supplements for American History Survey courses or other courses in American history where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.
The titles in the Library of American Biography Series make ideal supplements for American History Survey courses or other courses in American history where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each interpretative biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.
280 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2004
About the author
Jules Tygiel
21 books1 followerA graduate of Brooklyn College, Jules Tygiel earned his master's and doctorate degrees at UCLA and taught at the University of Virginia and the University of Tennessee before receiving a position at San Francisco State University. A self-professed fan of baseball, he was the founder of the Pacific Ghost League, a fantasy baseball league.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 13, 2022
Had to read this for school :/ It was interesting to learn about Reagan’s childhood and Hollywood career in the beginning, but the book got really boring when it got into all of the politics. Glad I’m done🙌🏻
July 22, 2010
As you can tell by the title, this book was written by a fan of President Reagan. And let’s face it, you’re either going to buy and read this book because you are also a fan, or because you’re doing research for a political science class. My reason was the latter, and since I’m not really a fan, this wasn’t my favorite political biography.
That being said, for those who are looking for a Reagan biography because they like him, this is a really good book to start with. It’s a traditional biography that chronicles his entire life and shares anecdotes from his childhood, life as an actor, early political career, and finally as President of the United States. A side note: I find the title an odd choice. It suggests a political analysis or examination of his political legacy. This is much more of a true biography, so if you’re looking for more of an analysis, you can check out Reagan the Man, the President, whose title is, funny enough, suggestive of a strict biography.
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/ronald...
That being said, for those who are looking for a Reagan biography because they like him, this is a really good book to start with. It’s a traditional biography that chronicles his entire life and shares anecdotes from his childhood, life as an actor, early political career, and finally as President of the United States. A side note: I find the title an odd choice. It suggests a political analysis or examination of his political legacy. This is much more of a true biography, so if you’re looking for more of an analysis, you can check out Reagan the Man, the President, whose title is, funny enough, suggestive of a strict biography.
http://hottoastyrag.weebly.com/ronald...
July 23, 2011
Comes across as a fair treatment of Reagan from his childhood in Illinois all the way to his legacy into the 21st Century. While not a piece of neo-conservative propaganda, neither is it a work of liberal revisionist history. It is honest about the irony of Reagan; the successes and the failures, the myth and the reality. Overall, Tygiel does not reduce Reagan to simplistic perceptions but makes the complexities of his life and his presidency readable.
January 23, 2011
Ronald Reagan was a fascinating man well before he became a fascinating president. Jules Tygiel offers a rare semi-unbiased look into Ronald Reagan’s life before, during and after his presidency. Tygiel confronts the reader with the perception of Reagan as a person with no depth or unique ideas of his own, and gives us all the tools in Reagan’s life that molded such a personality. Tygiel offers detailed analysis of Reagan’s life and gives the reader a chance to explain for themselves Reagan’s abrupt change in political beliefs and liberal ideals. While at times utterly confusing, it is also not difficult to understand Reagan’s stance of the moment when you remember his desire to please and be seen in the most admirable light by others. While reviewing Reagan’s life one cannot help but be either incensed or envious of his uncanny ability to escape reality and deliver fantasy to an eager people.
Tygiel states that Reagan’s abrupt political changes seem to have no rhyme or reason to support them. However, Tygiel also implies that Reagan’s political changes were initially deceptive and later opportunistic. Reagan’s father, Jack Reagan, is portrayed as an Irish Catholic alcoholic which Ronald Reagan referred to as his father’s “weakness.” Tygiel displays Jack Reagan as a hard-working, semi-ambitious man who had a problem with alcohol. Jack Reagan’s personal beliefs were strongly aligned with the Democratic Party. Tygiel mentions Jack Reagan’s refusal to patronage shops with known anti-Semitic views. Jack Reagan was willing to inconvenience himself in order to make a political statement. In contrast, while Ronald Reagan stated to have his father’s same democratic beliefs, he was not as willing to inconvenience himself to make a political statement. Tygiel gives the example of the African-American players on Ronald Reagan’s school football team being denied lodging in a hotel. The coach was furious and insisted that the entire team sleep on the bus and make a political stand by doing such. Ronald Reagan instead offered the African-American players a room in his home to avoid such a controversial issue. This causes one to question Ronald’s true political beliefs. Tygiel also questions the true democratic beliefs of Ronald when Jack Reagan dies. While demonstrating the sense of betrayal felt by Jack Reagan when his son Neil starts speaking about his republican beliefs, Tygiel shows how deep Jack Reagan’s political beliefs travel. Tygiel states that Ronald felt a sense of relief when his father passed away, because he no longer had to fear disappointing him with his political views.
It is difficult to imagine that Ronald Reagan was afraid of disappointing his father in any aspect. Tygiel displays Ronald’s relationship with his father as being virtually nonexistent throughout his childhood. Jack Reagan did not participate in nor did he support any of Ronald’s extracurricular activities. According to Tygiel, Ronald was close to his mother and shared her views regarding religion and morality. Tygiel gives the reader the sense that Ronald was if not ashamed of his father, definitely not especially proud of his father. This contradicts the implication that Ronald was holding on to democratic beliefs because he did not want to risk disappointing his father. In fact, Ronald had moved from being the son of Jack Reagan to being the financial caretaker of Jack Reagan. That shift in responsibility would have certainly made it easier for Ronald Reagan to assert his own individual beliefs. However, Tygiel also implies that Ronald Reagan did not possess his own individual beliefs.
Tygiel mentions many prominent figures whose influence helped shape Ronald Reagan’s views on politics and the world. Tygiel mentions Reagan’s love for reading because it gave him the ability to provide quotes and sound very factual. However, the influences provided by such figures as Dick Powell who was a staunch Republican Conservative seemed to catch Ronald Reagan’s attention. Tygiel tries to be unbiased in account of Ronald Reagan, but at times he implies that Reagan’s beliefs changed depending on who conversed with him last. Tygiel also makes Reagan’s political beliefs dependant on his current status in life.
Reagan was an avid supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s. This comes to no surprise due to the employment provided to the Reagan family as a result of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Jack Reagan found steady and sufficient employment by working his way up the ladder of New Deal programs. This gave the Reagan family the stability that they had by then been long without. However, there is no reason for Ronald Reagan’s support of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal that is not connected with the employment it provided his father. There is no depth to Ronald Reagan’s support of democratic principles and the New Deal. There is no passionate argument from Ronald Reagan in support of democratic principles. While one can argue that his support for conservative principles were not as much about passion as an opportunity for advancement, the fact remains that Reagan gives in depth reasoning for his support of conservative principles.
Tygiel makes an honest attempt to show Ronald Reagan’s life in an unbiased light without satirical quips from the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party. However, his efforts still manage to leave readers of Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism without a clear sense of what Ronald Reagan actually believed in and what he supported despite his beliefs. Tygiel tells us in the beginning of his book that Ronald Reagan is a very confusing character who appears to be without depth.
Bibliography
Tygiel, Jules. Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism. Second Ed. Mark C.
Carnes. San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006.
Tygiel states that Reagan’s abrupt political changes seem to have no rhyme or reason to support them. However, Tygiel also implies that Reagan’s political changes were initially deceptive and later opportunistic. Reagan’s father, Jack Reagan, is portrayed as an Irish Catholic alcoholic which Ronald Reagan referred to as his father’s “weakness.” Tygiel displays Jack Reagan as a hard-working, semi-ambitious man who had a problem with alcohol. Jack Reagan’s personal beliefs were strongly aligned with the Democratic Party. Tygiel mentions Jack Reagan’s refusal to patronage shops with known anti-Semitic views. Jack Reagan was willing to inconvenience himself in order to make a political statement. In contrast, while Ronald Reagan stated to have his father’s same democratic beliefs, he was not as willing to inconvenience himself to make a political statement. Tygiel gives the example of the African-American players on Ronald Reagan’s school football team being denied lodging in a hotel. The coach was furious and insisted that the entire team sleep on the bus and make a political stand by doing such. Ronald Reagan instead offered the African-American players a room in his home to avoid such a controversial issue. This causes one to question Ronald’s true political beliefs. Tygiel also questions the true democratic beliefs of Ronald when Jack Reagan dies. While demonstrating the sense of betrayal felt by Jack Reagan when his son Neil starts speaking about his republican beliefs, Tygiel shows how deep Jack Reagan’s political beliefs travel. Tygiel states that Ronald felt a sense of relief when his father passed away, because he no longer had to fear disappointing him with his political views.
It is difficult to imagine that Ronald Reagan was afraid of disappointing his father in any aspect. Tygiel displays Ronald’s relationship with his father as being virtually nonexistent throughout his childhood. Jack Reagan did not participate in nor did he support any of Ronald’s extracurricular activities. According to Tygiel, Ronald was close to his mother and shared her views regarding religion and morality. Tygiel gives the reader the sense that Ronald was if not ashamed of his father, definitely not especially proud of his father. This contradicts the implication that Ronald was holding on to democratic beliefs because he did not want to risk disappointing his father. In fact, Ronald had moved from being the son of Jack Reagan to being the financial caretaker of Jack Reagan. That shift in responsibility would have certainly made it easier for Ronald Reagan to assert his own individual beliefs. However, Tygiel also implies that Ronald Reagan did not possess his own individual beliefs.
Tygiel mentions many prominent figures whose influence helped shape Ronald Reagan’s views on politics and the world. Tygiel mentions Reagan’s love for reading because it gave him the ability to provide quotes and sound very factual. However, the influences provided by such figures as Dick Powell who was a staunch Republican Conservative seemed to catch Ronald Reagan’s attention. Tygiel tries to be unbiased in account of Ronald Reagan, but at times he implies that Reagan’s beliefs changed depending on who conversed with him last. Tygiel also makes Reagan’s political beliefs dependant on his current status in life.
Reagan was an avid supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal in the 1930s. This comes to no surprise due to the employment provided to the Reagan family as a result of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal. Jack Reagan found steady and sufficient employment by working his way up the ladder of New Deal programs. This gave the Reagan family the stability that they had by then been long without. However, there is no reason for Ronald Reagan’s support of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal that is not connected with the employment it provided his father. There is no depth to Ronald Reagan’s support of democratic principles and the New Deal. There is no passionate argument from Ronald Reagan in support of democratic principles. While one can argue that his support for conservative principles were not as much about passion as an opportunity for advancement, the fact remains that Reagan gives in depth reasoning for his support of conservative principles.
Tygiel makes an honest attempt to show Ronald Reagan’s life in an unbiased light without satirical quips from the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party. However, his efforts still manage to leave readers of Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism without a clear sense of what Ronald Reagan actually believed in and what he supported despite his beliefs. Tygiel tells us in the beginning of his book that Ronald Reagan is a very confusing character who appears to be without depth.
Bibliography
Tygiel, Jules. Ronald Reagan and the Triumph of American Conservatism. Second Ed. Mark C.
Carnes. San Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006.
September 15, 2018
Mostly a workaday retelling of the facts, without much flair or flavor; a clear leftward bent throughout, including one moment where a Democratic legislator "discovers" that Reagan had no compassion on anyone.
March 27, 2021
This book gave me new insight into Reagan's motivations and the events that challenged him.
April 3, 2024
It tells a story about a Hollywood star who can become president by understanding the latest debates and needs of the nation which requires extensive knowledge in the world of politics.
January 2, 2012
Jules Tygiel's book is an excellent short biography of Ronald Reagan. In it he charts Reagan's course for his childhood in Illinois through his time as a sports broadcaster and career as an actor to his years in politics. Throughout the book he is consistently fair to his subject, noting his gifts and achievements while pointing out Reagan's errors and lapses. For anybody seeking an introduction to our nation's 40th president, this is a good place to begin.
December 31, 2015
I received this book from a free take at the local high school. It did have a lot of information on Ronald Reagan, but nothing that you wouldn't have known if you have ever read about him.Ronald Reagan was an incredible lesson, very talented, well loved, and asked by all. Both as an actor, governor and of course president. If you are interested in laying more about him, certainly read this book as it will be educational, with documented, verifieded facts.
November 17, 2010
For such a dynamic man it was really dry and boring. It came off as written by someone who hated Reagan but was forced to try to write about him. The author failed at objectivity, but I did learn details about Reagan's life I didn't know anything about.
December 27, 2011
Great biography. Could have spent a little more time discussing his policies while governor of California and as President.
May 18, 2016
Not something I ever would've picked up myself. Given that I was required to read it for school however, it was a better critique of the Reagan administration than I had expected.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews