The Age of Reagan: 1980-1989, by Steven F. Hayward

I really enjoyed the first volume of Hayward's biography of Ronald Reagan, The Age of Reagan: 1964-1980. I also enjoyed the second volume, but not as much as the first. I liked learning about Reagan's principled stand for lower taxes, a strong defense, the elimination of nuclear weapons, and the evil of communism. I didn't like the stories about the infighting among his cabinet and the political necessity of compromising with congress. These were big parts of Reagan's presidency and deserve to be chronicled--I just wasn't as interested. I also would have liked to read more about his relationship with Margaret Thatcher and the similar economic revolution she brought about in Britain.

Hayward is a great writer and has a wonderful way of setting up each chapter to let us know something interesting is in store for us, either by talking about a controversial topic, such as Iran-Contra, or by putting it in the context of a bigger event, such as the fall of the Soviet Union.

After finishing both volumes of Hayward's biography, I have to rank Ronald Reagan as one of our best presidents. He fought for economic reform which resulted in a growing economy for two decades, he put pressure on the Soviet Union which ended the cold war, and he showed that a principled politician can win and make progress toward smaller government, even though no president after him has followed his lead. We can still hope a future president will.