Speaking Out: The Reagan Presidency from Inside the White House

Starting with the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan that crippled press secretary Jim Brady, whom he succeeded, Speakes self-importantly recounts his part as White House spokesman in the six years that followed. This laudatory portrait of Reagan, whom Speakes predicts will rank as a great President, makes light of his ""only human'' foibles. A veteran of the Nixon and Ford press operations, Speakes found one of his problems was preserving the First Family's privacy without antagonizing the media. Assisted by Pack, biographer of Howard Jarvis and Edward Bennett Williams, he recalls the major events and crises during his tenure and the battle for sympathetic public opinion. His loyalty to Reagan was sorely tried by the Iran-contra catastrophe, which split the administration and led to his own resignation to join a brokerage firm. He is candid in his criticism of members of Reagan's entourage, including Vice-President Bush, and scathing in his comments on Meese, Haig, ``loose cannon'' Weinberger and North, along with appraisals of members of Congress, justices, reporters and foreign leaders; however, readers expecting sensational revelations will be disappointed. (May)