Behind the Scenes: In Which the Author Talks about Ronald and Nancy Reagan... and Himself

A longtime friend of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Deaver was for five years White House deputy chief-of-staff and trouble-shooter. Giving intimate glimpses of the president's character, this memoir, written with Houston Post journalist Herskowitz, serves as apologia for administration bad patches; tells Deaver's side of his ""mistakes'' as a lobbyist, which led to his prosecution for perjury; and reveals his former acute alcoholism. A few Reaganisms: in 1973, when Deaver questioned Reagan's defense of just-deposed Vice-President Spiro Agnew, the California governor threw a loaded keyring at him; in 1976, a woman on a plane told Reagan it was his duty to run for president and, recalling a patriotic-duty role he played in a movie, he said he would; in 1986, when Deaver faced Congressional quizzing and needed an event that might distract public attention, the president jested, ``Well, Mike, I bombed Libya for you!'' Deaver's expressed humility is hard to take when he attributes his current legal difficulties to Washington power pressures and predatory media. Still, he does come through frequently here with tidbits of scholarly interest, such as the one about Vice-President Bush calling ``all over the country'' for new jokes to tell the president at daily staff meetings. (February 15)