Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan

In the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan hosted a daily national radio program, for which he wrote his own commentary. In Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson, 30 of his broadcasts and 6 pieces written at other times are collected alongside facsimiles of the original handwritten documents. Offering inspirational words on many key events, institutions and experiences death, marriage, Christmas, religion, sports, war, the media Reagan waxes warm and fuzzy and sometimes critical. He comes down on antiwar protesters and lauds American soldiers with a story of 10 veterans who asked to go back to help the Vietnamese after being discharged; he demonstrates the ""civilizing influence"" of women with a story of a brave hostess in colonial India. Fans of Reagan and of heartwarming Americana will enjoy this little book, with a foreword by George Shultz. (Oct.)