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Summary
Summary
A Washington Post Notable Book
The definitive biography of the fiercely vigilant and politically astute First Lady who shaped one of the most consequential presidencies of the 20th century: Nancy Reagan.
The made-in-Hollywood marriage of Ronald and Nancy Reagan is more than a love story--it's the partnership that made him president. Of the pair, Nancy was the one with the sharper instincts about people, the superior radar for trouble, and the keen sense of how to secure his place in history. The only person in the world to whom Ronald Reagan felt truly close, Nancy understood how to foster his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Neither timid nor apologetic about wielding her power, Nancy Reagan made herself a place in history.
But that confidence took years to develop. Nancy's traumatic early childhood instilled in her a lifelong anxiety and a craving for security. Born into a broken marriage, she spent seven years yearning for the absent mother who abandoned her to pursue an acting career. When she met Ronnie, who had a difficult upbringing of his own, the two fractured halves became whole. And as Ronnie turned from acting to politics, she did too, helping build the scaffolding of his rise and cultivating the wealthy and powerful figures who would help pave his way. Not only was Nancy crucial in shaping Ronald's White House team and in softening her husband's rhetoric, she became an unseen force pushing her husband toward what she saw as his grandest purpose--to shake his image as a warmonger and leave behind a more peaceful world.
This book explores the multifaceted character of Nancy Reagan and reveals new details surrounding the tumultuous presidency. The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty spent four years interviewing the people who knew this couple best and draws on overlooked archives, letters, memoirs, and White House records, compiling the most extensive biography of Nancy Reagan yet. From the AIDS epidemic to tensions with the Soviets and the war on drugs, this book shows how Nancy Reagan became one of the most influential First Ladies of the century.
Author Notes
Karen Tumulty is a political columnist for The Washington Post . Before joining the Post , Tumulty wrote for Time magazine. She is based in Washington, DC.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Washington Post columnist Tumulty debuts with an astute reassessment of former first lady Nancy Reagan (1921--2016), a woman who "America never quite figured out." Born Anne Francis Robbins in New York City, Nancy "was the product of a broken marriage" who spent ages two to eight in the care of relatives while her actor mother traveled for work. After her mother's remarriage to neurosurgeon Loyal Davis, Nancy took her stepfather's last name and trained as a nurse's aide before landing her first stage acting role thanks to a family friend. She moved to Hollywood in 1949 and, according to Tumulty, quickly set her sights on newly divorced actor Ronald Reagan as a future husband. Adopting an episodic approach to Nancy's White House years, Tumulty highlights the "ghastly scene" that awaited the first lady at the hospital after the president was shot in 1980, and her role in running the "rescue operation" that prevented the Iran-Contra scandal from upending Reagan's second term. Tumulty touches on dark family dynamics, including the impact of Nancy's "anxiety and insecurity" on her children, but the book's greatest strength is the nuanced, in-depth portrayal of the Reagans' relationship and Nancy's fierce stewardship of her husband's political goals. The result is a complex and engrossing portrait of one of the 20th century's most quietly influential political figures. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Literary. (Apr.)
Kirkus Review
A deep dive into the life of Nancy Reagan (1921-2016). In a luminous and exhaustive biography, Washington Post political columnist Tumulty chronicles the private life and political influence of Ronald Reagan's wife. Drawing on interviews with surviving figures from the Reagan years, including George Shultz and James A. Baker, the author vividly captures the personality and impact of the Chicago Gold Coast debutante who became a Hollywood star and then first lady. Tumulty shows us a shrewd, savvy woman. "Hers was the power that comes with intimacy," writes the author. "The first lady was the essential disinterested observer of the ideological battles and power struggles that went on in the White House, because she had but one preoccupation: Ronald Reagan's well-being and success." She was tasked with running the household and keeping up the family's clean, conservative image: "Ronnie…left all the difficult and contentious parts of parenting to Nancy." Fostering a strong interest in astrology, she insisted that her husband's schedule, including dates and even desirability of visits from foreign leaders, align with the readings of San Francisco astrologer Joan Quigley. Tumulty's riveting narrative transcends such oddities as she leads us through the White House years, with colorful portraits of all of the relevant political players as well as the Reagan children. The author's chapter on the AIDS crisis is a gem, as she clearly portrays the neglect by the White House, the complexity of the Reagans' view of homosexuality, and the engagement of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to anchor the administration's belated response. Another standout section follows the grim tale of the Iran-Contra scandal, culminating in the Tower report and Reagan's public apology. Tumulty also assesses some tell-all books from departing staffers as well as Nancy's own memoir, My Turn (1989). Through it all, Nancy maintained her abiding love for her husband. After his death, she would see visions of him at night. The definitive biography of the woman who drove her husband's presidential ambitions--a shoo-in for the silver screen. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This biography of Nancy Reagan, fortieth First Lady of the U.S., seemingly recounts every known detail of this driven, complicated woman's life. Interviews, society columns, previously published accounts, personal letters, mind-boggling minutiae, and even state documents from the Reagan Presidential Library inform scenarios that often refute versions of events from Reagan's 1989 autobiography or stepdaughter Patti's 1992 tell-all. Pages are filled with names of movie stars and politicians, and, beginning around page 75, Ronnie. There's information about Ronald Reagan's pre-Nancy life, and then their marriage, a mutual love affair that excluded others, including their own children. As First Lady, Reagan was known for being strategic, intuitive, and fiercely protective of her husband, a private person hiding behind a pretense of unflappable good humor. Chapters detail how Nancy persistently assisted and manipulated her husband's political career, and explore her reputation as a kingmaker who exerted profound influence over matters large and small, increasingly so as her husband succumbed to Alzheimer's. By the end of her life, the public persona of social-climbing "Fancy Nancy" had been replaced by an almost universal respect. Author Tumulty, a political columnist, does offer commentary and analysis, but mostly lets the facts tell the story. Expect high demand.
Choice Review
Tumulty, a political columnist for the Washington Post, takes readers on a deep dive into the life of First Lady Nancy Reagan, tracing her rise as a minor Hollywood starlet and her marriage to Ronald Reagan before following the narrative of the First Couple's journey to the White House. In the most comprehensive account of the 40th first lady to date, Tumulty balances interviews from the administration with incendiary, often unflattering, tell-all memoirs. The book could easily have been titled The Guardian, a sort of nickname Chief of Staff James Baker gave Mrs. Reagan. Written during the COVID-19 pandemic, the book devotes an entire chapter, and the harshest criticisms of the Reagans, to their tone-deaf response to the AIDS epidemic. As First Lady, Mrs. Reagan wielded a great deal of power, most of it behind the scenes. When the Reagan presidency was cratering during the Iran Contra scandal, Mrs. Reagan brought in outside counsel to ultimately persuade President Reagan to apologize for the failed "arms for hostages" deal with Iran and to demand the resignation of his "imperious" Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan (Baker's replacement), on whose watch the scandal had occurred. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers through graduate students. --Bob Miller, University of Cincinnati-Clermont
