Assessing The Reagan Years

In this important new volume, editors Paul Kengor and Peter Schweizer bring together original essays from leading scholars who examine topics as varied as Iran Contra, abortion, the Cold War, governmental management, and economic policy. Through critical analysis, these essays seek a better understanding of Ronald Reagan, his policies, and his lasting legacy.

A collection of political commentaries published originally in the Wall Street Journal by a Reagan critic. No index. No bibliography. Contributors from both Britain and the US (but mostly Britain) cover Reagan's management of institutions (Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet councils and the White House staff, the mass media, the political parties) and assess his leadership in the arenas of economic policy and foreign affairs. Generally oriented to the level of advanced undergraduate students, and generally well done, though an index is sorely lacking. Distributed in the US and Canada by St. Martins Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Reagan presidency has been both eulogised and reviled. Supporters have claimed that Ronald Reagan not only regenerated American power and restored American prestige but changed the direction of domestic policy in a way which marked the end of a twenty year period of expanding government. This book explores the Reagan policy style and substance. It considers the initial aspirations of the two Reagan administrations, examines the constraints with which they had to contend, and assesses the legacy of achievement and failure.

"A report of the Urban Institute's Changing Domestic Priorities Project"--Page ii."URI 34200"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references.

The arguments over the economic policies of the Reagan Administration will continue until sufficient time has elapsed for a consensus to be possible. In the meantime, it is necessary for contemporary scholars to record their opinions as a base for the consensus. Campagna has recorded his conclusions based on considerable research on Reagan Administration policies. He begins by describing what was planned by the government. From there, he discusses what actually happened, and devotes the remainder of the work to his opinion of what has been left with which the future must deal. Campagna concludes that the Reagan economic policies failed. He establishes a position for others to attack or defend in their own publications in the continuing argument.

Ronald Reagan's election to the presidency in 1980 marked a victory for conservatism. But, as Meg Jacobs and Julian Zelizer point out in their introduction, once in power, conservatives discovered that implementing their agenda and reversing the liberalism entrenched in American government would not be as easy as they had hoped. In this collection, Jacobs and Zelizer explore the successes and limitations of the so-called Reagan Revolution and chronicle its legacy through subsequent presidencies up to Barack Obama's election in 2008. More than 60 thematically organized documents -- some recently released -- illuminate conservatives' efforts to shift American politics to the right. These materials -- including speeches, memos, and articles from the popular press -- explore Reagan's personal evolution as a conservative leader, as well as Reaganomics, tax cuts, anticommunism, the arms race, the culture wars, and scandals such as Iran Contra. Photographs, document headnotes, a chronology, selected bibliography, and questions for consideration provide pedagogical support.