From his first days in office, President Ronald Reagan enjoyed public affection and went on to win the hearts of many Americans. Peggy Noonan, special assistant to President Reagan, shows that the secret of Reagan's success is his character: courage, persistence, honesty, and incredible patience in the face of setbacks. Noonan shares her own reflections on Reagan as well as those of the Bush presidents, Reagan's Secret Service men, White House colleagues, and the First Family, revealing the true nature of a man who is viewed, even by his opponents, as a maker of history. Marked by incisive wit and elegant prose, When Character Was King may be the last word on Ronald Reagan, not only as a leader but as a man.
No one has ever captured Ronald Reagan like Peggy Noonan. In When Character Was King, Noonan brings her own reflections on Reagan to bear as well as new stories—from Presidents George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, his Secret Service men and White House colleagues, his wife, his daughter Patti Davis, and his close friends—to reveal the true nature of a man even his opponents now view as a maker of big history. Marked by incisive wit and elegant prose, When Character Was King will both enlighten and move readers. It may well be the last word on Ronald Reagan, not only as a leader but as a man.
Peggy Noonan’s New York Times bestselling books include When Character Was King and What I Saw at the Revolution. She is a columnist and contributing editor at the Wall Street Journal and the winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
