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''An American Life'' is the 1990
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
of former American President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
. Released almost two years after Reagan left office, the book reached number eight on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. The book was largely ghostwritten by journalist Robert Lindsey.


Content

The book is composed of 748 pages, describing Reagan's life from his birth in
Tampico, Illinois Tampico () is a village located in Tampico Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, Tampico Township, Whiteside County, Illinois, Whiteside County, Illinois, United States next to Rock Falls and Sterling, Illinois. As of the 2010 United States census ...
, to his acting career, marriages, entrance into politics, years as
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
, loss in the 1976 Republican primary, and finally his years as
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. Reviewer John O'Sullivan says of Reagan, " shows a tendency, where other people's feelings are concerned, to gloss over unpleasantness in a way which ... detracts ... from his value as a historian." He told his side of events that led to his 1976 presidential candidacy, as well as his relationships with members of
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
and his views on the world and the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.


Personal life

Reagan was married twice: the first to actress
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...
(1917–2007) from 1940 to 1948. Reagan only mentions her in one paragraph in the book, saying "it didn't work out", but that the marriage "produced two wonderful children." He married
Nancy Davis Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...
in 1952, saying in the biography "Sometimes, I think my life really began when I met Nancy."


Presidency

Although covering most of the events that occurred during the
Reagan presidency Ronald Reagan's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 40th president of the United States began with First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Rep ...
(1981–1989), the book's most notable omission is the rejection of
Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (March 1, 1927 – December 19, 2012) was an American legal scholar who served as solicitor general of the United States from 1973 until 1977. A professor by training, he was acting United States Attorney General and a judge on ...
as a
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
justice, with very little mention made of Reagan's judicial appointments. One of Reagan's more controversial enactments as president were his
economic policies ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris School of Economics. The jo ...
, dubbed "
Reaganomics Reaganomics (; a portmanteau of ''Reagan'' and ''economics'' attributed to Paul Harvey), or Reaganism, were the Neoliberalism, neoliberal economics, economic policies promoted by United States President, U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the ...
." From the autobiography's point of view, everything about them were successful except that "the vested interests that hold sway over Congress prevented us from cutting spending nearly as much as I had hoped to, or as the country required." Also in terms of economic policy, one of Reagan's main regrets was his ultimate failure in creating a federal balanced budget. With regards to the
Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...
, a major administration scandal that involved the diverting of funds being shipped to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
to the
contras In the history of Nicaragua, the Contras (Spanish: ''La contrarrevolución'', the counter-revolution) were the right-wing militias who waged anti-communist guerilla warfare (1979–1990) against the Marxist governments of the Sandinista Na ...
in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, ''An American Life'' says, "None of the arms we'd shipped to Iran had gone to the terrorists who had kidnapped our citizens." Of the scandal, Reagan writes, " udMcFarlane, ohnPoindexter, obCasey, and, I presume, liverNorth knew how deeply I felt about the need for the contras' survival as a democratic resistance force in Nicaragua. Perhaps that knowledge... led them to support the contras secretly and saw no reason to report this to me." The autobiography goes on to claim that, " president, I was at the helm, so I am the one who is ultimately responsible." The book also discusses Reagan's political rivalry and personal friendship with former
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...
Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...
.


Reviews

When the book was first published, it reached number eight on ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' bestsellers list. Some authors, journalists, and reviewers agreed that the book presented a fair picture of Reagan's life, while others seriously questioned its historical value and purpose.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Life 1990 non-fiction books Political autobiographies Books about Ronald Reagan Books by Ronald Reagan Books written by presidents of the United States