Reddit reviews The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 (American History)
We found 3 Reddit comments about The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 (American History). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
This is quite the under-taking, so I'll just list the presidents from which I am familiar with the historical literature. In order to guarantee that you get an analytically thorough understanding of each president, I'll avoid "pop" histories (thus, nothing by David McCullough) in favor of more analytically driven, yet still well written, histories. I will still incorporate some books from non-academic publishers, however. First off, the best place to start would probably be the University of Kansas's American Presidency Series (note that this is different from the American Presidents Series, which is done from NY Times books. Always be sure to check the publisher). This series is great for getting a good understanding of what historians in general have written about each respective president; however, the series only focuses on the presidency, which is more constrained than what you're looking for. I'll just go in sequential order based on when the individual was president.
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow. (Do not buy this book off the internet. I've seen the hardcover version of this book in the overstock sections of Barnes and Nobles, Wal Marts, and even Albertsons for $6. Don't become reticent about it because it's in the cheapy bin at Wal Mart. Chernow is one of the best biographers of early American history and the book won a Pulitzer.
His Excellency: George Washington by Joseph Ellis
John Adams: A Life by John Ferling
Thomas Jefferson by R.B. Bernstein
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham
The Sacred Fire of Liberty: James Madison and the Founding of the American Republic by Lance Banning
James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon
Paul Nagel's John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life
For an in depth look at his time as Secretary of State, check out John Quincy Adams: Policymaker for the Union by James E. Lewis, Jr.
Robert Remini's 3-volume biography is still the most comprehensive on Andrew Jackson. Vol. I is Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Empire, 1767-1821; Vol. II is Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Freedom, 1822-1833; Vol. III is Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845.
Old Hickory's War: Andrew Jackson and the Quest for Empire by David and Jeanne Heidler is also worth reading.
Edmund Morris's 3-volume biography. Vol. I, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt; Vol. II, Theodore Rex;, Vol. III, Colonel Roosevelt
Man of the People: A Life of Harry S. Truman by Alonzo Hamby
The aforementioned American Presidency Series book, The Presidency of John F. Kennedy, revised edition by James Giglio.
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek
Robert Caro's multi-volume biography (still unfinished). Vol. I, The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power; Vol. II, Means of Ascent; Vol. III, Master of the Senate; Vol. IV, The Passage of Power; Vol. V is yet to be published.
For a one volume account, LBJ: Architect of Ambition by Randall Woods is also good.
Strangely, there still isn't a definitive book on Nixon's presidency. For a good understanding of his presidency, you need to get into more specific areas, like Nixon and foreign affairs, Nixon and the civil rights movement, or even biographies of Nixon's closest advisers within his administration. The best account of Nixon himself would by the American Presidency Series's entry by Melvin Small, The Presidency of Richard Nixon. Equally important when attempting to understand Nixon's presidency is the life and thought of Henry Kissinger. The single best biography of Kissinger is Jeremi Suri's Henry Kissinger and the American Century.
Really the only substantive book on Gerald Ford comes from the American Presidency Series. It's The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford, revised ed by John Greene.
The more substantive books on Carter are going to be too dry reading than what you're asking for. A readable, and analytically thorough, biography of Carter's presidency is The Presidency of James Earl Carter, Jr., revised and updated edition by Burton Ira Kaufman. For Carter's (much more effective) time post-presidency, check out Douglas Brinkley's The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Quest for Global Peace. For the Carter presidency's foreign policy, still the best account is Morality, Reason, and Power: American Diplomacy in the Carter Years by Gaddis Smith.
It's hard to find a good, unbiased biography of Reagan. By far the best biography comes from the journalist Lou Cannon in his book, President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime.
Sean Wilentz's The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 is also good, but the author becomes more clearly biased as the history gets closer to the present. Still, despite the author's biases it is a great book that is analytically sharp and incredibly well written.
Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s by Gil Troy offers a solid, more positive assessment of Reagan than most historians provide.
The American Presidency Series's entry by John Greene, The Presidency of George Bush
Historians are just now starting to dig into the Clinton presidency. The best account of the Clinton presidency, like Reagan's presidency, comes from a journalist: John Harris's The Survior: Bill Clinton in the White House
There are also a ton of books on the George W. Bush presidency, many of them good, many of them bad. While I'm not a big fan of this sub-reddit's 20 years prior rule, I will respect it. If you want some suggestions on George W. Bush, just PM me.
Edit: I realized I completely left out John Quincy Adams so I added him in.
Edit #2: I also linked my suggestions to their respective Amazon page.
I was recommended this book, Wilentz's "The Age of Reagan" by a poli-sci professor of mine. It goes in detail about the situations that surrounded Reagan's rise to power, and continues detailing his legacy until Barack Obama's election in 2008.
I am not a Reagan scholar, so I'm surprised by the 3/5 star rating it received on Amazon. I've enjoyed what I've read so far and it gives me a good grounding of information from that time period we are never taught in school. Feels pretty unbiased to me.
> Good knowledge. But I need to finish up Hall of Mirrors
Ohhhh Barry's got a new release?? And here I was ready to finally [editors edit: hit lmfao] tackle Sean's [latest hit.](http://www.amazon.com/Age-Reagan-History-1974-2008-American/dp/0060744812/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464503117&sr=8-1&keywords=age+of+r
eagan)
> and I haven't made much progress through Wolf's Shifts and Shocks (keep nodding off each time I attempt to read a chapter).
Tbh I feel like we already know all the cause and effects of the GFC. Balance sheet recession. Inadequate fiscal stimulus. Lack of reform amongst the rating agencies. Low expected growth reflected via delflationary-priced fiat-denominated sovereign debt yields. Moral hazard somewhere Hank isn't. Incorrectly priced sovereign yields in the EZ. Replace 1929 Stock market with 2007 Residential real estate market. BAM! INP