Ronald Reagan's "Notecards" is a fascinating window into the mind of the fortieth president and the writers and thinkers whom he turned to for advice, inspiration, humour, and hope. Collected by the Ronald Reagan Foundation, the book includes both Reagan's own original writing that honors a lifetime of work in the arts and politics, and includes his favorite quotations, proverbs, and excerpts from speeches, poetry, and literature. Reagan sought wisdom from a wide-ranging set of political figures, philosophers, novelists, and poets, including Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Webster, John F. Kennedy, and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Mahatma Ghandi, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Mark Twain, and Thomas Wolfe. While the number 1 "New York Times" bestselling "Reagan Diaries" detailed daily life inside the oval office, "Notecards" encapsulates a lifetime of reflections on work, marriage, and family in classic one liners such as, 'Flattery is what makes husbands out of bachelors,' and 'Money may not buy friends but it will help you to stay in contact with your children.' Reagan's own writing-his jokes, aphorisms, and insights into politics and life-are often surprising and reveal a view of the president that has rarely been seen before. Historic, illuminating, and deeply captivating, "Notecards" is a remarkable collection of the thoughts of one of our most beloved presidents.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
The Notes
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"This volume provides an illuminating glimpse into Reagan's mind. . . . The entries show the directness of Reagan's thought and his uncanny ability to make a point."--"The Daily"
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
About the Author
Ronald Reagan was born in 1911 in Illinois. After a career as a television and film star, he was twice elected the governor of California before becoming the fortieth president of the United States. He died on June 5, 2004. Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University and the author of several books, including The Wilderness Warrior, The Great Deluge, and The Quiet World. A contributing editor at Vanity Fair, he lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and three children
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars
26 reviews
62 of 64 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect collection
10 May 2011
By John R. Smith
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
This book is perfect for anyone in three distinct markets. The first consists of those who are interested in Reagan the politician and president, who, by many accounts presided over one of the greatest and most significant periods in American history (the revival of free market capitalism and the fall of the Soviet Union). The Notes offers a glimpse into the mind of one of the great figures in that period and underscores the spirit of the late 20th century in a way akin to Pascal's Pensées.
The second market consists of those who are interested in public speaking. It would not be a stretch to claim that Reagan was the best orator of the 20th century and rivals the great orators of the American founding. Looking at the notes is like taking a seminar on how to capture an audience's attention, connect with them, convince them, and then make them feel thankful for having received such wisdom. One recalls Buckley's Speaking in Public and Adler's How to Speak How to Listen.
Third, this book is for anyone interested in how to subdue what has become a fierce culture divide by means of eloquence and wit. The divide is not just a symptom of the problem, but the problem itself. And Reagan, of all people, understood the paradoxes of modern times wholly and could relate them if only by identifying them. While current politicians possess similar charisma and speaking abilities, they are incapable of connecting with such a wide span of Americans and foreigners.
For anyone in these markets and for lovers of communication in general, this book of Ronald Reagan's "keepers" is a keeper in itself.
The second market consists of those who are interested in public speaking. It would not be a stretch to claim that Reagan was the best orator of the 20th century and rivals the great orators of the American founding. Looking at the notes is like taking a seminar on how to capture an audience's attention, connect with them, convince them, and then make them feel thankful for having received such wisdom. One recalls Buckley's Speaking in Public and Adler's How to Speak How to Listen.
Third, this book is for anyone interested in how to subdue what has become a fierce culture divide by means of eloquence and wit. The divide is not just a symptom of the problem, but the problem itself. And Reagan, of all people, understood the paradoxes of modern times wholly and could relate them if only by identifying them. While current politicians possess similar charisma and speaking abilities, they are incapable of connecting with such a wide span of Americans and foreigners.
For anyone in these markets and for lovers of communication in general, this book of Ronald Reagan's "keepers" is a keeper in itself.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Only Book I'd Save In A Fire
11 May 2011
By Laura Freed
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Actually, I bought this initially on my Kindle (first generation) - but I will be buying the hard copy also, that's how much I was entertained as well as educated by it.
I am a quote junkie and saw the Editor, Douglas Brinkley, on one of the morning programs who explained that while it's true Reagan was a master communicator, he was also very prepared. A box of full of Reagan's "notes" was discovered in 2010. Reagan collected quotes, poems, and one liners that resonated with him and filed them in a black photo album.
This is a short book, I read it in one afternoon, but it is a book I will turn to again and again for when I need inspiration or a laugh or trying to understand history or politics.
The quotes are divided into these subjects: On Nation, On Liberty, On War, On the People, On Religion, The World, On Character (one of my most highlighted chapters), On Political Theater, Humor (the second most highlighted chapter).
There is a glossary at the conclusion of The Notes that lists more information on the people the quotes are attributed to...some are well known to me: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, but I loved that I was able to learn of authors that I was not so familiar with: Graham Barden, Whittaker Chambers, Gilbert Chesterton.
I will be gifting to this to many many people for graduations, birthdays, and Christmas.
This is for people who love history, love politics, love quotes, and of course, love Reagan.
Also, after reading it, I thought it would make a great gift to ALL political parties in office - it's a humbling, often humorous reminder of what this country fought for, stands for and yet most of today's politicians seem to have forgot.
If my house caught fire, and I could only save one book - it would be The Notes; that's how much I loved it.
I am a quote junkie and saw the Editor, Douglas Brinkley, on one of the morning programs who explained that while it's true Reagan was a master communicator, he was also very prepared. A box of full of Reagan's "notes" was discovered in 2010. Reagan collected quotes, poems, and one liners that resonated with him and filed them in a black photo album.
This is a short book, I read it in one afternoon, but it is a book I will turn to again and again for when I need inspiration or a laugh or trying to understand history or politics.
The quotes are divided into these subjects: On Nation, On Liberty, On War, On the People, On Religion, The World, On Character (one of my most highlighted chapters), On Political Theater, Humor (the second most highlighted chapter).
There is a glossary at the conclusion of The Notes that lists more information on the people the quotes are attributed to...some are well known to me: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, but I loved that I was able to learn of authors that I was not so familiar with: Graham Barden, Whittaker Chambers, Gilbert Chesterton.
I will be gifting to this to many many people for graduations, birthdays, and Christmas.
This is for people who love history, love politics, love quotes, and of course, love Reagan.
Also, after reading it, I thought it would make a great gift to ALL political parties in office - it's a humbling, often humorous reminder of what this country fought for, stands for and yet most of today's politicians seem to have forgot.
If my house caught fire, and I could only save one book - it would be The Notes; that's how much I loved it.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Compendium of Wisdom, Personally Selected by the 'Great Communicator'
29 May 2011
By James Strock
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
What a delightful book! Here we have Ronald Reagan's jottings of thoughts and observations, jokes and quotations, preserved on his ever-present 4 x 6 note cards. Watch a film of the 'Great Communicator' preparing to speak, and you may find him slipping his hand in his suit pocket, deftly withdrawing and then arranging his cards as he waves, smiles, accepts applause and looks across his audience. His ubiquitous note cards were each written to be self-contained, with an eye toward prospective rearrangement for future presentations. This system--a description he might have smilingly dismissed as rather grand--comprised a vital element of his extraordinary effectiveness as a communicator.
Historian Douglas Brinkley has done a masterful job of classifying the cards into topics such as: 'On the Nation,' 'On the People,' 'On Religion,', 'On Character,' and so on. My favorite--and I suspect, the favorite of many--is the final section, 'Humor.' Reagan's voice is remains familiar, even intimate, in his use of humor as a persuasive tool, a management tool, indeed, a way to approach the seriousness of leadership and life and work.
Especially for younger readers, Brinkley adds value with a glossary of the many individuals whose words or actions populate the cards. The index is also invaluable.
Those who--somehow, against all evidence--continue at this late date to underestimate Reagan's discipline and thought process will find much to reflect upon in this book.
So, too, those who have studied or written about or served under Reagan (or done a bit of each, such as myself) will find much to appreciate in this newly discovered trove of work, direct from his pen.
I recommend this book most highly. It's a useful addition to any library: on Reagan, on history, on leadership, on communication.
Most importantly--and, perhaps, most enduringly--as Brinkley declares in the introduction, Reagan's notes 'constitute a love song to America.'
Historian Douglas Brinkley has done a masterful job of classifying the cards into topics such as: 'On the Nation,' 'On the People,' 'On Religion,', 'On Character,' and so on. My favorite--and I suspect, the favorite of many--is the final section, 'Humor.' Reagan's voice is remains familiar, even intimate, in his use of humor as a persuasive tool, a management tool, indeed, a way to approach the seriousness of leadership and life and work.
Especially for younger readers, Brinkley adds value with a glossary of the many individuals whose words or actions populate the cards. The index is also invaluable.
Those who--somehow, against all evidence--continue at this late date to underestimate Reagan's discipline and thought process will find much to reflect upon in this book.
So, too, those who have studied or written about or served under Reagan (or done a bit of each, such as myself) will find much to appreciate in this newly discovered trove of work, direct from his pen.
I recommend this book most highly. It's a useful addition to any library: on Reagan, on history, on leadership, on communication.
Most importantly--and, perhaps, most enduringly--as Brinkley declares in the introduction, Reagan's notes 'constitute a love song to America.'
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews
3.8 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > United States
- Books > Biography > Political > United States
- Books > History
- Books > Humour
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
