When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan

Read by the author
3 cassettes/5 hours

From the bestselling author of What I Saw at the Revolution comes an elegiac tribute to one of America's most beloved leaders.

It is twenty years—a full generation—since Ronald Reagan first walked into the White House and ignited a revolution. From the beginning, he enjoyed the American people's affection but now, as he approaches the end of his life, he has received what he deserved even more: their deep respect.

What was the wellspring of his greatness? Peggy Noonan, bestselling author of the classic Reagan-era memoir What I Saw at the Revolution, former speechwriter, and now a columnist and contributing editor for The Wall Street Journal, argues that the secret of Reagan's success was no secret at all. It was his character—his courage, his kindness, his persistence, his honesty, and his almost heroic patience in the face of setbacks—that was the most important element of his success.

The one thing a man must bring into the White House with him if he is to succeed, Noonan contends, is a character that people come to recognize as high, sturdy, and reliable.

Noonan, renowned for her special insight into Ronald Reagan's history and personality, brings her own reflections to Reagan to bear in When Character Was King and discloses never-before-told stories from the former president's family, friends, and White House colleagues 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 enlighten and move listeners.

• An American Life
• What I Saw At the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era
• Reagan: An American Journey
• The Reagan Diaries: Extended Selections
• The Time of Our Lives: Collected Writings
• Speeches by Ronald Reagan: The Ultimate Collection
• Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
• The Man Who Knew the Way to the Moon
• The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty
• The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great