Monday, September 7, 2009

Mailbox Labor Day

HAPPY LABOR DAY! My Mailbox Monday list is very short: Plainsong by Kent Haruf finally showed up after a long time en route. I have to jump on this one because it is my Book Club book for September. Much more exciting -- the book I have waited for for eight years is finally here: The Age of Reagan (Vol. II): The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980 - 1989 by Steven F. Hayward. The first volume of Hayward's two-part biography, The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964 - 1980, came out in 2001. Although volume one is over 800 pages, it seemed like a "quick read" because it is full of interesting information and Hayward is a terrific writer with a light touch. Unlike Dutch, Edmund Morris's strange, semi-fictional "memoir" of Reagan's life, Hayward's biography relies on primary source material and analysis. Hayward is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, so it is no surprise that he approaches his subject from the right, but his work is definitely biography, not hagiography. I am so looking forward to volume two. This one covers Reagan's years as President and Hayward was able to use Reagan's Presidential diaries, which were published in 2007. I am going to review it for the Internet Review of Books. .

6 comments :

  1. Happy Labor Day to you! Here is my wrap up post for the smackdown...

    http://bookpsmith.blogspot.com/2009/04/sunshine-smackdown-battle-of-prizes.html

    I look forward to the Age of Reagan review.

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  2. Happy Labor Day. Looks like you got some great books this week. Happy reading.

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  3. The Age of Reagan looks like it would be a really intense read. Is your interest political, or more for the history? I love reading about both, but of course I like reading about scandal more (I guess that's just human nature). :)

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  4. Psmith -- thanks for the wrap up. I'm going to do a whole-challenge wrap up post myself in a bit.

    Alyce -- I like the politics in political biographies, if it isn't over-the-top partisan. I like it to be political analysis, not political cheerleading. But mostly I like the history -- I like to read about how all the parts fit together: the people, the attitudes, and the events.

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  5. Read Plainsong and throughly enjoyed it!! Am currently reading The Unit. Happy Labor Day all!

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