Movie Nights with the Reagans: A Memoir

(Paperback)

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The former special advisor and press secretary to President Ronald Reagan shares a sentimental but often revealingenjoyable walk down Memory Lane (Kirkus Reviews)told through the movies he watched with the Reagans every week at Camp David.

Over the course of eight years, Mark Weinberg travelled to Camp David with Ronald and Nancy Reagan as they screened movies on Friday and Saturday nights. They watched movies in times of triumph, such as the aftermath of Reagans 1984 landslide, and after moments of tragedy, such as the explosion of the Challenger and the shooting of the President and Press Secretary Jim Brady.

Weinbergs unparalleled access offers a rare glimpse of the Reagansunscripted, relaxed, unburdened by the world, with no cameras in sight. Each chapter discusses a legendary film, what the Reagans thought of it, and provides warm anecdotes and untold stories about his family and the administration. From Reagans pranks on the Secret Service to his thoughts on the parallels between Hollywood and Washington, Weinberg paints a full picture of the president The New Yorker once famously dubbed The Unknowable.

A meander through a simpler time capturing a different time and a different president (USA TODAY), Movie Nights with the Reagans is a nostalgic journey through the 1980s and its most iconic films, seen through the eyes of one of Hollywoods former stars: one who was simultaneously transforming the Republican Party, the American economy, and the course of the Cold War. For those equally enthused about movies and the fortieth president, this book will serve as a welcome change from todays political climate (Publishers Weekly).

Reviews

Mark, I am delighted to hear you are writing a book about Camp David. There are a lot of wonderful stories to be told, and just thinking about these days brings back such happy memories.Nancy Reagan, from a letter to the author
For those equally enthused about movies and the 40th president, this book will serve as a welcome change from todays political climate.Publishers Weekly
Sentimental but often revealing captures the personable nature of the Reagans and how they shifted and reflected the cultural landscape. A readable, mostly enjoyable walk down Memory Lane.Kirkus

Author Bio

Mark Weinberg is a former speechwriter and advisor to President Ronald Reagan, who served on the 1980 Reagan campaign traveling staff, all eight years in the Reagan White House, and two years thereafter as Reagans spokesman in his post-presidency office in Los Angeles. He is an experienced executive communications consultant who has held senior management positions at Fortune 500 corporations and the federal government. Weinberg currently runs his own communications consultancy, Weinberg Communications. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and their two children. Movie Nights with the Reagans is his first book.