God And Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life

(Paperback)

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"He who introduces into public office the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the world." -Ronald Reagan, 1967, quoting Benjamin Franklin Long before George W. Bush's efforts to bring faith-based initiatives - and the identification of evil in the world - to the modern presidency, Ronald Reagan was using his own brand of Christianity to influence the course of world events in a conscious and consistent manner. In this bestselling, definitive spiritual biography of our fortieth president, "God and Ronald Reagan", politician historian Paul Kengor presents a meticulously researched, fascinating account of Reagan's life as seen through the lens of his relationship to God, and traces this relationship to its culmination: America's battle against the atheistic Soviet Union. An intensely private man, Reagan kept his personal religious beliefs relatively quiet over the years. But as Kengor shows, Reagan's own words demonstrate that his religious orientation was shaped in his childhood - and was retained with extraordinary consistency throughout his life. Schooled as a young man in the simple religious ideas of his Protestant mother, Reagan embraced Christianity with the fervor of a lonely boy who had found his first friend. Reagan's earthly father was a distant man who drank heavily and offered little in the way of comfort, so Reagan turned toward a heavenly father, a dependent and accessible God. Eventually, Kengor argues, Reagan's religious framework became a presidential one - and one that ran head-on into an anti-religious war in Moscow. Nothing more strongly clashed with Reagan's belief system than Soviet communism; he saw the victims of Soviet oppression as weary soldiers in the great struggle for faith in the 20th century. To Reagan, the United States was a divinely ordained beacon of freedom - a Shining City on a Hill - and as Kengor conclusively demonstrates, it was this conviction that compelled him to a series of challenges that would eventually bring down Communism once and for all. Blending groundbreaking research and fascinating storytelling, "God and Ronald Reagan", has forever changed our understanding of one of our most influential presidents.

Reviews

"A profound character study, an engrossing work of history...a heartbreakingly beautiful love story about one man and his Maker." -- --Peter Robinson, Reagan speechwriter and author of How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life

"Paul Kengor now reveals the inner heart and soul of this great man." -- --Judge William P. Clark, National Security Advisor, Reagan Administration

"Paul Kengor takes the reader to depths where no other writer has yet been--Ronald Reagan's very soul. " -- --Peter Schweizer, author of Reagan's War

"God and Ronald Reagan fundamentally transforms the historical view of Ronald Reagan and his place in the 20th century." -- --Donald M. Goldstein, co-author of At Dawn We Slept

"Paul Kengor has performed a masterful service by shining a light on this underappreciated but central aspect of Reagan's life." -- --Steven F. Hayward, author of The Age of Reagan

"[A] superb book--no interpretation of Ronald Reagan will be complete without reference to this vital work." -- --Stephen Knott, Ronald Reagan Oral History Project, University of Virginia

"In this meticulously researched and insightful book, Paul Kengor finds the ultimate source of Ronald Reagan's resolve against communism." -- --Andrew E. Busch, author of Ronald Reagan and the Politics of Freedom

"God and Ronald Reagan deepens our understanding of Reagan's life and the times in which he governed." -- --Matthew Dallek, author of The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics

"Illuminates the role of faith in the life and worldview of one of the 20th century's most important figures." -- --Rich Lowry, editor-in-chief, National Review

"Illuminates the role of faith in the life and worldview of one of the 20th century's most important figures." -- --Lee Edwards, Distinguished Fellow, Heritage Foundation, and author of Ronald Reagan: A Political Biography

"Paul Kengor has written an excellent book which explores a previously neglected aspect of Reagan's life--his religious faith." -- --Edwin Meese III, Reagan administration Attorney General

"In the vast body of Reagan scholarship, what's been missing is a spiritual biography. Kengor has admirably supplied our need." -- --Robert P. George, Princeton University

"A penetrating history of the President's evolving religious faith and its articulation in different settings during his career." -- --Kenneth W. Thompson, University of Virginia

"Paul Kengor offers not only a thorough history of Reagan's religious development but a good and sardonic eye for detail." -- --Marvin Olasky, professor, University of Texas at Austin and editor-in-chief of World magazine

"Paul Kengor's book offers a deeper understanding than can be found in any of the conventional academic literature." -- --Hugh Heclo, Robinson Professor of Public Affairs, George Mason University

"For anyone who believes Christianity and politics don't mix needs to read this work on an American president." -- --David A. Noebel, Summit Ministries

"God and Ronald Reagan makes an important contribution to our understanding of the last major president of the 20th century." -- --Ryan J. Barilleaux, Miami University of Ohio

"The conservative Christian who rarely went to church. That is the conundrum most pundits used to refer to Ronald Reagan when discussing his reltionship to religion. God and Ronald Reagan helps us finally come to grips wiht the man and the presidency taht was Ronald Reagan. From childhood to the Cold War, Paul Kengor has unearthed the Ropnald Reagan most of knew was there but which few of us had the chance to see. Enjoyable and enlightening." -- --Gary L. Gregg, Ph.D., Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership, director, McConnell Center for Political Leadership, University of Louisville

"Paul Kengor has addressed a critical issue in today's study of the American Presidency: how religious background influences presidential decisions. This is a book particularly important to presidential scholars who are assessing President George W. Bush and how he too has interwoven his political and religious beliefs in presidential decisions." -- --Shirley Anne Warshaw, Professor, Department of political science, Gettysburg College

Author Bio

Paul Kengor, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science at Grove City College. He is nationally known for his work on Ronald Reagan, which has been featured in dozens of major national publications, both popular and academic, including USA Today, The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, National Review, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Wall Street Journal. In addition, he has served as president of the Shenango Institute and a member of the editorial board of Presidential Studies Quarterly. Kengor lives with his wife and three children in Grove City, Pennsylvania.