The Triumph of Nancy Reagan

Starred review from January 25, 2021
Washington Post columnist Tumulty debuts with an astute reassessment of former first lady Nancy Reagan (1921–2016), a woman who “America never quite figured out.” Born Anne Francis Robbins in New York City, Nancy “was the product of a broken marriage” who spent ages two to eight in the care of relatives while her actor mother traveled for work. After her mother’s remarriage to neurosurgeon Loyal Davis, Nancy took her stepfather’s last name and trained as a nurse’s aide before landing her first stage acting role thanks to a family friend. She moved to Hollywood in 1949 and, according to Tumulty, quickly set her sights on newly divorced actor Ronald Reagan as a future husband. Adopting an episodic approach to Nancy’s White House years, Tumulty highlights the “ghastly scene” that awaited the first lady at the hospital after the president was shot in 1980, and her role in running the “rescue operation” that prevented the Iran-Contra scandal from upending Reagan’s second term. Tumulty touches on dark family dynamics, including the impact of Nancy’s “anxiety and insecurity” on her children, but the book’s greatest strength is the nuanced, in-depth portrayal of the Reagans’ relationship and Nancy’s fierce stewardship of her husband’s political goals. The result is a complex and engrossing portrait of one of the 20th century’s most quietly influential political figures. Agent: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Literary.

March 12, 2021

Tumulty, an award-winning Washington Post journalist, debuts with a well-written account of the life of Nancy Reagan (born Anne Frances Robbins). It begins with her childhood in New York as the only child of Edie Luckett, a successful actress, and Kenneth Robbins, a car salesman. Her early life was difficult, as her mother traveled to pursue acting jobs, leaving Anne in the care of an aunt in Maryland--and also leaving Anne in search of a permanent mother figure. Tumulty takes care when recounting her subject's transformation into actress "Nancy Davis" (Anne took her stepfather's last name) and ultimately "Nancy Reagan," after she fell for and married the young studio star Ronald Reagan. In Tumulty's telling, Nancy was key to her husband's success both political and private, acting as a detail-focused adviser who managed Ronald's public persona, from his entry into politics through his years with Alzheimer's Disease. Packed with detail, the book cites personal interviews with Nancy throughout the years, as well as a host of published sources. VERDICT A thoroughly researched, evenhanded treatment of the most loyal and most important of Ronald Reagan's influencers; likely to be popular in both subject collections and public libraries --Edwin Burgess, Kansas City, KS

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Starred review from March 15, 2021
This biography of Nancy Reagan, fortieth First Lady of the U.S., seemingly recounts every known detail of this driven, complicated woman's life. Interviews, society columns, previously published accounts, personal letters, mind-boggling minutiae, and even state documents from the Reagan Presidential Library inform scenarios that often refute versions of events from Reagan's 1989 autobiography or stepdaughter Patti's 1992 tell-all. Pages are filled with names of movie stars and politicians, and, beginning around page 75, Ronnie. There's information about Ronald Reagan's pre-Nancy life, and then their marriage, a mutual love affair that excluded others, including their own children. As First Lady, Reagan was known for being strategic, intuitive, and fiercely protective of her husband, a private person hiding behind a pretense of unflappable good humor. Chapters detail how Nancy persistently assisted and manipulated her husband's political career, and explore her reputation as a kingmaker who exerted profound influence over matters large and small, increasingly so as her husband succumbed to Alzheimer's. By the end of her life, the public persona of social-climbing ""Fancy Nancy"" had been replaced by an almost universal respect. Author Tumulty, a political columnist, does offer commentary and analysis, but mostly lets the facts tell the story. Expect high demand.

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Starred review from March 1, 2021
A deep dive into the life of Nancy Reagan (1921-2016). In a luminous and exhaustive biography, Washington Post political columnist Tumulty chronicles the private life and political influence of Ronald Reagan's wife. Drawing on interviews with surviving figures from the Reagan years, including George Shultz and James A. Baker, the author vividly captures the personality and impact of the Chicago Gold Coast debutante who became a Hollywood star and then first lady. Tumulty shows us a shrewd, savvy woman. "Hers was the power that comes with intimacy," writes the author. "The first lady was the essential disinterested observer of the ideological battles and power struggles that went on in the White House, because she had but one preoccupation: Ronald Reagan's well-being and success." She was tasked with running the household and keeping up the family's clean, conservative image: "Ronnie...left all the difficult and contentious parts of parenting to Nancy." Fostering a strong interest in astrology, she insisted that her husband's schedule, including dates and even desirability of visits from foreign leaders, align with the readings of San Francisco astrologer Joan Quigley. Tumulty's riveting narrative transcends such oddities as she leads us through the White House years, with colorful portraits of all of the relevant political players as well as the Reagan children. The author's chapter on the AIDS crisis is a gem, as she clearly portrays the neglect by the White House, the complexity of the Reagans' view of homosexuality, and the engagement of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to anchor the administration's belated response. Another standout section follows the grim tale of the Iran-Contra scandal, culminating in the Tower report and Reagan's public apology. Tumulty also assesses some tell-all books from departing staffers as well as Nancy's own memoir, My Turn (1989). Through it all, Nancy maintained her abiding love for her husband. After his death, she would see visions of him at night. The definitive biography of the woman who drove her husband's presidential ambitions--a shoo-in for the silver screen.

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