Reagans Revolution : The Untold Story Of The Campaign That Started It All

Today\'s political scene looks nothing like it did thirty years ago, and that is due mostly to Reagan\'s monumental reshaping of the Republican party. What few people realize, however, is that Reagan\'s revolution did not begin when he took office in 1980, but in his failed presidential challenge to Gerald Ford in 1975-1976. This is the remarkable story of that historic campaign--one that, as Reagan put it, turned a party of \"pale pastels\" into a national party of \"bold colors.\" Featuring interviews with a myriad of politicos, journalists, and observers, including Nancy Reagan, James Baker, Bill Buckley, Jimmy Carter, Mike Deaver, Bob Novak, and both Bush presidents, Craig Shirley relays intriguing, never-before-told anecdotes about Reagan, his staff, the campaign, the media, and the national parties (often funny and surprising stories about Nelson Rockefeller, Shirley Temple Black, Spiro Agnew, and even Dick Cheney) and shows how Reagan, instead of following the lead of the ever-weakening Republican party, brought the party to him and almost single-handedly revived it.