“I know in my heart that man is good,” the inscription on Reagan’s tombstone reads, “that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.”
Very few presidents have been shot at by assassins and the number who have walked away is even smaller. Ronald Reagan is one of these few. Could the surgery that he faced to remove the bullet have started or accelerated the onset of his Alzheimer’s? Or was his decline an inevitable part of his genetic makeup?
Those questions and the whole of Reagan’s adult life are explored in O’Reilly’s book Killing Reagan. It’s one is a series of Killing Someone books (Lincoln, Kennedy, Jesus, Patton); however, this is the first one I have read.
Historical and biographical books have to be written well to keep my attention and this book falls into that category. I prefer historical fiction, but there were so many details in Killing Reagan that were new to me, I learned while I was reading. The writing style is easy to follow and gives plenty of details without being verbose.
I learned about Reagan’s Hollywood life, his first marriage, his divorce, his pursuit of the communist party, his link to Marilyn Monroe, his entrance into politics, his time during and after his presidency and how he was very determined in everything he did.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about history. Unless you have read an in-depth biography, you will learn something new about this president. It is for adults as it does discuss adultery, Playboy and Ted Kennedy’s fatal automobile accident. I will be adding the other Killing Someone books to my to-read list and I’m hoping they’re every bit as interesting and riveting as Killing Reagan is.