What is the definitive book to read about Reagan and Reaganomics?

cui bono

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Wed Aug-22-07 06:46 PM
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What is the definitive book to read about Reagan and Reaganomics?

Thanks. :)

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Davis_X_Machina

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Wed Aug-22-07 06:51 PM
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1. Try and find...

...Paul Krugman's "Peddling Prosperity: Economic Sense and Nonsense in the Age of Diminished Expectations", or Kevin Phillips' "The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath"

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wryter2000

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Wed Aug-22-07 06:55 PM
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3. Another Phllips book is great

Thanks for mentioning him. I think it's Politics and Wealth. Shows you how the government has created wealth since before the revolution. Difficult book to absorb, but highly informative.

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followthemoney

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Tue Sep-18-07 08:23 PM
Response to Reply #3

8. Got it from the library. Bought it after I read it. Excellent book. nt

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wryter2000

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Wed Aug-22-07 06:54 PM
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2. Not THE definitive book

David Stockman's old book something like The Triumph of Politics: Why the Reagan Revolution Failed.

Stockman was one of the truly dellusional supply-siders, and he's hardly sympathetic. Plus, he blames the failure on not being cruel enough economically. Still, it's very informative to read. You have to buy it used. I recommend www.abebooks.com.

Stockman says flat out he wanted to return to the Robber Baron era, only he called it "the great fortunes of the 19th Century."

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rateyes

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Wed Aug-22-07 07:04 PM
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4. Not THE definitive book, but a very good one...

critical of Reagnomics, and written by a friend of Reagan's

"Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions" by Clyde Prestowitz

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Amy6627

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Wed Aug-22-07 07:04 PM
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5. Thom Hartmann recommends Sleep Walker Through History - can't rember author. n/t

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cui bono

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Thu Aug-23-07 02:31 AM
Response to Reply #5

7. Found it. It's actually Sleepwalking Through History: America in the Reagan Years

by Haynes Johnson

Sounds good, thanks.

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ramapo

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Wed Feb-20-08 06:43 AM
Response to Reply #7

11. Great book

Just reading it now...tough to relive those times though

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cui bono

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Thu Aug-23-07 01:40 AM
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6. Thanks everyone...

:toast:

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davekriss

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Thu Jan-31-08 01:51 AM
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9. A good book on Reagonomics was...

Benjamin Friedman, Day of Reckoning: The Consequences of American Economic Policy Under Reagan and After, (1988).

I also found two books by Kevin Phillips useful, Boiling Point: Democrats, Republicans, and the Decline of Middle Class Prosperity, (1993), which takes us to the end of the GHWB administration, and The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath, (1990).

Another book chronicaling the economic times that I found interesting was Wallace Peterson's Silent Depression: The Fate of the American Dream (1994).

Of these, I found Benjamin Friedman's book most valuable.

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pscot

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Mon Feb-18-08 01:28 PM
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10. The Predator's Ball, by Connie Bruck

Not about Reagan per se, it chronicles the rise and fall of Mike Milken,, the junk bond king, who symbolized the greed-is-good, get-it-while-you-can attitude that sprang up under Reagan and still prevails to this day. It's also a great read; fast-paced, entertaining and no longer than it needs to be. Filled with high rollers and deal makers. Good stuff.

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