The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism

by Paul Kengor

Book Overview

The inspiration for the upcoming film Reagan starring Dennis Quaid and directed by Sean McNamara

"Combining the skills of great story-telling with his commitment to scholarly detail, Paul Kengor has written an important book that also makes for a fascinating read. The Crusader will not only entertain and inform, it will change minds." -- Peter Schweizer, bestselling author of Blood Money, Red-Handed,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061189243
• ISBN13: 9780061189241
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Masterpiece Work of History! Skeptical at First, I Was Impressed!

This is a great book on Ronald Reagan's lifelong crusade against Communism. I recommend it as an enjoyable read and a fascinating history of Reagan's role in the Cold War. Despite an obvious enthusiasm for Reagan, Kengor's research is extremely well-researched and authoritative. "The Crusader" is a "must read" book for anyone interested in the period. However, the story presented here is one-dimensional and, therefore, different than the fuller story Reagan tells himself in his autobiography An American Life by Ronald Reagan and The Reagan Diaries. According to Reagan himself, he and Gorbachev became good friends and peacefully ended the Cold War. Read the last chapter of his own autobiography. This view is affirmed by Reagan's top diplomatic advisor to USSR Jack Matlock in Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended. The Soviet Empire dispanded three years after Reagan left office, when George Bush Sr. was president. Also, recent Ronald Reagan biographies by John Patrick Diggins, Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History, and Richard Reeves President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination, tell the same story but with much more information, showing the more diplomatic and peaceful side of Reagan that is missing in Kengor's "The Crusader." I recommend reading those books, along with the Crusader, to understand the complete story. None-the-less, Kengor's book is an important piece of the puzzle. In the early 1940s, Reagan the visible actor spoke out against the threats of Nazism. After America won World War II, Reagan warned that there was another totalitarian threat called Communism. Yet Reagan's anti-Communist views were not well received in Hollywood where many naive liberals back then were intrigued with the delusions of Marxism. Communists were trying to infiltrate the film industry, and Reagan stood up to them and rooted them out. Reagan was threatened with having acid thrown in his face for his efforts. After James Roosevelt, FDR's son, and Reagan considered making a strong anti-Communist statement, they were attacked with insults. That's when Reagan, a staunch FDR supporter, began his journey to become a staunch conservative Republican and crusader against Communism. This book is so well researched and shows repeatedly that again and again, year after year, Reagan sincerely and forcefully spoke out against the threat of Communism - and he was right! According to "The Crusader," once Reagan became president, he put in place a program of relentless pressure against USSR. He used speeches, economic warfare, a huge military build-up, and support of anti-Communist forces around the world. Reagan rejected containment and Detente, which maintained the status quo. His masterful speeches undermined the legitimacy of Communism. Reagan personally wrote to the Soviet leaders in longhand and insisted that they honor their promises in writing at Yalta, which they broke, to allow free elections in Poland and Eastern Europe. The agreemen

should be mandatory reading

It is nice to finally read some of the history of the 1980s without the need to insult or suck up to those in power. Paul Kengor has added this book to the list of great biographies of Ronald Reagan (another was "Reagan's War" which is also excellent). Regardless of what you felt about the man, it is fairly important to understand Reagan's place in changing the world. An odd thing about telling the story of Reagan is that most biographies don't mention what he did for Poland and other Soviet Block countries. In fact, the book, "Dutch" barely mentions Lech Wallesa and the solidarity movement. In many of those countries, Reagan is viewed as a liberator and hero. Again, regardless of your view of the man here in the U.S., he did change the world and was the linchpin for the fall of the U.S.S.R. This book is an excellent way to understand how and why he did it. What he did was put his vision on the block and stood by it, regardless of what some of his closest advisors told him. In the end, history has shown him to be the man with the vision of how to end the cold war. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for ANYONE who wants to understand the fall of the Soviet Union or why Reagan is viewed as a God by many Republicans. At the same time, this book is not insulting, nor does it degrade those with different viewpoints. It is an exciting and fascinating book with information that I had never heard, and I've read 10-15 books about the man. Great work and as a fan of history... keep these types of books coming.

True Leadership in Difficult Times

We have heard of how SDI was the breaking point for the Soviets but Paul Kengor, in his book The Crusader, reveals the many and varied strategies used by President Reagan and his team for bringing down the Soviet Union, many of which have only recently been declassified. For anyone who doubts that Reagan had much to do with the demise of the Soviet Union, this book will convince you that Reagan's staunch adherence to his belief that human freedom will win against totalitarian ideology was the catalyst in winning the cold war. He believed that as long as the oppressed are given hope, and the right pressures are applied on repressive regimes at the right time, these regimes will crumble. The Crusader is a fascinating read as it shows how Reagan, the man, developed the confidence, the skills, and the philosophy that helped him deal with the Soviets. It shows how he was able to stand up to the intense pressure, even from those in his own administration at times, to follow the right course which led eventually to the collapse of Communism. You come away with the belief that without Reagan, the Soviet Union would still be controlling Eastern Europe and parts of Asia today. Extremely well researched with new evidence from both U.S. and Soviet declassified files, the Crusader tells a story of courage, principled leadership, and faith in the power of freedom. It shows Reagan as a great leader who revived the American spirit and made us believe in ourselves again. It shows how Reagan who was often bitterly opposed by the opposition party, the Europeans, and the Kremlin was able to persevere and accomplish the thing that he had set out to do from the first days of his administration. This book offers many lessons that we need to learn in order to deal intelligently with the difficulties that the U.S. faces today. I highly recommend this book.

Blockbuster

This book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism by Paul Kengor is a wonderful History of Ronald Reagan and his goal to defeat communism. kengor was challenged to prove that Reagan brought down the USSR and he proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt.The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism is very well resourced and is comprehensive, you will learn a lot and yet its not dry history, its exciting. Just for the Kennedy and Carter mentions alone, its worth it the read. There should be a congressional investigation into both Carter and Kennedy actions. But I digress, you will find out that Ronald Reagan did not end communism alone, but he was a big factor and major player in bringing down the evil empire, and that evil system.

Solid writing

For substance "The Crusader" falls within the work of David Brinkley, Robert Caro and David McCullough. History which is fun to read but isn't fluff. Not the very light writing of a Sean Hannity, Al Franken, Michael Savage or Bill O'Reilly. Nor an Ann Coulter foot-noted polemic intended to amuse or infuriate. On the other hand, "The Crusader" is not as detailed as Yale university's Annals of Communism series (Think Sean McMeekin, Donald Rayfield and William J. Chase--wonderful history but not books one picks up and reads straight through). Of the 432 pages in "The Crusader" 79 are footnotes. 12 pages mention Ted Kennedy. 4 pages out of those 12 pages are in the appendix--the KGB letter. Kengor received the Chebrikov document via Marko Suprun, Walter Zaryckyi and Herb Romerstein (author of the Venona papers). A brief excerpt from the letter was first published in the London Sunday Times (February 2, 1992 "Teddy, the KGB and the Top Secret File").