The Education of Ronald Reagan

Based on a newly discovered collection of private papers as well as interviews and corporate documents, Thomas W. Evans links the eight years (1954-1962) in which Reagan worked for General Electric-acting as host of its television program, GE Theater, and traveling the country as the company's public-relations envoy-to his conversion to conservatism. Evans particularly focuses on the profound influence of GE executive Lemuel Boulware, who would become Reagan's political and ideological mentor. Known for his innovative corporate strategies to win over workers and his tough stance against the "excesses" of union officials, Boulware championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism-free-market fundamentalism, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government. Building on the ideas and influence of Boulware, Reagan would soon begin his rise as a national political figure and an icon of the American conservative movement.

In October 1964, Ronald Reagan gave a televised speech in support of Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. "The Speech," as it has come to be known, helped launch Ronald Reagan as a leading force in the American conservative movement. However, less than twenty years earlier, Reagan was a prominent Hollywood liberal, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, and a fervent supporter of FDR and Harry Truman. While many agree that Reagan's anticommunism grew out of his experiences with the Hollywood communists of the late 1940s, the origins of his conservative ideology have remained obscure.

Based on a newly discovered collection of private papers as well as interviews and corporate documents, The Education of Ronald Reagan offers new insights into Reagan's ideological development and his political ascendancy. Thomas W. Evans links the eight years (1954-1962) in which Reagan worked for General Electric—acting as host of its television program, GE Theater, and traveling the country as the company's public-relations envoy-to his conversion to conservatism.

In particular, Evans reveals the profound influence of GE executive Lemuel Boulware, who would become Reagan's political and ideological mentor. Boulware, known for his tough stance against union officials and his innovative corporate strategies to win over workers, championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism-free-market fundamentalism, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government. Building on the ideas and influence of Boulware, Reagan would soon begin his rise as a national political figure and an icon of the American conservative movement.

Thomas W. Evans, a lawyer and avocational politician, has supervised a successful New Hampshire presidential primary and established a national citizens' campaign organization. A former adjunct professor of education and administration at Columbia University's Teachers College, Evans was chair of the Reagan administration's national symposium on partnerships in education and counsel to the Points of Light Foundation under George H.W. Bush.

Ronald W. Schatz:
An important work that ought to be read.

Newt Gingrich:
I recommend strongly that you get the (book).

Emilie Raymond:
Evans provides useful insight into Reagan's GE years and calls attention to the influence of Boulware.

Steven F. Hayward:
Evans is undoubtedly correct to home in on the G.E. years as the key period in Reagan's self education.

[The Education of Ronald Reagan]provides fresh revelations on Reagan's ideological development... a 'must' for any college level collection.

Jacob Heilbrunn:
The Education of Ronald Reagan admirably fills... [a] gap... One of the most illuminating books ever written about Reagan.

Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker:
A better companion to [The Reagan Diaries].... By focusing on the decade or so when Reagan was a traveling spokesman for General Electric—a period that he began as a Democrat and ended as a Republican—Evans does a persuasive job of explaining where Reagan's political views came from.

This fascinating study sheds new light on Reagan's ideological evolution.

Joseph C. Goulden:
Evans's book is essential reading... a reasoned exploration of the shaping of an extraordinary political career.

Daniel Oppenheimer:
[The Education of Ronald Reagan] fills a hole in Reagan's biography.

A.G. Gancarski:
A revelation... Definitely worth reading for those who want to know how Ronald Reagan evolved into the 'Great Communicator' of political yore.

John H. Fund:
An elegant history of Reagan's 'studies' with General Electric.