Looking Back on the Reagan Presidency

Now that the front page belongs to George Bush, what are analysts saying about Ronald Reagan? And how will the Reagan legacy shape policy and politics into the next century? Looking Back on the Reagan Presidency offers the latest thinking of nineteen leading president-watchers. Edited by Larry Berman, the volume appraises the administration's policies and initiatives and speculates about what the Reagan years will mean to the future.

Robert Pastor describes Reagan's failure in Latin America and the problems that remain for Bush. Condoleezza Rice examines the unexpected transformation of relations with the Soviets. Walter Murphy looks at Reagan's far-reaching impact on the courts. Additional discussions of congressional relations, tax policy, electoral politics, the institution of the presidency—and an insightful Afterword by Richard Neustadt—make this a challenging and comprehensive look at the "Reagan Revolution."

No president since F.D.R. so redefined the parameters of political debate in America. Yet for all his popular success, Reagan's lasting influence is far from clear. What will his legacy mean to future generations? Looking Back on the Reagan Presidency is a fascinating preview from the scholars who will find the history in the Reagan years.

Larry Berman is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Davis. Among his books are Lyndon Johnson's War, Planning a Tragedy, and The New American Presidency.