Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination Of Ronald Reagan (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Book twenty-two of my presidential challenge.Ronald Reagan was the President during my formative years but I remember little about him. I vaguely remember that it seemed like the President was a grandpa-type figure in that he was old and always had a corny one-liner that seemed to work despite itself. Modern day Republicans revere him like a God even if they mostly seem to have forgotten his policies and use him as a sounding board to simply state their own opinions. That has made me almost reflexively not want to like him but I know that isn't fair. I mean, just because a lot of dumb dumbs like someone doesn't mean they suck. Maybe Che Guevara was cool. Maybe Bob Marley really was that laid back. Maybe Ronald Reagan was a good President.But I didn't want to read many of the biographies out there. Most of them appeared to me to be hero worship by the same jerks that make me angry. So I decided on "Rawhide Down" and I'm glad I did. "Rawhide Down" covers the day back in 1981 when John Hinckley Jr. tried to assassinate Reagan.The book was an in-depth look at all facets of that day from Ronald to Nancy to Hinckley to the Secret Service to the surgical staff to the FBI. It gives enough biographical information that you really get a good sense of the President without any gushy overkill. Plus, the day in the life take on things is a really neat feel for a Presidential biography. I should read more like that.The book really felt like a companion piece to the book I read on President Garfield, "Destiny of the Republic." Even the motivations of the assassin and would be assassin were spookily similar. If you flipped those two guys around chronologically, Garfield would have clearly lived and Reagan would have clearly died.The world never really understood how close Reagan came to dying that day. It shouldn't be surprising that he did, he was 70 years old and he got shot people!After reading this, I really do like Reagan. He was funny and wore the Presidency well. I may not agree with all of his policies and he seemed to let his second term get away from him (as most do) but I can definitely understand all the hero worship. A detailed look at the near assassination of Ronald Reagan, told through the eyes of those who were there, from the bit players to those who had a direct impact on saving the President. Written in such a way that you really got a good description of the events surrounding the day, without it getting bogged down on any one subject. A good read for those interested in presidential history, the inner workings of the White House and Secret Service and interesting from a medical perspective with the procedures used to save Reagan's life included as well.
What do You think about Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination Of Ronald Reagan (2011)?
This was a compelling account of Reagan's brush with death. Meticulously researched, and well-told.
—mexican_chica2356
Engagingly written by a newspaper reporter who knows how to hook his readers.
—SarahA
