A Review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills (#308, 20 May 2025)

Hey, podcast listeners! I just dove into an incredible 1987 biography on Ronald Reagan by Garry Wills, hands-down one of the best I’ve read about him. This isn’t just a timeline of Reagan’s life—it’s like stepping through a time portal into his world, feeling what shaped him. Unlike most Reagan bios that zoom in on his presidency, this one focuses more on what made Reagan, well, Reagan: his boyhood, the Disciples of Christ Church, the political sparks at Eureka College, and his early broadcasting days in Des Moines. In this episode, I’m unpacking two fascinating slices of his story—his lifesaving heroics at Lowell Park on the Rock River and the Black Hawk War’s role in the settlement of Dixon and Davenport, where Reagan lived. Trust me, this one’s a gem!