Skip to content
Description
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, and Reagan's War
Based on extraordinary research, The Crusader is a major reassessment of Ronald Reagan's lifelong campaign to dismantle the Soviet Empire
God and Ronald Reagan made presidential historian Paul Kengor one of the premier chroniclers of the life and career of the 40th president. With The Crusader, Kengor returns with the one book about Reagan that has not been written: The story of his lifelong crusade against communism, and of his dogged—and ultimately triumphant—effort to overthrow the Soviet Union.
Drawing upon reams of newly declassified presidential papers, as well as untapped Soviet media archives and new interviews with key players, Kengor traces Reagan's efforts to target the Soviet Union from his days as governor of California to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of what he famously dubbed the "Evil Empire." The result is a major revision and enhancement of what historians are only beginning to realize: That Reagan not only wished for the collapse of communism, but had a deep and specific understanding of what it would take––and effected dozens of policy shifts that brought the USSR to its heels within a decade of his presidency.
The Crusader makes use of key sources from behind the Iron Curtain, including one key memo that implicates a major American liberal politician in a scheme to enlist Soviet premier Yuri Andropov to help defeat Reagan's 1984 reelection bid. Such finds make The Crusader not just a work of extraordinary history, but a work of explosive revelation.
God and Ronald Reagan established Paul Kengor as one of the premier authorities on the life and career of the 40th president. With The Crusader, Kengor uncovers a heretofore untold story: Reagan’s lifelong crusade against communism, and his dogged efforts to overthrow the Soviet Union.
Kengor chronicles Reagan’s efforts to target communism, from his days as governor of California to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of what he famously dubbed the “Evil Empire.” Reagan not only wished for the collapse of communism, but understood what he needed to do to make that happen. Kengor discloses some astonishing information, including one key memo that implicates a major American liberal politician in a scheme to enlist Soviet premier Yuri Andropov to help defeat Reagan in his 1984 reelection bid. The Crusader is a real-life political thriller that sheds light on a previously little understood aspect of Reagan’s historic presidency. Paul Kengor is the author of the New York Times extended-list best-seller God and Ronald Reagan as well as God and George W. Bush and The Crusader. He is a professor of political science and director of the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College. He lives with his wife and children in Grove City, Pennsylvania.You may also like
Top Trending
