RONALD REAGAN AT 100

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On the centenary of Ronald Reagan's birth, as he continues to loom large in contemporary politics and culture, only the editors of LIFE can pay a fitting tribute to the President whose optimism and bold ideologies captivated millions, but whose private life was understood by few.  With over 150 stunning photographs spanning Reagan's entire life as well as the aftermath of his death, incisive biographical details and a personal foreword by TIME Editor-at-Large and Columnist, Joe Klein, RONALD REAGAN AT 100 (Time Home Entertainment, Inc.; Publication date: February 1, 2011; $24.95 hardcover) is a comprehensive, vibrant and often surprising keepsake for all American History buffs and fans of the fortieth President of the United States.

Divided into six sections, each commemorating a personal or political milestone, RONALD REAGAN AT 100 introduces us to a personable, relatable, witty, and at times comical Reagan – an image often at odds with the Reagan the world followed so closely in the 1980s. LIFE editors have skillfully selected photos from family albums, movie studio archives, the campaign trail, private LIFE magazine shoots and other resources, pairing them with in-depth research, to give readers the fullest account possible of a very private man who lived on the ultimate public stage.

Ronald Wilson "Dutch" Reagan (b. February 6, 1911, d. June 5, 2004), was a man of immense charm, ability and vision who cast himself as the lead in perhaps the most improbable and inspiring script of all time: Small-town Midwestern boy, Depression-era son of an alcoholic father becomes radio announcer, Hollywood actor (but not quite a leading man), president of the Screen Actors Guild and liberal Democrat; he then moves on to capture the political spotlight as a conservative Republican and engrossing, if shallow, orator, becoming Governor of California and eventually President of the United States.

The charismatic leader of the "Reagan Revolution," his years in the Oval Office were spent reducing long-term government planning, restoring prosperity to the American economy, and openly assaulting communism abroad.  Yet the sunny, defiant, capable, red-white-and-blue enshrouded image of Reagan in the media told little about the wounded son, devoted husband, aloof father and compassionate public servant who lived behind closed doors.  

The LIFE editors bring us into the private moments and spaces that truly defined Reagan.  A fan of riding horses on his California ranch, wearing pajamas, and eating on tray tables, here we also see the coldness he displayed toward his five children and the great love he shared with First Lady Nancy.  Some of their most intimate moments come alive as Nancy, or "Mommy" as Reagan called her, brings him jelly beans after the assassination attempt on his life and is faithfully at his side as he struggled with Alzheimer's.

Ultimately, Reagan's legacy is one not only of concrete doctrines and legislation, but one of amorphous self-invention and symbolism.  As Joe Klein writes in his foreword,

"... there was more to the invention than just a magisterial awe-shucks demeanor...The philosophy he settled on was based in yearning for an America that probably never was—the smalltown life he might have lived with a more stable father—but it had the virtue of being a common American dream..."

Regan became the mythic embodiment of all that was best about America, at a time when Americans perhaps needed it most.  RONALD REAGAN AT 100 celebrates the public Reagan – the indefatigably positive and patriotic leader of the free world – and illuminates the inner-workings of a largely impenetrable man who remains an enigma to most Americans.  

SOURCE Time Home Entertainment, Inc.