As Ronald Reagan traveled to the Republican convention in July 1980, Stuart Spencer, a friend of Reagan's wife Nancy and a political advisor, asked, "Why are you doing this, Ron? Why do you want to be president?" At this time, Reagan was almost 70 years old. He had lived an extraordinary life, starring in Hollywood movies, serving two enormously successful terms as the 33rd Governor of California, and much more. Despite all he had accomplished, the mission of Reagan's life remained unfulfilled. Turning back to Spencer, Reagan did not have to search hard for his answer. He unhesitatingly replied that the reason he was running for president was, "To end the Cold War. There has to be a way, and it's time." It was indeed time. Through his exhaustive research in "The Crusader," Paul Kengor takes the reader along each step of Reagan's 40-year crusade against Soviet communism, revealing how President Reagan orchestrated the strategy that ultimately won the Cold War and fulfilled his life-long mission to save the world from an "Evil Empire." Reagan was one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, and Kengor tells the story of his victory over Soviet communism extremely well.

I've read a number of Kengor books, and have always considered this to be his best. For me, who came of political age--meaning I took a serious interest in national politics--in the Carter era, what Reagan accomplished domestically and internationally was compelling. This book, however, chronicles Reagan's definitive, assertive, intuitive role in the Soviet Union's fall from world power as a communist force. There's no other diary of history like Kengor's ode to Ronald Reagan and his legacy to western democracies.

Great book! I learned a lot.

This is an excellent book. Ronald Reagan was an amazing leader with such a clear mission. He had vision of what the world could be and he never waivered in his actions in accomplishing this. He truly has been one of the best leaders this country and the world for that matter has ever seen. Anyone interested in learning about what Reagan accomplished should read this book. In fact, I would go so far as recommending this book to anyone. It is an important part of our history that needs to be remembered. We need a generation to rise up with the fortitude of Ronald Reagan.

This book is a cause exemplaire. Why do we keep allowing such nonsense to be published, and then to be repeated as fact?
The book’s “explosive revelation” is a KGB letter stating that Ted Kennedy had approached the Soviets to hinder Reagan’s reelection campaign in 1984. Kengor states in his Notes section that it was featured by The Times of London in 1992. What Kengor doesn’t mention is that same article in 1992 has the supposed intermediary John Tunney emphatically denying the letter’s authenticity. Tunney would, again, deny the letter’s authenticity in 2005. The Reagan Library would in turn search their own records and find nothing supporting anything supporting this document. Max Kampelman, a negotiator for Reagan with the Soviets also denied the letter’s authenticity. Damning is that Paul Kengor apparently had “hundreds” of interviews and even though Kampleman died nine years after this books completion he never sought out his advice even though it would be very pertinent. Kengor reports that “Richard Pipes says it’s real!” but then while it is a real memo the KGB have been notorious for producing false memos. Richard Pipes ought to have known that, although Richard Pipes is a dodgy analyst himself. Intelligence officer Richard Lehman would say that Pipes said “things which were full of nonsense but which sounded good.” in assessing the Soviet nuclear arsenal.
The reliability of this memo casts doubt over the rest of Kengor’s book and certainly Kengor’s ability as a historian.
We’ve been choked on hagiographic material regarding the Reagan presidency for far too long to the extent that it’s being treated as sober analysis when it’s not. The Reagan presidency needs to be subjected to a better historical reading than it has been.

This book details through thorough archival research and interviews the methods that the "Great Communicator" employed to undercut Communism from 1981-89. Having never read an entire book specifically about Reagan before, I am glad I learned about the inner workings of his administration and the ideas and persistence of the man himself.

This is the first historical book that I've read on Ronald Reagan. I bought it about five years ago, and never got around to it. I finally decided to give it a go, and I was both concerned and surprised.

Although Paul Kengor presents a very partial view of the overall Reagan Administration, I can not argue with the historical evidence he used in trying to prove his thesis that Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War. There were very compelling points he made throughout the book, especially Reagan's use of economic warfare (SDI) that placed massive pressure on a failing Soviet economy.

I know that this book was entirely devoted to the Cold War, but I thought it was a poor decision by Kengor to only skim over the Iran/Contra Affair. Nevertheless, I must give him props for admitting that it was a massive stain on Reagan's legacy.

Overall, this book was better than I thought. It was thoroughly researched, and Kengor did a good job of proving his point. I definitely recommend this book to Reagan fans.

Excellent Book to help you understand the 80's and Reagan's Administration and the Cold War.

Great read about a great man!!

Well done, Kengor. Shows pointedly how Reagan really was the optimistic crusader against communism and believed the Soviet Union could fall. Loved the bookends about his lifeguarding on Rock River and how that confidence carried him through on such a "crusade." Great read.

Detailed and well-written but I preferred Three Days in Moscow a bit more as The Crusader moved at a slower pace and the amount of details led to getting bogged down in places. Kengor has certainly researched this well and for someone looking for insight on Ronald Reagan and his role in ending the Cold War this would certainly be an interesting and good place to start.

This book reviews Ronald Reagan and his role in bringing down the Soviet Union.

It begins by going through his life up until his presidency, including Reagan's early encounters with Communism in Hollywood and his subsequent political journey up until his presidency. The overarching theme is Reagan's consistent anti-Communist convictions and his deeply embedded wish to see them gone.

The bulk of the book chronicles his presidency and the monumental and stubborn efforts he undertook to push the USSR into oblivion. Reagan discarded the longstanding US policy of containment (preventing Communism from expanding beyond the spheres it already controlled) and reoriented America's foreign policy outlook to actively help reverse Communist control and ultimately bring about its destruction.

The book discusses the actions Reagan took - from the arms race to economic warfare to subversive assistance to resistance fighters. Basically, Reagan utilized every course of action he could find - short of risking war - to push the 'evil empire' over the edge and into collapse.

The book also details a lot of Reagan's magnificent rhetoric on his anti-Communist crusade; revealing an inspirational visionary with remarkable prescience, a strong sense of right and wrong ('simplistic ideas' would be the preferred academic label), devout faith, and a deep love of freedom. Reagan's unrelenting optimism shines from these pages.

Overall, this is an excellent look at the man who set out to destroy the Soviet Union and, with help, did just that.

I'd recommend this to anyone looking to learn more about the role America had in bringing the USSR to its knees, as well as to Reagan admirers (and historians) looking to get a more complete picture of this important aspect of a beloved president's life and legacy.