Behind the Scenes

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A longtime friend of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Deaver was for five years White House deputy chief-of-staff and trouble-shooter. Giving intimate glimpses of the president's character, this memoir, written with Houston Post journalist Herskowitz, serves as apologia for administration bad patches; tells Deaver's side of his ``mistakes'' as a lobbyist, which led to his prosecution for perjury; and reveals his former acute alcoholism. A few Reaganisms: in 1973, when Deaver questioned Reagan's defense of just-deposed Vice-President Spiro Agnew, the California governor threw a loaded keyring at him; in 1976, a woman on a plane told Reagan it was his duty to run for president and, recalling a patriotic-duty role he played in a movie, he said he would; in 1986, when Deaver faced Congressional quizzing and needed an event that might distract public attention, the president jested, ``Well, Mike, I bombed Libya for you!'' Deaver's expressed humility is hard to take when he attributes his current legal difficulties to Washington power pressures and predatory media. Still, he does come through frequently here with tidbits of scholarly interest, such as the one about Vice-President Bush calling ``all over the country'' for new jokes to tell the president at daily staff meetings. (February 15)

Library Journal

Deaver, Deputy White House Chief of Staff during President Reagan's first term, and recently tried on charges of having lied to a Congressional committee, here offers his reminiscences. The material on the President and First Lady, both of whom Deaver has known since the mid-1960s, is rich in personal stories and anecdotes, but does little to alter the prevailing images of either personality. The book's greatest significance lies in its insider's view of Reagan's road to the presidency and his first term. Deaver's own story (including his battle with alcoholism) is told with candor, and stands as a classic example of the pitfalls of Washington. An interesting, if hastily written, memoir. Scott Wright, Coll. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.