Ronald Reagan, President (Presidential Biography Series)

School Library Journal

This biography may be compared to Mister President: The Story of Ronald Reagan (Enslow, 1986) by Mary Virginia Fox, which Devaney lists as a source for his book. Of the two books, Devaney's is more appropriate for younger or slower readers with its occasionally monotonous subject-verb sentence structures, short paragraphs, frequent use of (sometimes fictionalized) dialogue, and catchy chapter titles. Those readers, however, may be hindered by the small print and many words per page. The Devaney title includes many interesting pictures from early years; Fox's book includes more photos of Reagan's presidential years. Devaney is objective and honest about Reagan's divorce and family problems, but he's less comprehensive than Fox in his treatment of Reagan's political life. Both books lack the stylistic strengths of Milton Meltzer and Jean Fritz, but these biographies will nevertheless be useful for both pleasure reading and research. --Phyllis Graves, Creekwood Middle School, Kingwood, TX