Stories In His Own Hand consisted of different stories and sketches which were written by Reagan, mostly to be read over the radio. They are so short and of such a varied nature that it would be impossible to offer you a summary of each or even to provide you with a general idea of their style.

That said, there were a few entries that stood out to me. One was the story of ten Vietnam veterans who returned to Vietnam to help villagers recover from the devastation done there by living in community with them and offering friendship. Another sketch outlined the history of a nation (the name was not initially given). The description was almost identical to America, but the nation being described (we learned at the end) was Rome. Another story was of a young girl dying from leukemia and how a community voluntarily raised the funds for her surgery.

In one short sketch, Reagan defends Calvin Coolidge, the ‘do-nothing’ President. Here is what Reagan says in Coolidge’s defense.

“So what if he was a ‘do nothing’ president. Do you suppose doing nothing had something to do with reducing the budget, reducing the debt and cutting taxes four times?” [pg. 68]

I think my favorite pieces, though, were the ones Reagan wrote of his own life. Having seen a few of his movies, I enjoyed hearing about his times as a nervous young actor and the occasion when he was tricked into attending the premier of his first real movie.

Discussion.

Ronald Reagan’s writings breathe of what I would call a ‘good-old-boy’ view of the American people. He refers to them as a whole as upright, honest, intelligent, and highly moral. Now, I recognize that America has been tremendously blessed of God, that her citizens have in the past operated on a Christian foundation, and that in many senses we are the freest country in the world. But I’m not a triumphalist and I do not consider America to be a godly or righteous nation at this time. The reality is that a great number of our people are morally rotting from the inside out. Like I said, not really a caution so much as a note.

Conclusion. Stories In His Own Hand will be an engaging read for those interested in politics or American history in the last century. I found that it gave me a fuller understanding of the man that Ronald Reagan was and what his hopes were for our country.

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