"Eliot's book is poised to provide something interesting: a fresh look at subject matter well worth dusting off....tracing Reagan's Screen Actors Guild role and evolving political ideology....the genesis of Reagan's later public persona is closely charted here."
--
The New York Times "Eliot does a nuanced job charting the
actor's metamorphosis from Roosevelt liberal to fierce anti-communist conservative."
--
Newsweek "Film critic and historian Marc Eliot has dug up even more about young sportscaster "Dutch" Reagan, his journey west to Hollywood, his b-movie career...his relationship with super agent Lew Wasserman and his rocky marriage to his first wife, actress Jane Wyman...to Reagan fans this may feel like familiar ground. Not that familiar ground isn't a comforting place to spend a few hours."
--USA Today
"Reagan: The Hollywood Years provides a glimpse of Reagan's life before he became a political icon."
--Roll Call
"Many books have shown us what sort of man Ronald Reagan the politician was; this one shows how he got that way."
--
Booklist "Eliot chronicles Reagan's film career, from his numerous 'B' pictures, such as
Girls on Probation, to the image-enhancing
Knute Rockne All American, which contained Reagan's future political rallying cry: 'Win one for the Gipper.' .... Extensively researched, this biography is an accessible and eye-opening read."
--
Publishers Weekly From the Hardcover edition.