{"product_id":"book-aea3","title":"The Crusader","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe inspiration for the upcoming film \u003cem\u003eReagan\u003c\/em\u003e starring Dennis Quaid and directed by Sean McNamara\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Combining the skills of great story-telling with his commitment to scholarly detail, Paul Kengor has written an important book that also makes for a fascinating read. \u003cem\u003eThe Crusader \u003c\/em\u003ewill not only entertain and inform, it will change minds.”\u003c\/strong\u003e — \u003cstrong\u003ePeter Schweizer, bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBlood Money, Red-Handed, \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eReagan's War\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBased on extraordinary research, \u003cem\u003eThe Crusader\u003c\/em\u003e is a major reassessment of Ronald Reagan's lifelong campaign to dismantle the Soviet Empire\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGod and Ronald Reagan\u003c\/em\u003e made presidential historian Paul Kengor one of the premier chroniclers of the life and career of the 40th president. With \u003cem\u003eThe Crusader\u003c\/em\u003e, Kengor returns with the one book about Reagan that has not been written: The story of his lifelong crusade against communism, and of his dogged—and ultimately triumphant—effort to overthrow the Soviet Union.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing upon reams of newly declassified presidential papers, as well as untapped Soviet media archives and new interviews with key players, Kengor traces Reagan's efforts to target the Soviet Union from his days as governor of California to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of what he famously dubbed the \"Evil Empire.\" The result is a major revision and enhancement of what historians are only beginning to realize: That Reagan not only wished for the collapse of communism, but had a deep and specific understanding of what it would take––and effected dozens of policy shifts that brought the USSR to its heels within a decade of his presidency.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Crusader\u003c\/em\u003e makes use of key sources from behind the Iron Curtain, including one key memo that implicates a major American liberal politician in a scheme to enlist Soviet premier Yuri Andropov to help defeat Reagan's 1984 reelection bid. Such finds make \u003cem\u003eThe Crusader \u003c\/em\u003enot just a work of extraordinary history, but a work of explosive revelation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49345817772336,"sku":"BDaea3","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/aea3-Square-cover.jpg?v=1776863895","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-aea3","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}