Inside the Reagan White House

An inside look at the most successful president of modern times.

What makes a good White House memoir? The right mix of personal stories, insight on the president, discussion of policy and historical events, and crazy, colorful anecdotes that capture the reader’s attention.

Inside the Reagan White House has all this—plus a vivid take on the Reagan assassination attempt, , Gorbachev and the Reykjavik summit, Ollie North and the Contras, , the 1988 Bush-Dukakis contest—and other critical moments of that era.

Original insight on Ronald Reagan, as well as discussions of cabinet members and others, are interspersed with personal anecdotes, off-hand comments, and unique family details that historians and general readers will love.

On the colorful side, the action moves from movie stars to Soviet spies to (literal) knife fights, neo-Nazis, plain old Nazis, intimate affairs, fights on planes, and con men chased by INTERPOL.

And at the heart of the story are the thousands of dedicated, patriotic Americans who helped Ronald Reagan as he worked to push back against the Soviet Union, promote democracy, improve trade, lower taxes, and reduce the size and scope of government.

Frank Lavin is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. In the Reagan Administration, Lavin served on the National Security Council and the White House staff.

Lavin later served in the Bush (41) and Bush (43) administrations; in the latter, he also served as Ambassador to Singapore and Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce.

In the private sector, Lavin served in senior finance positions in Hong Kong and Singapore with Bank of America and Citibank.

Lavin earned a BS from the School of Foreign Service and an MS in Chinese language and history from Georgetown University; an MA in International Relations and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University; and an MBA in finance from Wharton.