Who else to tell the story of Ronald Reagan than The Great Communicator himself? Reagan’s autobiography is full of the ideas, conviction and faith that guided his life and political career, but thankfully unaccompanied by self-reverent narrative pomp

His life is fascinating. He lived through the depression, played football in college, became a sports announcer, actor, television host, public speaker, and eventually a politician. At first he was reluctant to enter politics and had to be prodded along to run for the governor of California. After his success in California though, he was ready to move up – America agreed, and in 1981 he became President of the United States, a title he would hold for the next eight years.

Reagan’s writing style is very engaging, thankfully, which means you can learn all about history, economics and politics without feeling like you’re reading a dusty old textbook (or even a new one, for that matter.) You can really feel Reagan’s optimism and conviction through his words; the way he writes impacts you as much as what he writes. I imagine his public speaking was the same way – engaging, inspiring and substantial.

If you want a clear-cut understanding of classic Conservative ideology I highly recommend this book. Also to be found: romance, guns, Molotov cocktails, assassination attempts, Russians!, hostages, terrorism, riots, pending nuclear war, football, international trade disputes, guerillas, treaties…my word, this book has it all.