What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan is more than a revered and popular president--he is a hero to millions, beloved as a persuasive leader who inspired America and shaped the future more than any other modern president. Reagan's everyman insight--stemming from his unique background as actor, sports broadcaster, and labor leader--make him America's most quotable president. In The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, author James C. Humes brings together the best observations and opinions of the "Great Communicator." Spanning one-liners, anecdotes, zingers, and little-known stories, this collection also includes commentary about Reagan from friends and foes as well as analysis of his great speeches. The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan is an exceptional tribute to America's adored fortieth president.
222 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2007
6 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
James C. Humes
49 books28 followersJames C. Humes was Ronald Reagan's speechwriter. He also wrote speeches for George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower. He has served as a communications advisor to major U.S. corporations, including IBM and DuPont. He is the author of twenty-three other books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 12, 2018
This pithy book is what we had hoped for in purchasing it: fun, funny and informative. We delight in reading snippets to each other and often find ourselves laughing. The author is focused on stories, quotes and quips TOLD by Reagan, as opposed to stories ABOUT Reagan.
One can easily imagine the historic value of this work. A speachwriter or journalist, such as Humes, can pick up this publication and be treated to a cornucopia of Reagan wit and wisdom for future repetition. It allows someone who KNEW Reagan to codify his messaging in a succinct and accessible manner. It is also useful in passing on Reagan's guiding principles and humor to future citizens and scholars, including students of all ages.
Of course, Mr. Humes, having been on Reagan's staff is favorable to the man and presents him in the most favorable of lights.
This is a wonderful addition to our homeschool library that I recommend. A teacher can easily chose sections to read aloud when studying Reagan and the time period of the 1980s. However, teachers and parents should be aware that some of Reagan's references ("the oldest profession, in the world", "I'd rather have found out my wife had the clap," etc.) spoken to adults, are a bit racy for the junior high crowd. You will want to be thoughtful about how and when you allow a student to examine the book independently, and ready for questions about things that confuse them.
We are also interested in some of Mr. Humes' other publications, specifically:
Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill
One can easily imagine the historic value of this work. A speachwriter or journalist, such as Humes, can pick up this publication and be treated to a cornucopia of Reagan wit and wisdom for future repetition. It allows someone who KNEW Reagan to codify his messaging in a succinct and accessible manner. It is also useful in passing on Reagan's guiding principles and humor to future citizens and scholars, including students of all ages.
Of course, Mr. Humes, having been on Reagan's staff is favorable to the man and presents him in the most favorable of lights.
This is a wonderful addition to our homeschool library that I recommend. A teacher can easily chose sections to read aloud when studying Reagan and the time period of the 1980s. However, teachers and parents should be aware that some of Reagan's references ("the oldest profession, in the world", "I'd rather have found out my wife had the clap," etc.) spoken to adults, are a bit racy for the junior high crowd. You will want to be thoughtful about how and when you allow a student to examine the book independently, and ready for questions about things that confuse them.
We are also interested in some of Mr. Humes' other publications, specifically:
Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
Wit & Wisdom of Winston Churchill
October 15, 2025
Čteno v češtině. Skvělá kniha. Ronald Reagan nikdy nepředstíral, že je učenec. Používal selský rozum a měl velké srdce. Otitulovaní nabobové nad ním ohrnovali nos, ale byl fantastický řečník a uměl oslovit lidi, komunikovat s nimi tak, aby mu rozuměli. A to je vskutku talent.
January 2, 2019
Reagan is my second favorite president. Reading this book made me feel as if he were speaking and telling the stories to me. Loved it!
December 10, 2024
EXCELLENT. 👌
December 10, 2013
This book is short, but offers up some of the best quotes by, and anecdotes of, Ronald Wilson Reagan; without doubt the greatest American president of the twentieth century. I was only a boy of eight when he was elected, and I could not have explained his policies to save my life, but even as young as I was I knew how Reagan made me feel. He made me feel hope. He made me proud to be an American. He made me feel like the future was only limited by the boundaries of our imagination.
Reagan was indeed the Great Communicator. His success, as he once explained, was not in coming up with good ideas, but in communicating good ideas. These ideas were and are rooted in the principles of liberty that are the foundation of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution which codifies those principles into our supreme law. These are the principles which were revealed by God to the prophets of old, and which became the political philosophies of Locke, Blackstone, and Hobbes. It was the philosophy that said that all men are equal in the sight of God, and therefore must be equal under the law.
Reagan was less an orator than he was a storyteller. He used stories of his youth, and stories of common Americans doing extraordinary things, to convey the importance of the American form of government. He understood that America was that "last, best hope" for freedom across the Earth, and that if freedom fell here, it would fall everywhere because, like it or not, America is the standard-bearer of freedom, and has been for more than two centuries. Reagan was a Christian who was unafraid to declare his faith in, and love of, God. He declared over and over that our blessings come from God, and that we must never forget that, nor fail to show our gratitude.
As we suffer today under the most corrupt president in America's history, a man who usurps power not delegated to him, who uses class and racial discord to divide and conquer, who tells enormous lies in the quest for power, we can better appreciate just how special and unique a man we had in President Ronald Reagan. I firmly believe that he was a man called by God to serve at that time, to restore liberty and hope to the American people after the Carter malaise, to thwart the spread of communism and bring about the downfall of the Evil Empire.
Though Reagan is gone, his memory remains. Let us pray that God is even today grooming another like Reagan to once again bring hope and strength into a time of fear, contention, and tyranny. The world is a better place for having had Reagan.
Reagan was indeed the Great Communicator. His success, as he once explained, was not in coming up with good ideas, but in communicating good ideas. These ideas were and are rooted in the principles of liberty that are the foundation of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution which codifies those principles into our supreme law. These are the principles which were revealed by God to the prophets of old, and which became the political philosophies of Locke, Blackstone, and Hobbes. It was the philosophy that said that all men are equal in the sight of God, and therefore must be equal under the law.
Reagan was less an orator than he was a storyteller. He used stories of his youth, and stories of common Americans doing extraordinary things, to convey the importance of the American form of government. He understood that America was that "last, best hope" for freedom across the Earth, and that if freedom fell here, it would fall everywhere because, like it or not, America is the standard-bearer of freedom, and has been for more than two centuries. Reagan was a Christian who was unafraid to declare his faith in, and love of, God. He declared over and over that our blessings come from God, and that we must never forget that, nor fail to show our gratitude.
As we suffer today under the most corrupt president in America's history, a man who usurps power not delegated to him, who uses class and racial discord to divide and conquer, who tells enormous lies in the quest for power, we can better appreciate just how special and unique a man we had in President Ronald Reagan. I firmly believe that he was a man called by God to serve at that time, to restore liberty and hope to the American people after the Carter malaise, to thwart the spread of communism and bring about the downfall of the Evil Empire.
Though Reagan is gone, his memory remains. Let us pray that God is even today grooming another like Reagan to once again bring hope and strength into a time of fear, contention, and tyranny. The world is a better place for having had Reagan.
Read
September 26, 2013From Hollywood to the White House, the "Great Communicator's" Great Words
Ronald Reagan is more than a revered and popular president--he is a hero to millions, beloved as a persuasive leader who inspired America and shaped the future more than any other modern president. Reagan's everyman insight--stemming from his unique background as actor, sports broadcaster, and labor leader--make him America's most quotable president. In The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, author James C. Humes brings together the best observations and opinions of the "Great Communicator." Spanning one-liners, anecdotes, zingers, and little-known stories, this collection also includes commentary about Reagan from friends and foes as well as analysis of his great speeches. The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan is an exceptional tribute to America's adored fortieth president.
Ronald Reagan is more than a revered and popular president--he is a hero to millions, beloved as a persuasive leader who inspired America and shaped the future more than any other modern president. Reagan's everyman insight--stemming from his unique background as actor, sports broadcaster, and labor leader--make him America's most quotable president. In The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, author James C. Humes brings together the best observations and opinions of the "Great Communicator." Spanning one-liners, anecdotes, zingers, and little-known stories, this collection also includes commentary about Reagan from friends and foes as well as analysis of his great speeches. The Wit & Wisdom of Ronald Reagan is an exceptional tribute to America's adored fortieth president.
May 31, 2008
This was a quick read which filled in so many gaps into the life and personality of Pres. Reagan. It was delightful and insightful. I am so happy I picked it up. I found myself wanting to underline or write many of his saying down somewhere. Just fun!
January 8, 2014
A great read about the Great Communicator. He had the ability to not only punch his opponents with his wisdom, he also was not afraid to poke fun of himself.
A fun book to quickly get knowledge of the most misunderstood and maligned politician of the 20th century.
A fun book to quickly get knowledge of the most misunderstood and maligned politician of the 20th century.
Read
February 7, 2009Quick read of his Speeches
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews