Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography

by Kitty Kelley

Provides an unauthorized, controversial look at the life of former First Lady Nancy Reagan

Genres: Biography, Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Memoir

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Kitty Kelley is an American investigative journalist and author of several best-selling unauthorized biographies of celebrities and politicians. Described as a "poison pen" biographer, her profiles frequently contain unflattering personal anecdotes and details, and their accuracy is often questioned. Though many of her books have topped the best sellers list, Kelley's credibility and sources have been called into question multiple times.

Time magazine reported that most journalists believe Kelley "too frequently fails to bring perspective or analysis to the fruits of her reporting and at times lards her work with dollops of questionable inferences and innuendos." In addition, Kelley has been described by Joe Klein as a "professional sensationalist" and her books have been described as "Kitty litter."

Her past subjects have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, and the Bush family. Although Kelley has been criticized and her books hotly debated, she has never been successfully sued for libel and has never been forced to retract a written statement.

Reviews

[David J. Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book mostly to gross out my Republican friends. The Reagan myth is alive and well and the damage he did to our country is just now beginning to be understood. His heir is George W. Bush (and the father was not much better). All this Reagan nostalgia is petty awful. Kitty Kelly got it right. The Reagans were all hype and no real ability or accomplishments. Maybe we can now move on and leave this sorry history behind.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitty Kelley never disappoints me!

I had to read this with two minds.

1) Its Kitty Kelley so not everything is true
2) God! I really want to believe everything in this book is true.

Nancy Reagan was First Lady when I was born(I'm old) and both of my parents hated her and her husband Ronald. My dad doesn't talk much about politics and he's the sweetest person ever. So you know it's a big deal when my dad has nothing nice to say about The Reagans.

The Reagans were absolute trash.

And Kitty Kelley paints the perfect picture of Nancy and her husband. Nancy was jealous, insecure, mean spirited, callous, bossy, entitled, and manipulative. Nancy was so awful that I almost felt sorry for Ronald...almost but I didn't. Nancy couldn't stand anybody who tried to get close to her Ronnie and that included his own kids.

As I said before I probably can't believe everything in this book but I want to. The Nancy Reagan in this book fits the Nancy Reagan that my parents always told me about. There would be no Donald Trump without The Reagans. Ronald Reagan had the exact same beliefs as Trump but the Reagans were smart enough to cover their racism, hatred of poor people and sexism with respectability. If Ronald Reagan could have been as openly hateful as Trump he totally would have.

Nancy Reagan was a awful person and yet there was a part of me that kind of respected her hustle. She was a liar and scam artist who controlled every move her husband made. She was a rightwing and awful Hillary Clinton. I kinda respect the Eva Peron of it all.

Equality means that women can be just as horrible as men.

If you like trashy gossipy biographies than Kitty Kelley will never fail you.

[Noella · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Gestopt op blz. 244. Dit is zeker geen objectieve biografie, integendeel, er wordt geen goed woord over Nancy Reagan gezegd, en de commentaar op haar man is al niet veel beter. De auteur heeft echt haar best gedaan om de scherpe kantjes van de hoofdpersonages in de verf te zetten. Hoewel vele dingen misschien wel waar zijn, is de manier waarop ze gebracht worden niet minder dan pure roddel-stijl. Grote tegenvaller.

[Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read This After Nancy Davis Reagan Funeral

I was astounded by the ostentatious (pomp and circumstance) of the Nancy Davis Reagan funeral. I thought it as false and vulgar as her and her husband's life as written by Kitty Kelly. I will never understand the veneration and admiration bestowed upon this vile and repulsive couple. Their awful occupation of the White House in the name of the United States' citizens might now be forgotten. I truly hope so.

This is a well written, well documented history of a vile couple as attested to by even their own children. I really empathize with them and their travails growing up.

I normally don't read this type of book but I was drawn to it by the bootlicking sycophantic media coverage.

A fascinating read.

[a.novel.femme · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO DELICIOUSLY TRASHY.

its exactly what i want to read when its hot outside and im getting drunk. nancy reagan lies about her age! steals tons of designer clothes and other peoples husbands! bangs frank sinatra! controls ronald! hates her children!

ahhh. deeply satisfying.

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! These people have no redeeming qualities. I worked under the Reagan administration and saw they devastation they created but still had positive feelings about them personally. It was obvious from their children they were not good parents, but I know many fine people who are lousy parents. I realize now it was more than just bad parenting. This book pointed out what good actors the two of them were. They may not be academy award worthy, but they were certainly good enough to fool a nation.



Two totally shallow people who have no clue what is important in this life or for the good of the country.



Ms Kelly has done a tremendous amount of research on a very difficult topic. I like her books because she has done her homework and documented her findings. It shows in this book. Definitely a worthy read.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Just wow! The Reagans have never been an exciting read, but Kelley's book is a real page turner. She brings Nancy Reagan to life. I can actually see her as a real person while reading this. I was expecting sensationalism from this, and I got that, but I also got a sense of someone who was extremely vulnerable and self conscious and who struggled to keep up appearances above all else. After reading this, you may either put Mrs. Reagan in the role of a Machiavellian manipulator, or a scared little girl who found herself only through playing a part to try to fit in.

[Sull · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent but depressing book about a woman who just didn't get it. Her childhood explains this, perhaps, a time & place where appearances, even deceptive ones, were all, and reality was no fun.

Kitty Kelley is good at finding the nasty, dangerous needle in the sweetly-scented haystack. Nancy Reagan must have hated this book, if she ever read it, which I strongly doubt. Addictively readable and surprisingly depressing....

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What delightful trash reading! Best 99 cents I ever spent!

[Pam Bergeson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an excellent read. Nancy Reagan was an insecure social climber, who used people all her life to get ahead. She was cheap, a bigot hating both Jews and Blacks, and a terrible mother. Her daughter, Patti, hates her. There is not much redeemable about her. Poor woman was angry and never figured out what makes a person happy. It's a side of her she didn't want the public to know about.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really gained a tremendous insight into Nancy Reagan and her relationship with her husband, Ronald. Interesting stuff about her tenure in the White House and how she was perceived by the help. Many interesting stories, including her threats against Kitty Kelley for writing this expose.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy comes off as a home wrecking whore who falls in love with the equally duplicitous, ladder climbing, back stabbing actors guild president who turned colleagues into the McCarthy commission and also became the governor of California and later....The first actor in chief. Nancy's morality is encapsulated in 'Just Say No' simplicity. She's a lingering dolt that expouses a rigid moral code about other people's private lives while she herself proudly struts around as a moral home wrecking whore. I can only come to the conclusion that Nancy Reagan (and beloved Ronny) were clueless bitches that justified their cheating whoresome ways, under the mantle of love and fidelity when the truth was.... Well you know... They were cheating homewrecking whores that made it to the White House. I completely recommend this book! It has some juicy insider information concerning Nancy and her astrologer that helped shape our international policy. Still fondly reminiscent about Ronny and Nancy's occupation of the White House? Well, you'll probably read this tome and wanna rub one out over the Constitution and the Gettysburg address. Maybe that's the only way we'll be able to feel good about the legacy Ronny, his wife and the political pundit croney's from Fox News have left us. Thanks Nancy! You bring out the Thomas Jefferson in me!

[Christine Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a decade ago and really enjoyed i t. I didn't necessarily believe everything that Ms. Kelley wrote but I still found it an entertaining read. To be fair, I followed this book with Nancy's book "My Turn" and enjoyed that just as much if not more so.

[Alycia · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best of the Kelley biographies

[Debra J. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book. Gave a different slant to the life of the President and First Lady who I originally thought occupied the White House.

[Commodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, as with most unauthorized, basically gossip biographies, you cannot take all information given to you at face value. But after all the disgusting things the Reagans did (to the lower classes of Americans, to gay Americans suffering horribly during the AIDS crisis, to disastrous foreign policies with far reaching consequences to this day), as far as I’m concerned they deserve a muck-raking biography that paints Nancy as a grasping, scheming, hypocritical, fat-ankled social climber who relied on White Woman Fragility to mask her machinations, and Ron as a genial dimwit who would sell out his own parents (and certainly his actor coworkers) if it got him even an inch ahead in life. Most fascinating is how much weird and dangerous shit about themselves they were able to hide and control the release of to the general public, even though this all wasn’t really that long ago.

I listened to the audiobook, which has the rather delightful quality of listening to your normally very genteel granny lose it and spend 20 hours snatching Nancy Reagan absolutely bald. Highly recommended.

[Kevin Eggleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catty? Absolutely. Unfair? Maybe a tad. But also: compelling and even ultimately a boost to her legacy. Kelley understands that while Nancy Reagan is an incredibly flawed, vain, vindictive person, she was also a force of nature who was one of the most consequential and powerful First Ladies in history. She’s a fascinating optical illusion, a blue or black dress, who either ameliorated the damage of the Reagan presidency by orchestrating Cold War peace and sidelining the worst hardliners—or perhaps gilded the awful in gold, and created a Reagan myth that made the damage all the more catastrophic & long term.

[Duncan Maccoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say. Another well researched biography by Kitty Kelley. It reinforces all my prejudices and is an excellent companion to .The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty

[Wilhelmina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite curious what made this woman tick. The answer? Everything and everything that involved money $$$!

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty trashy. I would not bother.

[Chris Wallbruch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelley is clearly not a big fan of the Reagans, particularly Nancy. Even with Kelley’s typical hyperbole, Nancy Reagan comes off as calculating, vindictive, and the true power of that presidential term. Ron is portrayed as a good natured but bumbling fool whose favorite pastime is telling gay jokes. It was interesting to read this and remember how it was 40 years ago, and it’s all here, from the Reagans’ dependence on astrologers, Nancy’s penchant for designer clothing, the ignored Reagan children, and the callous attitudes during the AIDS crisis. This probably won’t be a fun read if you’re a Reagan Republican, but everyone else can enjoy the dirt and scandal. It’s probably at least 75% true. Maybe.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've obviously heard about the Reagan's before but knew nothing about them. Just that their where the president and first lady at some point. And this was about Nancy Reagan, first lady. Which is always interesting. It was an well written book, have no idea of well researched though but has no interest learning more about her after this. I'm glad I've read it but didn't find her particular interesting or important to know of either her or her president husband.

[Lyg · Rating 1 out of 5]

TL;DR: Horrid book. Like a tabloid newspaper.

Nancy Reagan was quite an interesting character. While I have always loved Ronald Reagan as a person very much, his wife has never held much warmth in my heart. Just watch Don Rickles' performance at the second Inaugural Gala and you'll get a glimpse of the difference between Mr. and Mrs. Reagan.

That being made clear, my opinion on this book? Absolute rubbish. It would seem that this Kitty Kelley spent her research time on the sole purpose of digging up dirt and heaping it on. The result is a slanderous heap of words that, while perfectly suited to tabloids and gossip columns, should never have taken the guise of a respectable book. Ugh.

Update: I came across this book in the process of it being thrown away. I saved it for reading, but you see how that went. It turned out better suited for another use- I turned it into one of those hollow book gimmicks to store things in. The content of the pages, now cut out, have made wonderful kindling. Great book after all.

[Pamfrommd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads asks "What did you think?" I think my reading standards dropped dramatically after I read my first Kitty Kelley book earlier this year, My Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra. Enjoyed it immensely. Now I've just finished the Nancy Reagan book and I confess to loving every minute of it too. Junk food for the brain! The most hilarious line in the book, and there are many, was unintentional. In writing about Nancy's superstitious nature, Kelley wrote: "[Nancy] slept with her head and feet facing north and frequently knocked on wood." There's an image I won't soon forget -- Nancy in her bed with her feet AND her head facing north.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Reagan is a manipulative and hard woman.

[Samah Abugharsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to reading this book, I only knew of Nancy Reagan as the woman who kept telling kids not to use drugs and I remembered her cameo appearance on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes. When I bought this book, I really had no idea what it would entail. I'm happy to say I was riveted from the first page. Kitty Kelley is truly the queen of the unauthorized biography.

There is shade being thrown at Nancy Reagan on practically every page, but that woman is so much more fascinating than I ever would have imagined. The pettiness, the superficiality, the greediness, the backstabbing, the sexual escapades, the desperate need for approval from the elites, the narcissism. I couldn't get enough. Nancy Reagan's life is worthy of being depicted in a drama series.

When I read a biography, I want to find out the things that the subject of the book would never want people to know. I'm not interested in reading fluff pieces. I want to read about the good, the bad, and the ugly and Kitty Kelley definitely delivers.

Rather than being turned off by who Nancy Reagan was as a mother, wife, friend, and First Lady, this book got me more interested in her. I need to know more. Next up, I'm going to read Nancy Reagan's book "My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan." I can't wait to find out how she views her own life and how she depicted the people in it.

[Bianca1977 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit: I did not finish this book. My husband took it home from a second hand shop and the Reagans being mostly from before my time, I was curious about their story. And of course I knew that this writer was not going to give me an neutral version of the events, but I did not expect her to be this vile. Maybe it’s also because of the dated Dutch translation I had, but it read like a really long, really boring article from a trashy gossip magazine. And I like trashy gossip magazines. But not in this form... Off to the paper waste bin with it.

[Chele Hipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, I learned that Nancy Reagan was: cold, mean, narcissistic, entitled, vengeful, spiteful, manipulative, cruel, oblivious, superficial, calculating, damaged, hypocritical, greedy, cheap, tacky, disloyal, and just a truly awful person. It was enlightening and a solid read.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like the author was trying to only report on the negative aspects.