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Before 1966 Reagan was regarded as a B-movie actor, shrill anti-Communist, and president of the Screen Actor's Guild, not the leader of a major political movement that would forever change American politics. Pat Brown, his rival in the race for California, was a seasoned professional: "The Giant Killer" who had defeated Richard Nixon in 1962 and represented the best of liberal America. How a small time conservative Republican could beat this popular and powerful Democrat by over a million votes is a fascinating story that takes us to the heart of who Ronald Reagan was, as a man and as a politician.
With charm and insight, Matthew Dallek shows how Reagan, through his tremendous political savvy, was able to assess the climate far better than his rival and deliver what people wanted. He chronicles a victory that marked the beginning of a complete shift in politics that would eventually carry Ronald Reagan to the White House.