Three Days in Moscow: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire

Three Days in Moscow, by Fox News anchor Bret Baier, takes a look not only at the titular time in the titular city but Ronald Reagan’s life as a whole. Baier begins by talking about Reagan’s pivotal role in dismantling the Cold War, but then goes back and begins with Ronald Reagan’s childhood, complete with a ton of moves and an alcoholic father but a love for reading. From there, he became an actor, married once, divorced, then met the woman he would call the love of his life: Nancy Reagan. This book even tracks his political career from advisor to governor to president. The focus, obviously, is on Reagan’s relationship with the Soviet Union and its various leaders but also on his lifelong stance against communism and for freedom. The book ends with a reflection on how Russia is back in the news with the 2016 election and how that is playing out, which frankly no one really knows on any given day.

I was expecting this book to be more focused on those Three Days in Moscow and not such a sweeping biography of Ronald Reagan, literally from birth to death. I’m a lifelong Republican. I know A LOT about Ronald Reagan and didn’t need the complete recap. But I did think it was well-done, even if I wasn’t expecting it. I loved the detail taken with the summits and especially the trip to Moscow. The trip to Red Square (and the name distinction) was interesting. Also…conspiracy moment mentioned in this book…is this Ronald Reagan meeting a little boy with VLADIMIR PUTIN also in the photo? It’s rumored that the people in the square were like all KGB agents and Putin was one at the time, so it’s possible, honestly.

Anyway this book is a good biography of Reagan with special attention to his relationship with the Soviet Union, but if you’re not trying to rehash the entirety of Reagan’s political career and his election strategies, then maybe skip to about the 2/3 mark and then dive in. Baier does a really good job with this book though, and if you are genuinely interested in learning more about Ronald Reagan but are also interested in the history of the US’s relationship with the Soviet Union/Russia then you’ll love this book.