First Father, First Daughter; A Memoir

Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1989. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 24 cm. x, 415, [5] pages. Illustrations. Index. Front DJ Signed by the author with sentiment on half-title page. Maureen Elizabeth Reagan (January 4, 1941 - August 8, 2001) was an American political activist, the first child of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. Her adoptive brother was Michael Reagan and her half-siblings were Patti Davis and Ron Reagan, from her father's second marriage (to Nancy Reagan). Reagan spoke on behalf of Republican candidates throughout the country. Reagan was the first son or daughter of a President to be elected cochair of the Republican National Committee. However, both of her attempts at election to political office ended in defeat. She ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from California in 1982 (which was eventually won by Pete Wilson) and in 1992 for California's 36th congressional district. Although they maintained a united front, Maureen Reagan differed from her father on several key issues. Although reared Roman Catholic following her mother's conversion, she was pro-choice on abortion. She also held the belief that Oliver North should have been court-martialed. After her father announced his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in 1994, Maureen Reagan became a member of the Alzheimer's Association board of directors and served as the group's spokeswoman. Derived from a Kirkus review: The former President's daughter has her own story to tell as well as her own version of recent events, and the unbuttoned style that made her unwelcome in early Reagan campaigns gives this book both color and pace. Readers may dispute Maureen's claim to a charmed early life--both acting parents were very busy--and shrug off the generosity extended to Dad and Nancy, who concealed her relationship to stepsister Patti for seven or eight years, but they can't miss the major theme. Once out of school, "Mermie" worked hard at a string of jobs, endured a brief abusive marriage, and immersed herself in Republican causes. A party member for more years than her father, she was nevertheless restricted to the shadows during his California campaigns by managers, she still resents. A second marriage failed; Maureen found feminism; the family suffered disappointment in '76; and then came into glory years: better than her own bedroom in the White House was her father's long-denied recognition. She enjoyed greater access to the President, influenced some of his policy decisions, and frequently challenged the recommendations of advisors. No longer consigned to "the wilderness of his political life," she served as a roving ambassador and later as Republican National Committee Co-Chair. Though Maureen is a song-in-my-heart narrator who cherishes the macaroni moments in the President's house, her strong opinions--on Deaver, Raisa, Regan, North--are more likely to attract attention.