Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher: A Political Marriage.

Thing is, I like Reagan in a way that's somewhat similar to the way I like Obama. I haven't always agreed with either of them, but they're difficult to dislike on a personal level--Obama, imho, perhaps moreso, but that's neither here nor there. I read the book hoping to learn more about Thatcher, whom I genuinely disliked and with whom I did not want to spend a entire book. Did it make her seem more human? Arguably, yes...but I always knew she was human, that wasn't the problem.

I fell away from reading general biographies years ago, and tend toward works that are more limited in scope. As an example, The Foreign Policy of Lyndon B. Johnson: The United States and the World, 1963 - 1969...but what made it a truly great learning experience was reading it simultaneously with Ho Chi Mihn by William Duiker (Hey, if one book can kick the door open, two can take a wall down.)

Living as I do just a few minutes from Dixon Illinois, I can visit``

sorry, cutting things short, severe storms here

Captain's Log, supplemental
Damn storms, I hate 'em. We didn't get a tornado siren, but a thunderclap from some close lightning sent my little dog scurrying for a bed to hide under. Shi Tzu's are often stunningly courageous, but when your nose is 6 inches off the ground anything that might lead to even a minor amount of flooding is bad news indeed.

Anywho, living close to Dixon Illinois, I can visit the Reagan boyhood home, and see two statues of the man in the space of a few blocks. If you expand that search area just a bit, you can include a statue of Lincoln, hidden away in a stand of trees...so while you're in Dixon at least, you're in the "Land of Reagan."