From Ronald to Donald : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers : 9781476690322 : 1476690324 : 19 Jan 2024 : On November 4, 1980, American voters gave Ronald Reagan a 41-state Electoral College landslide. The man this mandate carried into the White House was largely compounded of mythology. Like most compelling mythologies, Reagan's was a synthesis of celebrity as well as emotional, intellectual, and cultural streams. Throughout his eight years in the oval office, the "Great Communicator" was largely successful in shaping the soul of America to reflect his durable mantra that "government is the problem." That same American soul later embraced Donald Trump--a president who, the authors argue, would have appalled Reagan. Reagan's myth persists, and by understanding his time in office in the context of American history and of the American presidency, we can understand how a transformative president created more than policy by also shaping culture with the instrumental force of mythology