Reagan letters reveal man driven by idealism

WHILE recuperating from an assassination attempt in 1981, President Reagan wrote a heartfelt four-page letter to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, asking if they could work together to reduce the tensions between their nations, according to a new book about Reagan’s letters.

The book, produced with the cooperation of Nancy Reagan and excerpted in Time magazine, suggests Reagan was more involved in the day-to-day responsibilities of the presidency than some of his critics and former aides have suggested.

The Reagan in the letters seems a modest, plainspoken man driven by idealism.