Justin D. Garrison provides an original and groundbreaking analysis of Ronald Reagan’s imagination as it was expressed mainly in his presidential speeches. He argues that the predominant strain of Reagan’s imagination is "chimeric," that is, imbued with a high degree of optimism, romantic dreaminess, naiveté, and illusion. 

Reagan spoke often about religion, democracy, freedom, conservatism, progress, America’s role in the world, the American people, the American Founding, and peace. These are for him important symbols, which together express his general vision of politics and human existence.  These symbols have to be analyzed in depth in order to understand who Reagan really was and what he represented to his admirers.  The book concludes that Reagan’s vision contains many dubious elements that present dangers for practical politics and claims that the popularity of Reagan’s imagination among Americans suggests a problematic self-understanding.

Surpassing, existing works on Reagan’s ideas and speeches, this book systematically explains the general quality and major components of Reagan’s vision, and it draws upon political theory, aesthetics, and American political thought to analyze his imagination.

• Cover 2
• “An Empire of Ideals” 3
• Title Page 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Table of Contents 8
• Permissions 10
• Acknowledgments 11
• Introduction: The Enduring Appeal and Importance of Ronald Reagan’s Imagination 14
• 1 Ronald Reagan: A Biographical Sketch 25
• 2 The Imagination: A Philosophical Elucidation 46
• 3 “A Talent for Happiness”: Ronald Reagan, Optimism, and Politics 58
• 4 “I Hear America Singing”: Ronald Reagan and the American People 66
• 5 “The Mystic Chords of Memory”: Ronald Reagan and the American Revolution 80
• 6 “Puzzle Palaces on the Potomac”: Ronald Reagan and Contemporary American Government 97
• 7 “A Crusade for Freedom”: Ronald Reagan and America’s Role in the World 113