Based on the unprecedented access to his family and inner political circle given to the producers of the companion American Experience documentary, Reagan: An American Story traces Ronald Reagan's life from his Midwestern childhood and acting career in Hollywood to his retirement years. Author and documentary producer Adriana Bosch examines the roots of his determination, his conditioning as a hero both at work and on screen, and the tension between Reagan's deeply felt anti-communism and his abolitionist views toward nuclear weapons. Seemingly a simple man, Reagan was consistently underestimated by his opponents. One by one, he overcame them all.

"People don't reckon with the power of charm," son Ron Reagan says in an interview inside the book. In these pages, readers learn of Reagan through the words of those who knew him best.