Del Quentin Wilber - Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan

Amazon.com Review

Product Description

For the first time, a minute-by-minute account of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan walked out of a hotel in Washington, D.C., and was shot by a would-be assassin. For years, few people knew the truth about how close the president came to dying, and no one has ever written a detailed narrative of that harrowing day. Now, drawing on exclusive new interviews, Del Quentin Wilber tells the electrifying story of a moment when the nation faced a terrifying crisis. With cinematic clarity, we see the Secret Service agent whose fast reflexes saved the president's life; the brilliant surgeons who operated on Reagan as he was losing half his blood; and the small group of White House officials frantically trying to determine whether the country was under attack. Most especially, we encounter the man code-named Rawhide, a leader of uncommon grace who inspired affection and awe in everyone who worked with him.

Ronald Reagan was the only serving U.S. president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. In Rawhide Down , the story of that perilous daya day of chaos, crisis, prayer, heroism, and hopeis brought to life as never before.

Amazon Exclusive: Bill O'Reilly Reviews Rawhide Down

For more than 13 years,

Rawhide Down is enthralling because of the tremendous detail that Del Quentin Wilber provides to the reader. We learn about President Ronald Reagan's daily habits, his grooming, his demeanor on the job, as well as how he reacted after being shot. We also see how the would-be assassin, John Hinckley, conducted himself in the days leading up to the shooting.

This is fascinating stuff and, as a history buff, I couldn't get enough of it. Most Americans have nearly forgotten that Mr. Reagan was on the verge of death after being shot by the unstable Hinckley, and the drama of how the president's life was saved is intense.

This book is a page-turner from beginning to end and I believe you will learn a lot about an event that came razor-close to changing America forever and certainly altered the presidency of Mr. Reagan. Rich in detail with reporting I have never heard before, Rawhide Down rewards the reader on just about every page. Trust me on this.

Review

"The chapters that detail the assassination attempt and its immediate aftermath read like a thriller. In clear prose, we learn that Reagan was far closer to death than was previously thought."David Baldacci, The Washington Post

"A page-turner from beginning to end You will learn a lot about an event that came razor-close to changing America forever."Bill OReilly, author of the forthcoming Killing Lincoln: The Assassination that Changed America Forever

"Newly revealing A fast-paced book that captures many points of view."Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"A harrowing story, more so than it seemed at the time, and Wilber, a reporter for the Washington Post , has tracked down virtually everyone who had anything to do with protecting the President or with saving his life at the hospital."_The New Yorker_

"In this eye-opening book of solid journalism, we learn just how close Ronald Reagan, code-named 'Rawhide' by the Secret Service, came to being the president with the second shortest time in office."Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A tense, riveting account of that day." Dallas Morning News

"Detailed and dramatic Mr. Wilber, a Washington Post crime reporter who writes clear, crisp prose, fleshes out his gripping narrative with a number of well-told side stories."_The Washington Times_

"A riveting minute-by-minute account of the shooting and reveals that Reagan came closer to death than the public knew."_New York Post_

"This intensely researched account yields an almost moment-by-moment account of the crisis."_New York Daily News_

"A fast-paced read that draws well-crafted characters and gives a vivid sense of the history that brought the storys heroes and Hinckley together that day."_The Washingtonian_

"Gripping A fascinating glimpse of a pivotal moment in history."_Publishers Weekly_ (Starred Review)

"This mesmerizing rendition of the event can be read in one sitting, as Wilbers accuracy and craft provoke rapt interest."_Booklist_

"Del Quentin Wilber has written a compelling and multi-layered examination of the near-assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. As a biographer of Reagan who was at the Washington Hilton Hotel that fateful day, I was fascinated by Wilbers meticulous reconstruction. He properly credits the valor and judgment of the Secret Service agents who saved Reagans life but also analyzes the security deficiencies that made the assassination attempt possible. Wilber reminds us of how close we were to losing Reagan little more than two months into his presidency. His detailed and readable accounts of the surgeries performed on Reagan and Press Secretary James Brady are of particular historical value."Lou Cannon, author of President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime

"_Rawhide Down_ is full of spectacular, original reporting."Bob Woodward

"The 96 months of Ronald Reagans presidency changed the nation and the world. Del Quentin Wilbers gripping account of the near assassination of the 40th president shows how close the countryand the worldcame to missing more than 93 of those months."George F. Will

To Laura

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

A day before the course of his presidency was forever changed, Ronald Reagan walked to church with his wife, Nancy. Sunday, March 29, 1981, was bright and warm, and as the Reagans strolled through the White House gates and across Pennsylvania Avenue, the president held the first ladys hand. Trailed by Secret Service agents and a few journalists, the couple waved at onlookers and smiled for camera-toting tourists. As they walked through Lafayette Square, a woman pushed her young child through the security perimeter. Grinning, the president bent over to say hello.

Lately Reagan had not been able to attend church as often as he would have liked. During the previous years campaign it had been hard enough; since the inauguration, it had been almost impossible. For obvious reasons, security requirements for any trip outside the White House were cumbersome. He also didnt want to impose on parishioners, who had to be screened by Secret Service agents and were often distracted by the presence of the president and his wife.

But that spring morning, the Reagans had chosen to attend the eleven oclock service at St. Johns Church, a place of worship as intimately connected to American history as any in the nation. The Episcopal church, just off the north side of Lafayette Square, was designed by the same architect who rebuilt the White House and the Capitol after they were damaged in the War of 1812. Its half-ton steeple bell had been cast by Paul Reveres son; a piece of stained glass donated by President Chester A. Arthur in memory of his wife hung in its south transept. Nicknamed the Church of the Presidents, St. Johns now welcomed the nations fortieth president, a man who revered both God and country.

The rector, the Reverend John C. Harper, had preached to every president since Lyndon B. Johnson. On this Sunday, the Reverend Harper delivered a sermon about faith and about finding Gods handiwork in ordinary things. He told a story about a sculptor who hammered and chiseled a large block of marble into a statue of Christ. When the sculptor was done, a young boy who had watched him at work asked, Sir, tell me, how did you know there was a man in the marble?

Then Harper made the message of his parable plain. People have often asked that question of Christians who have seen God in Jesus Christ, in a stone statue, in a stained-glass window, in some human life, he said. How did you know He was there?