Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America

In his previous, widely praised book, Reagan’s Revolution, Craig Shirley told the story of Ronald Reagan’s insurgent campaign to wrest the GOP nomination from Gerald Ford in 1976. Now, in Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America, Shirley tells the tale of Reagan’s triumph.

By tracing the path from Reagan’s defeat on the convention floor in 1976 to his ultimate victory on election night in 1980, Shirley shows in gripping detail how Reagan’s unshakeable hopefulness and conservative convictions led to a most unlikely presidency. Shirley explores the Gipper’s underreported wilderness years (1976–79) and follows him as Reagan hones his message, assembles his team, and launches his bid for the White House amid the inflation crisis, the Panama Canal fight, and Jimmy Carter’s era of malaise.

To write Rendezvous with Destiny Shirley gained unprecedented access to 1980 campaign files and conducted more than two hundred insider interviews. The result is the first comprehensive history of the hard-fought 1980 primaries and crucial general election campaign. Reagan’s quest for the presidency was an often lonely one, Shirley reveals. This is the story of how Reagan successfully battled the headwinds of the national media, the Republican Party establishment, and even his own campaign team to become one of America’s greatest chief executives.

This is an "inside baseball"-style account of the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign of 1980. While describing in great detail the various ups and downs of the campaign, as based on his analysis of the campaign files and the recollections of some 150 individuals involved in the campaign, the author admiringly casts Reagan as a deeply principled politician who overcame opposition from within and without his own party by staunchly hewing to his beliefs. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In his previous, widely praised book, "Reagan's Revolution," Shirley told the story of Ronald Reagan's insurgent campaign to wrest the GOP nomination from Gerald Ford in 1976. In his newest work, he tells the tale of Reagan's triumph.

Craig Shirley is the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All. He is also president of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, a government relations and marketing firm outside of Washington, where he resides with his wife and four children. A much sought-after political advisor and commentator, Shirley’s work has appeared in, among other periodicals, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Weekly Standard. 

foreword by George F. Will