Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan

Where were you on Monday, March 30, 1981?

I was in high school. Not sure what class I was in at about 1:30 Central Time but I remember being told that shots had been fired at President Ronald Reagan as he left the Washington Hilton.

As soon as I got home, I planted myself in front of the television and watched the around-the-clock coverage.

In his book published in March, Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan, Del Quentin Wilber does a superb job of narrating the before, during and after of the assassination attempt.

As everyone knows, the delusional John Hinckley took a .22 caliber pistol loaded with devastator shells and emptied it as President Reagan left the Washington Hilton after a speaking engagement. What I didn’t know was exactly how close to death President Reagan actually was.

Wilber’s narrative is incredibly readable with tremendous research that includes excellent background summaries on all the key players. Plus there’s great information regarding the Secret Service and its role in protecting POTUS.

Through Wilber’s research you are brought behind the political scenes that included the chaos leading to Secretary of State Alexander Haig declaring to all the world that he was in charge when, in fact, he absolutely was not.

And Wilber provides even more illustration of the tremendous love that existed between Nancy Reagan and the President.

I would highly recommend this immensely readable well-written book.