Security Studies Prof Publishes New Book on Ronald Reagan

Heineman’s new book explores how a Hollywood upstart and eventual conservative leader became one of the most successful and influential presidents in U.S. history – one whose presidency helped to define the end of the Cold War. It opens with a concise biography covering Ronald Reagan’s rise from radio personality and actor to governor and president. Subsequent chapters cover politics and policy. Chapters also include an important review of Reagan’s legendary public relations operations and the ways in which 1980s popular culture influenced and was influenced by his presidency.

Other chapters cover Reagan’s long rise to the presidency and the conservative political revolution he brought about in the 1980s. Spurning the moderate values and policies Republicans had previously championed, Reagan’s revolution continues to play an outsized role in America’s political life. This important reference book gives browsers and readers alike an opportunity to focus on many of the intertwined issues of the 1980s: abortion, gay rights, law and order, the Cold War, tax cuts, de-industrialization, the Religious Right, and the political divisions that made Reagan’s legislative victories possible.

Dr. Ken Heineman “The Reagan Revolution and the Rise of the New Right” is being published as part of ABC-CLIO’s “Guides to Historic Events in America” series. It will be released on June 30 and is available through ABC-CLIO, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online booksellers.

A professor in ASU’s Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice, Heineman previously served on the history faculty, including five years as department chair. As a historian, he has written six previous books, including:

• “The Rise of Contemporary Conservatism in the United States” (2018)
• “Civil War Dynasty: The Ewing Family of Ohio” (2012)
• “Put Your Bodies Upon the Wheels: Student Revolt in the 1960s” (2001)
• “A Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh” (1999)
• “God is a Conservative: Religion, Politics, and Morality in Contemporary America” (1998)
• “Campus Wars: The Peace Movement at American State Universities in the Vietnam Era” (1993)

Heineman has also published dozens of journal articles, essays and encyclopedia entries, and he was a contributing author for the first Open Educational Resource digital textbook for U.S. history that aligns with College Board Advanced Placement (AP) standards. He has received the Philip S. Klein Book Prize for history writing and currently serves on the editorial board of the Pennsylvania History journal.

Also the recipient of ASU’s 2014 President’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Research/Creative Endeavor, Heineman holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Pittsburgh.