A Different Drummer Audiobook By Michael K. Deaver cover art

A Different Drummer

My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

A Different Drummer

By: Michael K. Deaver
Narrated by: Michael K. Deaver
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.09

Buy for $17.09

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
A warm, personal portrait of Ronald Reagan, A Different Drummer brims with recollections from a relationship that has spanned three decades. A former aide and longtime family friend, Michael Deaver worked with the former chief executive for 20 consecutive years. Now he offers his memories of Ronald Reagan as governor, president, and friend.

Reagan remains a mystery even to biographers with total access. But in A Different Drummer, Deaver writes not only of Reagan's dizzying highs, but also shares the lows, including the tough times that would test the strength of their friendship. Finally, he shares a poignant look at Reagan today as he battles Alzheimer's. This is Nancy Reagan's "finest hour", Deaver writes, a validation of the greatest love story he has ever known.

With anecdotes that are insightful, entertaining, intimate, and surprising, A Different Drummer sheds remarkable new light on an American icon admired by many and understood by few.

With a foreword by Nancy Reagan.

©2001 Michael K. Deaver (P)2001 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Americas Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State United States

Critic reviews

"Deaver is a great reader. Known as the public relations whiz in Reagan's White House, Deaver has a voice that sounds like John Chancellor's: deep, clear, and expressive. There is not a stilted moment in this audiobook. Deaver sounds like he is sitting at the fireplace telling stories about a friend." (AudioFile)
Authentic Storytelling • Poignant Recounting • Earnest Narration • Unique Perspective • Well-written Portrait
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  

Where does A Different Drummer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've always preferred books read by the authors, and this one perfectly exemplified why! The emotion and authenticity truly come through from the unbelievably poignant recounting of the last time Mr. Deaver saw Mr. Reagan to the last word. It's really an amazing "insider" look from the guy who was there from the early days of the gubernatorial campaign on the way to nearing the end. I've read lots of books about Reagan (and the couple BY Reagan) and this is right up there with my favorites when it comes to more of the "storytelling" side of biographies rather than the "fact-based"/educational type.

What did you like best about this story?

Author's emotion and authenticity and hearing new stories (or old stories retold from the author's unique perspective).

What does Michael K. Deaver bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice inflection and earnestness.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The opening story made me cry. Several stories made me laugh. Truly a great book in its unique perspective and its ability to convey that perspective and bring the reader/listener right into the stories.

Any additional comments?

Like I said, I thought I had read everything worth reading about Reagan and it blew my mind that this one had been out there for so long and I had neglected to read/listen. Highly recommend to even the most well-read fans of Reagan (the President and especially the man)!

Intimate look from the inside of the inner circle

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Of the 5 or 6 books I've read on Reagan I don't think another conveys the sense of his character the way this one does. You get a feel for the strength and the decency and the goodness of the man. A lot of Reagan books are written by more or less bit players across the scenes of his life, Deaver had a front row seat for a good thirty years with all the funny stories and heartfelt anecdotes that entails.

Superb

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book twice. Deaver was marvelous in capturing the real Ronald Reagan

Touching

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, highly recommend.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Different Drummer?

I love the little insights we got about the relationship between Ron & Nancy. I also gained a greater appreciation for Pres. Reagan and the importance he played in our country's history.

What does Michael K. Deaver bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I love when the author reads his/her own book. You can feel the emotion and closeness he had with the Reagan's.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Great book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was not quite what I expected. Once I recognized it was a relational book more than a historical work, I was good to go. I prefer that authors don't read their own books. It stands out to me that Reagan was able to maintain poise under nearly any situation.

Love Reagan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A well written story of the Reagan's political career from the viewpoint of a close freind and aide to the gipper. One of the better jobs of a writer doing his own narration. If you want to hear the inside story of Reagan through the 60's, 70's & 80's. If you respected Reagan before you read it, then he'll be your hero afterwards.

Up close view of Reagan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Mike Deaver's book is a well written portrait of a Great American who did what he thought best for our great country. I was sorry to get to the end of it. Narration is super and the book is Excellent!

Worth Your TIme

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If like Ronald Reagan I want to know the man you need to read this book other than Nancy Michael knew him best.

Evan Review

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I learned very little from this book and felt it was very surface level about the man. This felt very unsatisfying if you wanted to learn about Reagan and his presidency.

Worst book on president

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I should have known what kind of book this would be when the forward (endorsement) was written by Nancy. If you want to learn about the Cold War or seek a more realistic source of information about Reagan, this ain't it. It's a big sloppy kiss about an "infallible" man that never made a mistake. It really seems to be written for Nancy's approval at the expense of historical accuracy and insight. It's an extremely cheesy 6 hours, spend your time on something that has more truth and fact, not this crap about how perfect Reagan was, because he wasn't. Nobody is perfect. It's like if the Lifetime Movie Network made a story about his life and targeted it towards old women who don't want the facts if they get in the way. The author says at one point of Ronald and Nancy: "Of course, theirs is one of the greatest love stories ever told." This is said to be the man who won the Cold War, and this book doesn't discuss issues and events, just rather repeatedly talks about how perfect Reagan was, a man who couldn't err.

A terrible, self-serving piece for the author

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.