Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Robinson, Peter, 1957-
- Abstract:
- Drafts of the books by Peter Robinson, It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP (New York, 2000), and How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life (New York, 2003), and correspondence and research materials used in their preparation. Includes sound recordings and transcripts of interviews of associates of Ronald Reagan.
- Extent:
- 39 manuscript boxes, 2 audiocassette boxes, 1 computer disk box (17.3 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Peter Robinson papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Peter Robinson papers contain the writings and research material related to two of Robinson's books: It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, and How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. The collection is arranged in two series, Writings and Audiovisual Material.
The Writings series includes correspondence, notes, interview transcripts, background research material drafts, manuscript proofs related to the writing and production of Robinson's books.The series is divided into two subseries, one for each book.
The It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP subseries includes Robinson's background research, interviews, notes, and drafts relating to the history of the Republican party, his family's relationship to the party, and how demographics and political issues affected the party as a whole. Robinson traveled throughout the United States in order to gain as many perspectives as possible on the Republican party. Since the book was researched and the bulk of the text written in 1999, It's My Party provides a unique examination of the GOP just prior to the 2000 election.
The How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life subseries is comprised of drafts, manuscript proofs, research, correspondence, and extensive interviews documenting the life of Ronald Reagan, with a particular focus on the years he served as President. Written as a personal memoir of Robinson's time in the Reagan administration, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life contains reflections on Reagan's character and anecdotes from Robinson and several other prominent figures in the Reagan White House.
The Audiovisual Material series contains video recordings, sound recordings, and computer files related to Robinson's books. It is arranged by physical format. The video recordings primarily consist of interviews and television broadcasts relating to Ronald Reagan. The sound recordings include interviews conducted by Robinson as research for his books, including George W. Bush, Ed Meese, Dana Rohrabacher, Betsy Bayless, and Charlton Heston. Transcripts of the interviews are available in the Writings series. The computer files contain multiple drafts of the books and transcripts of the interviews.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Peter M. Robinson was born in 1957 and grew up in upstate New York. He attended Dartmouth College, graduating summa cum laude in 1979. He went on to study politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford University, from which he graduated in 1982.
Robinson spent six years in the White House, serving from 1982 to 1983 as chief speechwriter to Vice President George Bush and from 1983 to 1988 as special assistant and speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan. He wrote the historic Berlin Wall address in which President Reagan called on General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"
After the White House, Robinson attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and graduated with an MBA in 1990. Robinson then worked for Fox Television and subsequently for the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served as the director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research.
Robinson joined the Hoover Institution in 1993. Robinson is is the Murdoch Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he writes about business and politics, edits Hoover's quarterly journal, the Hoover Digest, and hosts Hoover's video series program, Uncommon Knowledgeâ„¢.
In addition to his work at the Hoover Institution, Robinson has published numerous essays and interviews. He edited Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover Institution Press, 1995). Robinson is the author of three books: How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life (Regan Books, 2003); It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, (Warner Books, 2000); and the best-selling business book Snapshots from Hell: The Making of an MBA (Warner Books, 1994).
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2004.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
-
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Peter Robinson papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563