I'm John Batchel with Max Boone, the author of the new Reagan biography, his life and legend.

It is a cloudy day, is my memory, in early spring, early spring, 1981.

Ronald Reagan makes a speech in Washington.

He's leaving the building.

Shots are fired, and Reagan is hit.

A number of other members of his staff are hit.

And this becomes a crisis that Max presents very dramatically.

This is 69 days into the administration.

And Reagan conducts himself heroically with humor and attempting to ease the tension all around him,

especially his wife, who is as Nancy rushes to the hospital to be with him,

he is very close to death often, several times.

Max's presentation is extremely moving.

At the same time, Max, I'm interested in what happens afterwards.

He recovers amazingly.

And that leads to success in Washington.

What is it that allows him to then move on his domestic ambition so quickly?

Well, I call the chapter on his shooting finest hour.

It really was Reagan's finest hour.

Remember, this was Reagan had never been in combat.

He'd spent all of World War II on a sound stage.

But here he was acting very heroically after being shot and joking with the doctors saying,

I hope you're all Republicans telling Nancy, honey, I forgot to duck.

...