The audicassette version of Dutch suffers the same fatal flaw that the book does:  Morris's insertion of a Fictional version of himself to serve as an observer and counterweight to Reagan.  The problem that this fictional device created for the book carries over:  it's clumsy, confusing and unnecessary.  Other reviewers have critiqued why this literary device doesn't work in an outstanding manner, so I don't need to.  While the audio version is missing a lot of chapters dealing with Morris's fictional self, it still uses that narrator as a point of view.  While Morris narrates, another voice actor provides new information about this fictional character, which disrupts the narrative flow of Reagan's life.  It doesn't really matter if you think Reagan was a bad President or the last great one the USA has seen, because the audiocassette is handicapped by the literary device.  You can't enjoy the biography for what it is.  It's distracting and the fictional elements ruin any history it contains.  That's the real shame of Dutch:  Morris had a wonderfully rare opportunity to research a sitting President, and one whose legacy will be debated for years, and this book is the result.  I don't know why Morris chose this approach; perhaps he was too close to the Reagans to see them objectively anymore.  It's not because he's a bad a writer.  His previous and subsequent works on Theodore Roosevelt prove that he is an exceptional historian.  The use of the fictional Morris as a Reagan counterpart does tend to decrease as the book goes deeper into Reagan's Presidency, but the damage is done.  What a waste.
The audicassette version of Dutch suffers the same fatal flaw that the book does:  Morris's insertion of a Fictional version of himself to serve as an observer and counterweight to Reagan. The problem that this fictional device created for the book carries over:  it's clumsy, confusing and unnecessary. Other reviewers have critiqued why this literary device doesn't work in an outstanding manner, so I don't need to. While the audio version is missing a lot of chapters dealing with Morris's fictional self, it still uses that narrator as a point of view. While Morris narrates, another voice actor provides new information about this fictional character, which disrupts the narrative flow of Reagan's life. It doesn't really matter if you think Reagan was a bad President or the last great one the USA has seen, because the audiocassette is handicapped by the literary device. You can't enjoy the biography for what it is. It's distracting and the fictional elements ruin any history it contains. That's the real shame of Dutch:  Morris had a wonderfully rare opportunity to research a sitting President, and one whose legacy will be debated for years, and this book is the result. I don't know why Morris chose this approach; perhaps he was too close to the Reagans to see them objectively anymore. It's not because he's a bad a writer. His previous and subsequent works on Theodore Roosevelt prove that he is an exceptional historian. The use of the fictional Morris as a Reagan counterpart does tend to decrease as the book goes deeper into Reagan's Presidency, but the damage is done. What a waste.