1946-
Reagan Revolutionary

Boy Wonder.

Since Ronald Reagan left office in 1989, it has become popular to characterize Reagan as not understanding the intricacies of government or the policies his administration pursued. David A. Stockman, however, was the man within the Reagan administration who understood the policies. An archconservative, Stockman, as Reagan's director of the Office of Management and Budget, became famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of the federal budget and his zeal for cutting it.

Ideologue.

David Stockman was born in Texas, but when he was five weeks of age his family moved to southwestern Michigan, the location of his family's farm. Young David Stockman developed an early penchant for books, a fascination that he carried into his adult years. According to one biographer, David's wife, Jennifer, readily admits Stockman is much more fascinated by ideas than by his fellow human beings. Human behavior, motivations...