In 1988, after two terms in office, Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the twentieth century -- and one of the most controversial. A failed actor, Reagan became a passionate ideologue who preached a simple gospel of lower taxes, less government, and anti-communism.

Ronald Reagan said of his beloved Santa Barbara, California ranch, “No place before or since has ever given Nancy and me the joy and serenity it does.” President Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo, his home for nearly twenty-five years and the Western White House for eight, is a window into the soul of Ronald Reagan. But what if the Reagan Ranch had been lost? Future generations would have been robbed of t...