Reagan Down, But Not Out

There's surprisingly little written solely on the topic of the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981.  Del Quentin Wilber's Rawhide Down attempts to fill that void, depicting from start to finish the events that surrounded the shooting of the President on March 30, 1981  Just weeks into his first term, the President was nearly fatally wounded when loner John Hinckley fired on him, wounding four people, outside a Washington D.C. hotel.   While Wilber's prose succinctly traces the events that led up to Hinckley's attempt on Reagan's life, the book is moreso seemingly a minute-by-minute account of the shooting, the actions of the Secret Service, the heroic effort doctors made to save Reagan.   Amid the chaos of the event, historic figures are brought to life with colorful detail in Wilber's narrative.   With a senior White House staff stumbling, the media pressing hard to confirm facts, and heart wrenching accounts of the doctors' efforts to save both Reagan and the believed to be mortally wounded press secretary James Brady - the most vivid portrait to emerge is that of the wounded Reagan, who, Wilber argues, was made more human and - therefore - a more identifiable figure in the eyes of the American people.   A page turner from start to finish, Rawhide Down is compelling, detailed history whose story flows with ease. -Michael