REICHLEY, (Anthony) James 1929–

PERSONAL: Born March 3, 1929, in St. Clair, PA; son of Grant Gwinner and Mary (Thompson) Reichley; married Mary A. Donohue, April 15, 1961; children: Douglas, Richard. Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1950; Harvard University, M.A., 1956. Politics: Republican. Religion: Methodist.

ADDRESSES: Home—11912 Gregerscroft Rd., Potomac, MD 20854-2145. Office—Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University, 3600 N St. NW, Washington, DC 20007-2670. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA, editor, 1953–54; Pottsville Republican, Pottsville, PA, reporter, 1957–61; office of U.S. Senator K. B. Keating, Washington, DC, press assistant, 1961–62; legislative secretary to Pennsylvania governor William W. Scranton, 1962–67; Fortune, New York, NY, political editor, 1967–76; special assistant to U.S. President Gerald Ford, 1976; senior fellow, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, 1977–91; senior fellow, Public Policy Institute of Georgetown University, Washington, DC, 1992–. Military service: U.S. Army, Counter Intelligence Corps, 1951–53.

MEMBER: American Political Science Association, Cosmos Club.

AWARDS, HONORS: Bowdoin Prize, 1956; Congressional fellow, 1958–59.

WRITINGS:

The Burying of Kingsmith, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1957.

The Art of Government: Reform and Organization Politics in Philadelphia, Fund for the Republic (New York, NY), 1959.

Hail to the Chief, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1960.

States in Crisis, University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, NC), 1964.

Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations, Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), 1981.

Religion in American Public Life, Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), 1985.

(Editor) Elections American Style, Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), 1987.

The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties, Free Press (New York, NY), 1992, updated in paperback, Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 2000.

The Values Connection, Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 2001.

Faith in Politics, Brookings Institution (Washington, DC), 2002.

Has contributed to Saturday Evening Post, Harper's, New Republic, Reporter, and other magazines.

SIDELIGHTS: James Reichley's career as a political writer and editor has produced several significant books. In Religion in American Public Life, Reichley stated that a religious foundation is essential for the continued strength and stability of American democracy and that the movement away from a religious orientation is destructive to the fabric of American society. He cited a study analyzing school textbooks from various subjects, which found that the topics of family, marriage, and religion were largely ignored within their pages. Reichley was praised by Saturday Evening Post reviewer Bob Slosser as "a quiet, very decent, and sharp-minded scholar" whose book "deserves consideration by leadership in all segments of the nation." Joseph Sobran, considering the book in National Review, called it "a brisk religious history of America, with special attention to the interpretation of the First Amendment's religion clause and the political activities of churches."

In The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties, Reichley contested the popular notion that there is no longer a significant difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. Although pervasive television and powerful special-interest groups have greatly weakened both parties, they continue to represent basically opposed political viewpoints. Introducing more parties into the system only leads to paralysis and inefficiency, in the author's view. He advises free broadcast time for all candidates, the outlawing of political action committees, and other recommendations to help revitalize the existing system. According to National Review contributor Peter Hannaford, in The Life of the Parties, Reichley "makes a spirited case for revising the sagging fortunes of the major parties."

The Values Connection is Reichley's exploration of the necessary conditions for the creation of a society that balances individual human rights and social responsibility. Once again, the author made the case for a religious foundation as vital to a successful society and explains the origins of most of the world's cultural value systems. Thomas Massaro, a reviewer for Theological Studies, found Reichley's statements "familiar" but credited Reichley with having "traced a novel path to perceptive and timely conclusions about the role of religion in contemporary public life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America, March 22, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 232.

American Journal of Sociology, September, 1987, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 474.

American Political Science Review, December, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 1350.

American Spectator, December, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 26.

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, November, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 208.

Booklist, December 1, 1985, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 518.

Choice, November, 1981, review of Conservatives in an Age of Change: The Nixon and Ford Administrations, p. 443; February, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 881.

Christian Century, March 5, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 250; June 3, 1987, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 524; June 14, 2003, James W. Skillen, review of Faith in Politics, p. 41.

Church History, March, 1987, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 146.

Commentary, May, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 42.

Economic Books: Current Selections, June, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 77.

Journal of Church and State, spring, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 322; spring, 2004, Malcolm A. Reid, review of Faith in Politics, p. 412.

Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 1985, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 1072.

Library Journal, August, 1981, review of Conservatives in an Age of Change, p. 1549; July, 1992, review of The Life of the Parties: A History of American Political Parties, p. 106.

National Review, April 25, 1986, Joseph Sobran, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 50; August 17, 1992, Peter Hannaford, review of The Life of the Parties, p. 50.

Perspective, December, 1981, review of Conservatives in an Age of Change, p. 174; summer, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 130; winter, 1988, review of Elections American Style, p. 7.

Perspectives on Political Science, review of The Life of the Parties, p. 43.

Political Science Quarterly, number 3, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 479; fall, 2003, Andrew M. Greeley, review of Faith in Politics, p. 539.

Publishers Weekly, June 22, 1992, review of The Life of the Parties, p. 52.

Reference & Research Book News, April, 1988, review of Elections American Style, p. 14.

Religious Studies Review, July, 1987, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 276.

Review of Politics, spring, 1987, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 275.

Saturday Evening Post, July-August, 1986, Bob Slosser, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 16.

Theological Studies, September, 2002, Thomas Massaro, review of The Values Connection, p. 652.

Theology Today, July, 1986, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 280.

Times Literary Supplement, October 21, 1988, review of Elections American Style, p. 1169.

Washington Times, July 22, 2001, Larry Witham, review of The Values Connection, p. 8.

Western Political Quarterly, December, 1988, review of Religion in American Public Life, p. 825.

Wilson Quarterly, winter, 1981, review of Conservatives in an Age of Change, p. 156.